TRURO, N.S. -- Family members of victims of the Nova Scotia mass shooting are expected to gather in a Truro, N.S., church on April 18 to remember their lost relatives one year after the tragedy.
The closed event, which was organized by volunteers with a non-profit society, is scheduled to be livestreamed.
A gunman killed 22 people, including a pregnant woman, in a shooting and burning rampage that started the night of April 18, 2020 and continued for 13 hours before he was killed by an RCMP officer at a gas station in Enfield, N.S.
In addition to the church service, the Nova Scotia Remembers Legacy Society, a group that is working to create a permanent memorial site for those who died, is holding a memorial run and walk on the same day.
The full marathon will start in Portapique, the coastal community about 40 kilometres west of Truro where the 51-year-old gunman took 13 lives before escaping the area and continuing his killing in central Nova Scotia.
A news release from the society says funds raised from the run will go towards a permanent memorial.
The group has also helped organize a commemorative walk in Victoria Park in Truro, which will be open to the public beginning Sunday and until April 19.
Some family members are also planning a march in the Truro area on April 18 ending up at the local RCMP headquarters.
Organizers say the march is intended as a peaceful protest against a lack of transparency from the police force about its handling of the rampage.
The RCMP are declining comment due to the upcoming public inquiry into the mass shooting, saying the inquiry will be the most appropriate forum for comment.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 9, 2021.
