PORTAPIQUE, N.S. -- People in Portapique, N.S., and the surrounding area are still trying to come to terms with what happened in their small community.
They are doing what they can to remember those lost, and to help each other.
On Tuesday, there was a steady stream of people coming from all over the province to pay their respects to the people who died in the small Colchester County community where Gabriel Wortman started a killing spree Saturday night that claimed the lives of 22 people before the RCMP ended it in Enfield on Sunday.
They left what they could, to show they care.
"I just put a sign up to let them know Pictou County’s thinking of them," said a man from the area.
Another family drove more than an hour to get to Portapique.
"We travelled from Dartmouth because we wanted to make sure that we show our respects for the families," said Alicia Brooks. "It’s just terrible."
Others, like Gabrielle Sullivan-Sparks, came from just down the road.
"It's unimaginable, but we’re living it, and very difficult because we can’t be near each other," Sullivan-Sparks said.
Help has come for police investigators at the scene, too.
Not just food and water, which was donated by residents, but trucks and helping hands, from the Canadian military.
Just down the road, one resident was doing what he could to pitch in.
"I knew some of the victims," said Cees Van Den Hoek, who is building a more permanent memorial, asking Nova Scotians to send him items to place at the scene.
"I just know there’s a lot of hurting people out there, and this is just a way I can hopefully help them," he said.
For relatives of victims, like Kurt Kaulback, all the support has helped him.
His nephew, Greg Blair, died along with his wife, Jamie.
"Kindest person you could ever meet," Kaulback said. "He would give you the shirt off his back for anybody."
Now, it’s Nova Scotians who are giving back in return to show they care.
