Along with friends and family members, Mr. Irwin created an online service that included elements of a wake, while Zoom provided an alternative to visitations.

[Listen: A New Way to Mourn]

As Nova Scotia focused on grieving, more details about the nightmare that began last Saturday night emerged. We learned on Friday that it was preceded by a dispute that led to the killer’s partner being tied up. She escaped, hid in the woods overnight and was able to warn police that he was impersonating an officer and driving one of his four replica police cars.

[Read: Police Seek Motive for Canada Killing Spree by Denture Fitter]

There have been questions as well about the use of Twitter rather than the emergency alert system by the police to warn people of the killings and to tell them to stay inside. An independent police investigation body is also looking into why officers fired shots into a fire hall being used as an emergency response center. And how did the killer, who did not hold a firearms license, manage to bring in several guns from the United States?

The answers to those questions will come. For now, Canada mourns.

‘A Doleful Future’