Patient, kind, and respectful.
That’s how those who knew Abel Mwansa are remembering the 12-year-old, who was one of those killed in Tuesday’s shooting in Tumbler Ridge.
Lydia Mannion is a close friend of the Mwansa family, who moved to the small B.C. town from Zambia in March 2023 for a better life. She says Abel was bright and inquisitive and wanted to learn everything about his new home.
“When they first moved here, everything is so different than in Zambia, and he just wanted to learn about it all — what we do on these holidays, what it’s going to be like,” she said.
“They came in, and there was so much snow still.”
Abel joined the local soccer club and quickly learned all there was to know about hockey. He was trying to learn how to skate so that he could become a referee.
“He knew that being 12, he probably wouldn’t become as proficient as friends in skating to play hockey with them, but he would be proficient enough to be a referee,” Mannion said.
“He knew all of the rules, he followed the game. He would be there every time there was a free skate or kids’ skate, he’d be on the ice.”
When he was at home, Abel was always helping with his younger siblings: a sister who had just turned eight and a brother who is turning one in the spring.
“He would feed the baby, he’d change diapers, look after him so his mom could have a break, because a newborn keeps you up at night,” Mannion said.
“He’d always say, ‘No mom, you eat your dinner, I’ll eat after, give me the baby.’”
Mannion says the family is devastated and in a state of shock. The last thing Abel said to his mom was asking her to remind his dad to pick him up from youth group, which was supposed to meet the day of the shooting.
As for Abel’s last moments, Mannion says his sister is calling him a hero, because he was acting selflessly — as he usually did in life.
“We’ve been told that Abel was helping his friends,” she said.
“He was doing what’s in character, he was helping his friends, be there for his friends.”
Mannion says Abel’s family was starting to plan his 13th birthday party in May. Instead, they’re now coming to terms with his death and planning his funeral.
“It’s hard for us to accept that it’s real, that Abel is not coming back.”
But she says because of the family’s faith, they feel in their hearts that they will see him again.
