Royal Canadian Mounted Police stand along a road in Portapique, Nova Scotia, April 19, after a shooter went on 12-hour rampage that left at least 19 people dead before police killed him.

With the death toll at 19 and climbing from the largest mass shooting in Canadian history, Halifax-Yarmouth Archbishop Anthony Mancini has offered condolences to the families of those killed in a weekend shooting rampage, particularly the family of RCMP Constable Heidi Stevenson.

“Her death in the line of duty indicates the highest sacrifice that one can make on behalf of the citizens she served,” Mancini said in a letter issued April 20 after a 51-year-old man went on a killing spree in Nova Scotia.

“Our prayers go out to all the members of her family, particularly her children, and to the fellow officers of her RCMP family, who mourn the loss of her life.”

Stevenson was the first victim of the weekend shooting spree identified by the RCMP. She was a 23-year veteran of policing with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the mother of two and wife of teacher Dean Stevenson.

The archbishop sought to extend a word of hope to all Nova Scotians.

“Such a tragic event, involving the meaningless death of so many of our fellow citizens, has shocked us all,” he said. “Adding more collective suffering to an already tragic time in our province, our country and our personal lives. 

“I offer my deepest sympathies to the families and friends of all the victims and pray that they find some consolation in the expressions of love and caring being shown them in their time of sadness and grief.”

Recalling that Easter is still upon us, Mancini urged Nova Scotians to remember “that life carries on beyond death.”

Canada’s deadliest-ever mass shooting began in the beachside village of Portapique, Nova Scotia, about an hour-and-a-half north of Halifax and an hour south of Sackville, N.B. The suspect in the shootings owned two properties there.

Police received calls about shots fired about 10 p.m. Saturday night. Witnesses said the gunman set fire to his house and several buildings on the property. Apparently dressed as an RCMP officer and driving a car painted to look like an RCMP cruiser, the shooter began seeking victims among his acquaintances in the area.

By 9 a.m. Sunday the RCMP had identified their suspect publicly, posted his picture on social media and warned people to stay in their homes with the doors locked. At some point that morning the man abandoned his fake police car and began driving a silver Chevy Tracker SUV. The burned out remains of the fake cop car were found in Shubenacadie, N.S. 

Police exchanged fire with the suspect at an Irving Big Stop gas station in Enfield, an hour south of Portapique on Highway 102. Denturist Gabriel Wortman, the RCMP’s suspect in the shootings, is dead.

Later that day the union representing RCMP officers confirmed that one of its members was killed and another injured.

By 6 p.m. Sunday evening police were saying in excess of 10 people had been killed, and they confirmed the death of Stevenson. By 10 p.m. the RCMP had counted 17 dead.

The death count rose to 19 on Monday afternoon, with warnings that the total was still not definitive. There were 16 crime scenes identified on Monday.