Shooting rampage in Nova Scotia, Canada
In Nova Scotia, Canada — a province near Maine — a gunman who dressed up like a police officer and drove a fake police car shot and killed at least 18 people from Saturday evening into Sunday. This is the deadliest mass shooting in Canadian history and happened in and near a small town called Portapique.
The gunman is believed to be Gabriel Wortman (51). He was shot and killed on Sunday by police.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said they received their first report of an active shooter on Saturday night and when they visited a home, they saw several victims but no sign of a shooter. They also saw that there were several buildings in the area that were on fire.
The RCMP in Nova Scotia tweeted for residents in the Portapique area to stay in their homes with their doors locked. On Sunday morning, the RCMP tweeted an alert that the gunman was wearing what might appear to be a RCMP uniform and driving a car that looked like an official RCMP vehicle. News reports say that there were helicopters on Sunday morning searching for the suspect.
The rampage ended at a gas station more than 50 miles away from Portapique when the gunman was shot and killed by police. The gunman was driving a different vehicle.
Among the victims are a family of three (a married couple in their 40’s and their 17-year-old daughter, an elementary school teacher, two health care workers, a married couple, two corrections officers who lived together, and a RCMP officer named Heidi Stevenson. Information about the victims are still coming out.
It is not known what the suspect Wortman’s motive might be. He owns a denture clinic. Police said that Wortman knew some of the victims but that he did not know some of the other victims. Police said it might have been a targeted attack that spiraled into a random rampage. Police also said they do not know if this shooting had anything to do with COVID-19.
There is now an investigation led by the “Serious Incident Response Team” (SIRT).
News reports said there were at least two police vehicles that were burning along with several structural fires.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he is saddened to learn about the violence and that together they would mourn with the families of the victims and help them get through this difficult time.
https://www.cbc.ca/.../rcmp-weapon-lockdown-portapique-1...
https://apnews.com/7c9a33ae52420e0ddbfb5275898a7e79
https://heavy.com/news/2020/04/gabriel-wortman/
https://www.cbc.ca/.../rcmp-weapon-lockdown-portapique-1...
RCMP: https://www.facebook.com/.../a.1015.../10157505328599779/...
https://globalnews.ca/.../rcmp-active-shooter-portapique.../