Shayna Conway’s loved ones say she’s the kind of person who would do anything for anyone – and now others are coming to the young woman’s aid as she recovers from multiple gunshot wounds.
The 21-year-old woman underwent surgery Monday after barely escaping a horrific triple murder-suicide on a southern Alberta highway.
Conway was shot three times in the left side – in the stomach, shoulder and thigh. Her family members earlier told the Herald she suffered a collapsed lung and said they weren’t sure if she would regain full movement in her hand and leg.
Two bullets were removed Friday, according to her family. They said a third bullet entered through her back and shattered after striking her shoulder blade.
Courtney Crosby said her sister would be in the hospital until late Monday night, but declined to comment further, asking for privacy in a stressful situation.
Meanwhile, there’s been an outpouring of support from across the country.
Former co-workers at a Juice Zone in Prince Edward Island, where Conway worked before moving to Alberta, are collecting donations. Alyssa Farrar said customers come in every day asking about the young woman.
“Shayna touched the hearts of lots of people. Everyone knows her and loves her,” said Farrar, a close friend.
Get breaking National news
Donations aim to cover medical costs and travelling expenses.
“It was crazy when we first put the box out,” Farrar said. “We were emptying it every 20 minutes because it was full.
“We just love her and can’t wait for her to come home.”
Conway was the lone survivor of a grisly roadside ambush in the pre-dawn hours Dec. 15 along Hwy 2.
Gunman Derek Jensen, 21, shot Conway before killing his ex-girlfriend Tabitha Stepple, 21, and Conway’s friends, Tanner Craswell, 22, and Mitch MacLean, 20. He then turned the gun on himself.
Jensen and Stepple had recently broken up after a volatile relationship. After a chance altercation at a bar earlier in the evening, RCMP say, Jensen tracked the SUV carrying Stepple and her friends toward Calgary, ramming the vehicle just north of Claresholm. He used a Heckler & Koch 9 mm handgun to shoot the victims, and had a loaded shotgun and rifle in his vehicle.
Stepple’s family members in Lethbridge are now preparing to say their last goodbyes to the young woman.
Stepple’s funeral is set for Wednesday in Lethbridge.
In an obituary posted online, Stepple was described as a “role model to us all, very mature for her age, (she) dealt with life in an admirable way, wouldn’t show fear, and (was) a mommy’s girl and daddy’s girl.”
Stepple’s ceremony is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Evangelical Free Church in Lethbridge.
A trust fund will be set up in Stepple’s name at Scotia Bank, 425 13th St. N. in Lethbridge, to assist the family. Any extra funds will be donated to a scholarship or charity.
Budding baseball stars MacLean and Craswell, who arrived in Lethbridge from P.E.I. a few years ago, will be buried back home. MacLean’s funeral is set for Thursday and Craswell will be buried Friday. The ceremonies will be held in Charlottetown.
Shayna Conway’s family, who rushed to Calgary from P.E.I. and Ontario, say the young woman is trying to cope with the loss of her friends.
The young woman has a volunteer’s spirit, her mother, Sheri Wade, said in an earlier interview.
Wade said her daughter would often help with local charities and hoped to someday help relief efforts in Africa.
Local Good Samaritans have offered to house the family while they’re in Calgary.
Conway’s family members say they expect she’ll be taken out of the intensive-care unit once the breathing tube is removed.
Meanwhile, investigators are completing their probe into the horrific slayings. Results from toxicology tests on the shooter could take weeks to complete, said RCMP spokesman Sgt. Tim Taniguchi.
“We’re tying up some loose ends,” Taniguchi said.
“There are a number of things: we’re looking at (Jensen’s) history, looking at the toxicology.”
With files from Jason van Rassel
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.