‘The victims, the heroes, the people who serve’: Here are the faces of the Nova Scotia shooting victims
It's notable how many of the victims were helpers by trade: A 23-year veteran of the RCMP. A passionate teacher. A retired firefighter who was quick to assist others.
At least 19 people had been killed in this weekend's massacre in Nova Scotia, as the RCMP worked to retrace the shooter's violent path.
RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki said Monday that the investigation of this "unprecedented " crime will be long and complicated. RCMP in Nova Scotia say they are contending with at least 16 different crime scenes.
"Our focus must and will be to put names to the victims, to the heroes, to the people who serve their community," Lucki said.
Here's what we know about the lives lost so far.
Heidi Stevenson - RCMP constable
Const. Heidi Stevenson, a 23-year member of the force and mother of two, was killed in the line of duty while responding to the shooting. A second officer was shot, but survived.
Stevenson was "admired, respected and beloved by her colleagues and her community," said Minister of Public Safety Bill Blair on Monday.
"Our hearts are heavy with grief and sadness today as we have lost one of our own," said Brian Sauve, president of the union representing RCMP officers.
Paul Wozney, president of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union, noted that Const. Heidi Stevenson, an "exemplary 23 year RCMP veteran who laid down her life responding to the call," was the wife of Dean Stevenson, who teaches at Cole Harbour District High School.
Lisa McCully - Teacher
Lisa McCully was teaching a Grade 3-4 split classroom at Debert Elementary, about 20 minutes east of Portapique, according to principal Scott Armstrong.
She had previously been a vice-principal at another school, but decided she missed teaching and joined Debert five years ago, he said.
"That's where her heart was."
McCully was a single-mother to two school-aged children and was always seen around town taking her son and daughter to extracurricular activities.
"Her world revolved around them," Armstrong said, adding that she brought her love for her kids into the classroom where she routinely incorporated her appreciation of music and art into her lessons.
When the coronavirus outbreak forced schools to shut down, she immediately worked to develop online learning plans for students - even for other kids in the neighbourhood, Armstrong said.
"She was able to master the distribution side of it quickly," he said.
"That shows the type of teacher she was. Teaching surrounded everything she did."
Armstrong said he spoke to McCully's mother in the aftermath of the shooting. Like her teaching colleagues, the family is at a loss as to why she would be targeted by Wortman, who lived across the street from her.
"This seems like a bad dream."
Gina Goulet - Denturist
Gina Goulet was a denturist who worked in Shubenacadie, N.S. Her daughter, Amelia Butler, said Goulet was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2016. Goulet was warned that her prospects didn't look good, but she beat the odds.
Goulet was diagnosed with cancer a second time late last year, and had almost fully recovered when she died.
"She fought so hard for her life," Butler said.
Butler said her mother was an avid angler and would often retreat to her cottage with her two dogs to go bass fishing.
Goulet was also a salsa dancer who would travel to Cuba whenever she got the chance.
"That was the place where she was the happiest."
Goulet enjoyed her work, and posted to Facebook two days before the shooting that she was missing her "arts and crafts" and wished to get back to dentury soon, when COVID-19 restrictions were lifted.
Heather O'Brien - Nurse
Heather O'Brien was a licensed practical nurse, as well as a mother and grandmother.
"The pain comes and goes in waves. I feel like I'm outside of my own body. This can't be real," O'Brien's daughter, Darcy Dobson, wrote on Facebook.
"She was kind. She was beautiful. She didn't deserve any of this. To every single person suffering from this senseless tragedy please feel free to reach out as we are all forever connected in this horrible mess."
Portapique resident Lucille Adams said she knew O'Brien, who would always lend a hand.
"She has so much compassion for the people she worked for and her family," she says. "She was a very loving person. She was always out there to help somebody. It's a tragedy that her family has to deal with this."
Greg Blair and Jamie Blair - Parents
Married couple Greg and Jamie Blair were parents of four with many shared passions and hobbies.
Victoria Lomond posted a tribute to the couple on Facebook Monday.
"I have never known a love as strong and pure as Jamie and Greg's," Lomond wrote. "It would be hard to determine who loved the other more, although I am sure Greg would have an answer for that."
They loved fishing, cooking, being outdoors and time with their family, Lomond wrote.
Sean McLeod and Alanna Jenkins - Correctional officers
The Wentworth, N.S., couple were correctional officers.
Sean McLeod's daughter, Taylor McLeod, said Alanna Jenkins worked at the Nova Institution for Women in Truro and McLeod worked at the Springhill Institution for more than 20 years.
McLeod's daughter said the couple deeply loved and cared for her, her little sister and Taylor's daughter.
"They would have done anything for anybody and they always made sure people were welcome in their home."
