A former friend of the young man facing charges in a shocking and deadly knife attack at a B.C. high school school this week suggests nothing seemed out of the ordinary about Gabriel Klein while he attended high school in central Alberta.
Klein, 21, is charged with second-degree murder and aggravated assault in connection with a deadly stabbing at a school in Abbotsford, B.C. on Tuesday. Thirteen-year-old Letisha Reimer died and another stabbing victim, a 14-year-old girl, remains in hospital in stable condition.
READ MORE: 21-year-old suspect charged with 2nd-degree murder in Abbotsford stabbing
“I was just in complete, utter shock,” 21-year-old Tanner McDougall said Friday when asked what went through his mind when he heard about Klein’s arrest. “Back in high school, he was never the kind of person to even come across angry. I don’t think I even remember hearing about him getting in a fight or even having somebody mad at him.”
McDougall said he was friends with Klein while the two attended Lindsay Thurber High School in Red Deer, Alta. School officials confirm Klein attended the school for a year.
“It was never hard to have a conversation with him and walk away with a smile,” he added. “He was that kind of person, you know?
“I don’t know a single person that had a problem with him. Everybody has enemies but I never met any of his.”
The attack, which shocked the country and elevated concerns about school security, has left the Abbotsford school closed until Monday as students and staff try to cope with their grief. A memorial for the victims continues to grow outside the school.
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Police have said while Klein is originally from Alberta, they believe he has been in Vancouver since February or March but with no fixed address.
Klein was supposed to make his first court appearance Wednesday but was unable to leave his cell on his own and was being restrained. He is now scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
Sources have told Global News Klein was a known drug user in Vancouver’s downtown east side and in Abbotsford.
When asked about that, McDougall said there were no indications he had a problem while attending high school in Red Deer.
“Every high school (student) experiments with stuff like that: smokes weed, drinks and parties and stuff like that but he never seemed like the type of person that was … a really addictive personality or craving anything,” he said.
“He was just a typical high school kid really.”
McDougall said Klein “had a number of friends” in Red Deer and would not fit the description of a loner or someone who was anti-social. McDougall said even though news of Klein’s arrest shocked him, he is taking the news in stride.
“Things are going to happen in your life, whether you’re ready for them or not,” he said. “I was at a friend’s house before I came here. Five years from now, that person could be suspected of something even worse… so you never know.”
-with files from Fletcher Kent.