Nineteen people were killed in a shooting rampage in Nova Scotia, a maritime province in Eastern Canada. Along with its member organisation, the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, Education International mourns the many lives lost in a shooting rampage in Nova Scotia, including a teacher and the wife of another teacher.
At least 19 people were killed by a lone gunman between the night of 18 April and the morning of 19 April who struck at least 16 locations in Nova Scotia.
Entire community affected
“Today, we mourn the loss of teacher Lisa McCully, and our thoughts are with teacher Dean Stevenson and his family, who lost their mother and wife, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Constable Heidi Stevenson,” said Shelley Morse, President of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation. “They, along with the other victims, were robbed of their lives far too soon, in ways we never imagined”.
“Many teachers, students, families, and community members across Nova Scotia are affected by this incomprehensible, devastating tragedy. We hold you in our thoughts and prayers with a collective hug from coast to coast.”
On behalf of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, and colleagues across the country, Morse said, “our hearts go out to their families, friends, and colleagues at Debert Elementary School, Cole Harbour District High School, and everyone at the Nova Scotia Teachers Union”.
Investigation
RCMP investigators are trying to determine what led the killer, a 51-year-old dental technician without a criminal record, to perpetrate these crimes. He was shot dead by police near Halifax, the provincial capital, after attacks that were spread over more than 12 hours and 100km.
Deadliest mass shooting in the history of Canada
The number of victims in this shooting significantly exceeds that of Canada’s previous most previous most serious mass shooting, the massacre at École Polytechnique in Montreal in 1989 in which 14 women were killed.