Canada's deadliest mass shooting: What is known about Nova Scotia gunman, his motives & victims?
More fatalities have been confirmed in the Nova Scotia mass shooting, bringing the toll to 17, including the gunman. Here’s what we know so far about the sickening attack, now deemed the deadliest in the Canadian history.
The rampage began around 11:30pm Saturday night, when the Royal Canadian Mounted Police responded to a “firearms complaint” in a rural town of Portapique and found an unspecified number of casualties at the scene, but no suspect. Police declared an active shooter situation and launched a manhunt, with armed officers patrolling the streets through the night and helicopters joining the search in the morning.
The suspect was identified as Gabriel Wortman, 51, a part-time resident of Portapique who was also listed as a denturist in the city of Dartmouth, near Halifax
51-year-old Gabriel Wortman is the suspect in our active shooter investigation in #Portapique. There are several victims. He is considered armed & dangerous. If you see him, call 911. DO NOT approach. He’s described as a white man, bald, 6’2-6’3 with green eyes. pic.twitter.com/Y2nJNULlkn
He made his car look like a Royal Canadian Mounted Police cruiser and wore a police uniform, which indicates the attack wasn’t totally spontaneous.
While his initial motive remains unclear, authorities believe the attacker knew and may have targeted his first victims, but then began attacking complete strangers randomly.
#Colchester: Gabriel Wortman may be driving what appears to be an RCMP vehicle & may be wearing an RCMP uniform. There's 1 difference btwn his car and our RCMP vehicles: the car #. The suspect's car is 28B11, behind rear passenger window. If you see 28B11 call 911 immediately. pic.twitter.com/yyeOeBt8Ui
The chase for the suspect, who changed vehicles at least once, went along one of Nova Scotia province's busiest highways and ended near a gas station some 35 kilometers north of Halifax around noon Sunday.
Following a gunfight with police, the gunman was “detained” but soon proclaimed “deceased”, authorities said sharing no further details.
Const. Heidi Stevenson, a 23-year veteran of the RCMP and a mother of two, was killed responding to the active shooter incident, while another RCMP officer is in hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
She played rugby against my sister in Nova Scotia where everyone is salt of the earth and connected. She was a mom. She was an incredible officer. She is Heidi Stevenson. Pray for her family.💔 pic.twitter.com/Z7g3Wo2HzP
At least 15 more people lost their lives, besides the attacker and the officer, but their identities have not been immediately released. One of the victims was informally identified by her sister as Lisa McCully, an elementary school teacher and a volunteer at the Berwick bible camp.
The Nova Scotia massacre has become the deadliest mass attack in the history of Canada, overshadowing the 1989 mass shooting at Montreal’s Ecole Polytechnique college, which led to tighter gun controls. Earlier authorities warned that there might be even more victims as the investigation is ongoing and involves “multiple” crime scenes, some with “structures on fire.”
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