NEED TO KNOW
- The family of the 8-year-old victim of the Nov. 29 mass shooting in Stockton, Calif., has identified the victim as Maya Lupian
- Lupian was among four people, including three children, killed during the shooting, which took place at a 2-year-old’s birthday party
- Lupian’s family remembered her as “the light in everyone’s life” and said “she deserved a childhood full of laughter, school days, karate, family time and dreams… not this”
An 8-year-old girl who was among the three children killed during Saturday night’s mass shooting at a birthday party in Stockton, Calif., has been identified.
The family of Maya Lupian said in a GoFundMe post this week that she was “the most outgoing 8-year-old you’d ever meet,” describing her as a young girl who “excelled in her academics and extracurricular activities.”
Lupian’s family also said she was just two weeks away from turning 9 years old on Dec. 13.
“Maya was the light in everyone’s life, the sweetest soul,” her family wrote. “She deserved a childhood full of laughter, school days, karate, family time and dreams… not this. We would have been celebrating her 9th birthday in just 2 weeks on December 13th. We are devastated, heartbroken and trying to navigate the impossible.”
According to the post authored by Lupian’s older sister Yesenia Lupian, “Maya leaves behind a loving family, including myself, our parents, [two] older brothers, [two] nieces that adore her and many family members and friends that love her dearly.”
Lupian was among four people, including three children, who were killed during the Nov. 29 incident. The shooting took place while around 100 people were gathered at a local banquet hall in Stockton, Calif., to celebrate the birthday of a 2-year-old girl.
The children killed during the incident were aged 8, 8, and 14, PEOPLE previously reported. A 21-year-old man was also killed.
Family members told the Associated Press on Monday that partygoers were getting ready to cut the young girl’s birthday cake when gunshots first rang out. “I actually thought it was my balloons popping. It was gunshots,” Patrice Williams, the birthday girl’s mother, told the AP.
Meanwhile, local police have yet to track down a suspect and have indicated in news releases that multiple suspects involved in the shooting remain on the loose.
The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office said in its latest update Sunday that its detectives were still on the scene the morning after the shooting and “processing evidence with assistance from the California Department of Justice.”
PEOPLE has reached out to the sheriff’s office for the latest information regarding the investigation and potential suspects.
Gofundme
San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Heather Brent previously said that the tragedy took place in a banquet hall “where a family was celebrating,” according to a clip shared by ABC10.
The outlet reported Sunday that the ATF and the FBI are assisting local authorities with the investigation, while the FBI said it has been in “continuous communication” with local investigators.
“Finding the person or persons who committed this crime is the number one priority,” San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Heather Brent said at a press conference on Sunday, according to ABC10. “Right now, we ask this community, don’t let this divide you. Make it something that brings you together, come together as a community and let’s help each other.”
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Stockton Vice Mayor Jason Lee wrote in a social media statement on Saturday night that his heart was “heavy in a way that’s hard to put into words” after hearing the news about the birthday party shooting.
“I am devastated and angry to learn about the mass shooting at a child’s birthday party,” Lee wrote. “A birthday party should never be a place where families fear for their lives.”
Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi added in an Instagram post on Sunday that she “could not sleep” after hearing the news the previous night.
“I lay there in disbelief about what these families, these children, and our entire community went through,” the mayor wrote. “The trauma they are living with is unimaginable.”
Mayor Fugazi added: “Children who saw things no child should ever see. Loved ones standing there, watching someone they care about murdered in cold blood right in front of them. These are wounds that will likely never heal, let alone quickly. This is trauma that will follow these kids and these families for the rest of their lives.”
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