It’s a day many in La Loche, Sask. will never forget. On January 22, 2016, a teenager walked into La Loche Community School with a gun.

“He and I kind of locked eyes, and I looked down and he’s pointing the barrel of a gun at me,” Phyllis Longobardi said. “He just stood there, and so did I.”

Longobardi is the assistant principal of the high school. She is currently on medical leave.

“There wasn’t a word that was said. It took him awhile, but I thought ‘You know what, he’s going to shoot before I’m going to move.’” Longobardi said. “So he shot and I ran like hell.”

The shooter killed two people, teaching assistant Marie Janvier and teacher Adam Wood, and wounded seven others.

“I got hit by the spray of the pellets,” Longobardi added. “In my mind, I don’t think he really wanted to kill me. At the same time, he held a gun at me, and when you hold a gun on someone, there’s a reason.”

Later that day, two more bodies were discovered in a nearby home. Teenage brothers Dayne and Draydon Fontaine were also killed.

“It’s been a long drawn out process, especially for the families,” Leonard Montgrad, executive director of the La Loche Friendship Centre said. “We live in a community with not only this problem, but many others that beset us. At times, trying to move forward is a challenge. We lack a lot of unnecessary pieces to finish off the puzzle.”

Healing from the shooting hasn’t been easy. Frontline workers say the community lacks infrastructure and struggles from poor economic development, high unemployment and addictions.

“The whole community is feeling the pain resurfacing,” MP for Desnethe – Missinippi - Churchill River Georgina Jolibois said. “They are slowly talking about their experiences.”

With the one-year anniversary of the shooting approaching, local leaders said anxieties were heightened throughout La Loche.

“I hope that we can move from what happened to an acceptance that it has happened and that in the future we heal,” La Loche mayor Robert St. Pierre said. “We get more connectivity in community, more sense of belonging, and a sense of strength.”

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall posted on Facebook Sunday to commemorate the sombre anniversary.

“In shock and in sadness, all of Saskatchewan wept with La Loche in mourning,” Wall wrote. “We witnessed an unimaginable event in a place where young people go to learn and be nurtured by teachers and teacher-aides who have a passion for them.”

Wall wrote that the province has been working with community leaders to strengthen mental health support, counselling services and programs in La Loche.

“We resolve once again as a province to walk with you, to remember the lives that were lost far too soon, and to turn the pain of loss into seeds of hope for the future,” Wall added.

Canada's Prime Minister also released a statement to mark one year since the shooting.

"Over the past year, the people of La Loche have inspired an entire country with their resilience, determination to rebuild and optimism for a better future," Justin Trudeau said in a written statement. "Our government is working every day to help realize that future, and we will continue to partner with the community, indigenous peoples and all orders of government to address the issues facing La Loche."

While the community bands together one year later, the story of the shooting is still far from over. The teenage gunman has pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree murder, second-degree murder and attempted murder. He will be sentenced in the spring.

Based on a report by CTV's Rebekah Lesko