Nova Scotians are mourning on sixth anniversary of Canada's deadliest mass shooting

A woman pays her respects at a roadblock in Portapique, N.S. on Wednesday, April 22, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

It’s been six years since a man disguised as an RCMP officer began a shooting rampage in rural Nova Scotia, killing 22 people including a teenager and a pregnant woman.

The worst mass shooting in modern Canadian history began after Gabriel Wortman violently assaulted his common-law partner in Portapique, N.S., before fatally shooting neighbours, strangers and an RCMP officer.

His rampage went on for more than 13 hours until RCMP officers fired multiple shots at him and he shot himself in the head at a gas station north of Halifax, where he was pronounced dead.

The shooting prompted a public inquiry that resulted in more than 100 recommendations to improve policing and address intimate-partner violence.

Myra Freeman, the chair of the committee that’s been tasked with monitoring progress toward completing these recommendations, says the shooting has forever changed the lives of families, survivors, communities and all Nova Scotians.

Premier Tim Houston says flags will be lowered to half-mast at Province House and all provincial government buildings this weekend as Nova Scotians mourn the 22 victims.