Jolene Oliver, Aaron Tuck, Emily Tuck
On April 6, in the middle of widespread COVID-19 shutdowns, Jolene Oliver and husband Aaron Tuck kept it light - making a video from their living room reciting the now-famous phrase "stay the blazes home" and encouraging friends to appreciate the time spent with families.
Less than two weeks later, both parents and their daughter, Emily Tuck, died in the shooting massacre.
Oliver's sister Tammy Oliver-McCurdie posted on social media to express her shock and sadness.
"At least they were together," Oliver-McCurdie wrote.
"Don't know who I will call to chat for hours, solve world problems and laugh at crazy stuff," the post goes on. "From afar Jolene, even through the tough times, we were always close and loved one another. Will be terribly missed."
Kristen Beaton - Continuing Care Assistant
Kristen Beaton was a young wife and mother who worked as a continuing care assistant for the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) Canada, a national home care non-profit.
In a statement posted to their website, VON President Jo-Anne Poirier said Beaton was a caring and compassionate member of the team who had worked for the company for almost six years. Both Beaton and Heather O'Brien were VON employees, according to the VON website.
"We mourn their loss, and we mourn for their families," the statement said.
Bonnie Craig, a former co-worker, said Beaton had been building a great life for herself with a husband and small child.
"She was very kind, and would do anything to help anyone."
Tom Bagley - Retired firefighter
Tom Bagley was a retired firefighter who was always eager to help anyone he could, his nephew, Jeff Flanagan, wrote on Facebook Monday. He said his uncle will be remembered for his kindness, caring and skill as a storyteller.
"Tom will be greatly missed by anyone who had the privilege of knowing him," Flanagan wrote.
"This beautiful soul was taken from me yesterday," Bagley's daughter, Charlene Bagley, wrote on Facebook Monday. "He died trying to help, which if you knew him, you knew that was just who he was."
Corrie Ellison
Corrie Ellison, 42, was remembered Monday as a thoughtful, kind friend who went out of his way to help others.
"He's the type of person that I don't think anybody would want to see that happen to him," his father Richard Ellison said.
Ellison lived in Truro, N.S., but was visiting his father in Portapique when he was killed. Richard Ellison declined to comment on how his son died.
Ashley Fennell says she was good friends with Ellison for almost a decade. She describes him as "a beautiful soul."
Ellison was on disability support because of an old injury. He had no children of his own, but he loved kids, Fennell said.
He would join Fennell and her son swimming in the summer and last Christmas, he offered some money to help pay for her son's gifts. He once paid for Fennell to take her son on a trip to a water park when she was struggling.
"I would call him, and it didn't matter what he was doing, he would jump for me," she said.
He had texted her about picking up a cigarette roller about a week ago, but the two never arranged a time with the ongoing pandemic. Fennell didn't know it would be the last time she talked to her friend.
"I didn't text him back right away and now I'm regretting all this," she said. "He was just such a nice guy."
Dawn Madsen, Frank Gulenchyn - Retired couple
Married couple Dawn Madsen and Frank Gulenchyn were longtime residents of Oshawa, Ontario before moving to Nova Scotia. Gulenchyn was a stepfather to Madsen's two sons, who both posted pictures of the couple to Facebook Sunday with messages of love.
The regional chair of Durham Region posted a tribute to the couple Monday. Madsen retired from her work at Oshawa's Hillsdale Terraces long-term-care home in 2019.
"This tragedy hits especially close to home," reads a portion of the statement by chair John Henry. "Our hearts go out to their family and all families affected by this senseless tragedy."
Lillian Hyslop
Other media outlets reported that Lillian Hyslop was killed during the shooting while out for a walk near the Wentworth Provincial Park on Sunday. The Star reached out to family and friends of Hyslop's, but didn't received a response in time for publication.
The Halifax Chronicle-Herald reported that she was an avid walker and that she'd been out for one of her regular strolls that morning. The outlet said she'd moved to the area in recent years, and that prior to moving to Nova Scotia, her husband had worked for the Yukon government.
John Zahl and Elizabeth Joanne Thomas
Retirees who had come to Portapique from New Mexico, John Zahl and Elizabeth Joanne Thomas lived in a home immediately next to Gabriel Wortman's largest property. Both were volunteers at a local church.
According to the couple's son, Justin Zahl, Wortman burned down his parents' house - one of five "structural fires" that the RCMP reported from Saturday night into Sunday morning.
A fundraising webpage on behalf of the family described them as "missing but presumed dead."
In a Facebook post, Justin Zahl said that it could take over a week for the police to identify the bodies.
Joey Webber
Joey Webber had gone on a family errand toward the Shubenacadie, N.S., area, about 50 kilometres northwest of Halifax, when he was killed.
Coun. Steve Streatch, who lives four houses away from Webber in the rural community of Antrim, said he was "a fine young man who lived in the community of the Musquodoboit Valley, and it's a tragic loss."
With files from The Canadian Press, Douglas Quan, Ted Fraser and Kieran Leavitt