ENFIELD, N.S. -- When Tanya Burkholder heard there was a manhunt for an active shooter in Nova Scotia over the weekend, she immediately did one thing.

“I immediately said please, please God, do not let a police officer lose their life today,” said Burkholder.

When the weekend killing spree that spanned nearly 12 hours came to an end late Sunday morning, 22 innocent people had lost their lives, including Const. Heidi Stevenson, a 23-year veteran of the RCMP.

For Burkholder, hearing that a police officer had been killed in the line of duty brought back painful memories.

Her father, RCMP Sgt. Derek Burkholder, was shot and killed while responding to a call in Nova Scotia’s Lunenburg County in 1996.

"It brings back everything, reliving the day,” said Burkholder, who lives just minutes away from the Big Stop in Enfield, N.S., where the suspect was ultimately killed by police.

“My mind has been whirling since it happened, I can’t sleep.”

Nearly 24 years after her father’s tragic death, Burkholder says she recalls everything about that day, from the weather to the fact that it was Father’s Day weekend.

"I can tell you everything, right from the beginning, from the time that we, I was picked up at work and told, you know, your Dad's been shot. I'm like OK, we can get through this, we're a strong family, we'll get through this, to no, he's dead,” said Burkholder.

She says it took her years to learn how to cope with the pain of losing her father and feels for the families of all the victims.

"We know what the family's going to go through and I never want anybody to have to go through the pain that we go through, and not just Heidi's family, the families of all the victims, they have to deal with this now too,” said Burkholder.

Memorial grows for fallen RCMP officer in Enfield

A makeshift memorial has been set up at the Enfield RCMP detachment. People of all ages have dropped off flowers, teddy bears and notes of condolence for the family of Const. Stevenson, including Michael Clements.

"I just felt it was my civic duty, in some way, give back a little bit,” he said. “As Nova Scotians, as a proud Nova Scotian, I believe we will survive this."

Before saluting a Canadian flag, Clements tied a Nova Scotia tartan scarf to a post outside the police station.

"It's just a little something from my wife. She's not able to come out right now, she's high risk for the virus, so we got the idea of using a Nova Scotia tartan and a scarf, we thought it was appropriate.”

As police continue the painstaking work of processing more than a dozen crime scenes, there are many questions about how or why so many innocent lives have been lost.

Like many parents, Cindy McLean is at a loss for words when trying to explain the mass killings to her daughter.

"You don't have answers, you don't know what to say,” she said.

McLean came to the RCMP station Tuesday with her daughter as a way to heal.

"I think, just having been through hearing everything on Sunday and kind of like, knowing you kind of had to hide yourself away in your home for a little bit because you didn't know where he was, and my daughter being very traumatized by this,” she said.

"Lots of nightmares and her not being able to sleep, and wanting her to know there's still good in the world."