Portapique is nestled along the peaceful shores of Cobequid Bay, 130 kilometres northwest of Halifax. It’s a close-knit community with fewer than a hundred permanent residents. That number doubles in the summer as people from Halifax make their way north to spend the warmer months in this picturesque part of the province.
Nova Scotia has seen its fair share of tragedy. The Westray mine explosion, the disaster at Glace Bay’s No. 26 colliery, the senseless murders at a McDonald’s in Sydney River and the downing of Swissair flight 111 all come to mind.
But nobody would believe you if you’d told them last week that this town, and its surrounding rural area, would be ground-zero for the country’s worst ever mass shooting.
