(KRON) — Maya Lupian was slain at a toddler’s birthday party in Stockton just weeks before Maya turned nine years old. The girl was one of three children killed in a shocking mass shooting that began inside a banquet hall where about 100 people had gathered to celebrate the toddler on November 29.
Fifteen people were shot in the melee, possibly by multiple gunmen, the San Joaquin County Sheriff said. It was the deadliest mass shooting in California of 2025.
Maya was described as an outgoing girl who earned a purple belt in karate. She was a 3rd grader at Aspire Apex Academy, where she excelled in her academics, and loved to dance, sing and draw.
“My baby sister Maya Lupian was taken from us in the tragic shooting. 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 two weeks on December 13. We are devastated, heartbroken and trying to navigate the impossible,” Maya’s sister wrote on a verified GoFundMe page…