The victim of Sunday’s shooting in Carrabassett Valley was remembered by family and friends this week as a loving person who was hardworking and creative.

Makayla Rose DeSantis, who was two months short of her 24th birthday, “was the most heartfelt, well-minded woman I’ve ever been around,” her sister Max DeSantis posted on a GoFundMe page.

“She was the best big sister and the greatest role model I could’ve asked for, and was the most loving girl, who loved to bake for her loved ones, loved to do crafts in her free time, loved to paint, and enjoyed going to work every day and being around people who supported her and loved her for who she was.”

Police say DeSantis was shot twice Sunday night by her boyfriend, Austin Doucette, 24, at his condominium in Carrabassett Valley. According to court documents, Doucette told police the shooting was accidental. DeSantis died while undergoing surgery for bullet wounds to the chest.

Doucette was charged with murder Monday. He is being held without bail at the Franklin County jail in Farmington until a bail hearing can be held at the request of his attorney.

The two had been together for more than five years, according to the GoFundMe post.

A friend who did not want to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter posted Tuesday that DeSantis was a “most loving soul.”

“She brought joy into everyone’s life she touched,” the friend’s post read. “Makayla was creative beyond belief, she loved crafts, diamond painting, making amazing sourdough loaves, and her family and friends.”

The fundraising page had raised over $18,000 by Friday to help with burial costs and other expenses.

Despite being sisters, Max DeSantis wrote, and “going at it sometimes, I have no words for what has happened to her, what she could’ve been feeling in that moment. I never imagined I’d have her taken away from me this soon, or ever. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to have her back.

“Makayla did not deserve what happened to her. My sister always put other people before herself, whether she was having a bad day or had her own things going on.”

A friend described DeSantis as a hardworking leader and a determined problem-solver who also had a kind and loving heart.

“She would make everyone around her smile and had such a warmth to her,” the friend wrote. “Makayla was the best friend anyone could ask for. She was selfless and would do anything for her family and friends. She was the kind of person everyone should strive to be.”

Meanwhile, some residents of the Left Bank condos where the shooting took place were struggling to come to terms with it.

Some said this week they didn’t know anything had happened until state police came to investigate.

“It’s something we hadn’t expected living up here,” said Ashley Defayette, a resident of the condo complex. “It’s really sad for the family and friends of Makayla.”

Carrabassett Valley residents expressed shock and sadness about the incident. One local said it was the first homicide in the town in decades. Some said they recognized the couple from around town but didn’t know them personally.

Others were upset with the lack of response from Sugarloaf, the ski resort where the couple worked.

Marko Esquandolas, who works at a gas station near the condos, said he knew both DeSantis and Doucette because they were regulars in the shop. He said some Sugarloaf employees he’s spoken with since the killing are shaken up by the incident.

“I’ve talked to some of these young men … and I ask how they’re doing. Some of them are a little shook by it,” Esquandolas said. “They don’t know who to talk to.”

He thinks the resort should communicate better with its employees, some of whom knew the couple.

“When a tragedy like this happens, a corporation needs to take some kind of ownership to make sure the morale is there,” Esquandolas said.

Sugarloaf has declined multiple requests for comment on the shooting.