Gunman described as ‘psychopath’
TRURO — The Halifax denturist who went on a killing spree on April 18 and 19 was described to RCMP investigators as being “disturbed,” “severely abused” as a young boy, very smart and a “psychopath.”
Those and other details were released electronically by the provincial court in Truro on Tuesday in a heavily redacted, unsealed warrant.
A justice of the peace on April 20 authorized RCMP to search two of the shooter's Portapique properties, including one on Orchard Beach Drive, referred to in the documents as "the warehouse" and a cottage on Portapique Beach Road, along with other structures and outbuildings.
The 51-year-old shooter, who SaltWire Network chooses not to name, carried out his killing spree over a 13-hour period that began in Portapique and ended in Enfield with his own death. He was driving a mocked-up RCMP vehicle and was wearing a police uniform during the rampage.
The 40-page document says the killer had two semi-automatic rifles and three pistols in the stolen vehicle he was driving when he was fatally shot by the RCMP in Enfield.
One of the rifles and two of the pistols had live rounds in the chambers and one of the pistols was cocked and the safety was off. One of the pistols, a 9mm Smith and Wesson, belonged to RCMP Const. Heidi Stevenson, who was among the killer's 22 fatality victims and three other individuals who were shot and wounded.
There were also boxes of ammunition and a green metal ammunition can with ammunition on the front seat of the grey Mazda he was driving when he stopped at the Irving Big Stop in Enfield for fuel.
The information also revealed that the killer, who burned down his own Portapique properties, several other residences and vehicles, had recently purchased $800 worth of gasoline and propane bottles.
Information provided to the RCMP by an individual whose name was blacked out in the Information to Obtain a search warrant, said the killer had become “paranoid” over the COVID-19 pandemic and that he had had a mental breakdown, although no timeline was provided for when that occurred.
His garage in Portapique was alarmed and equipped with security cameras.
The unsealed information states that the gunman would dress up as police officer in a full uniform with hat, jacket and vest, and would “role play,” it also said he wasn't “a police officer wannabe and didn't like police officers and thought he was better than them.”
He was also described as a “sociopath,” “controlling and paranoid” and that he was a funeral director and “licensed embalmer” who would speak of getting rid of bodies, burning and chemicals.
“(The shooter) would tell (redacted) different ways to get rid of a body and had lime and muriatic acid on the property,” the warrant says. “The barrels for these would be underneath the deck.”
He also kept cases of ammunition in a two-bay garage in his log home in Portapique, one of the structures he burned.
The killing spree began late on the night of April 18 following an argument that had ensued between the gunman and his common-law wife. That ultimately resulted in her being assaulted and confined to an “out of commission” police car, one of several the killer had on his Portapique property.
The woman, who has not been publicly identified, then observed him pouring accelerants in the cottage at 200 Portapique Beach Rd. and the warehouse. She also observed that there were several firearms on the seat of the car in which she was confined. The woman managed to escape before he returned, however, and ran into the woods where she hid until daybreak the next morning.
Other individuals interviewed by police said they drove to the area after seeing what appeared to be a large structure fire where a “police car” was parked in the driveway.
“They drove past this driveway and turned around and the "police car" came up from behind them and then pulled up alongside of them,” the information says.
“The police vehicle pulled around the driveway and pulled up beside them so he rolled down the window to talk to him but before he could say anything he (the shooter) pulled a gun out and started shooting at them through his passenger side window into our driver side window” from less than onemetre away.
The person said he heard two or three shots and wasn't sure if he had been hit. He then pulled away and went up Orchard Beach Road to Portapique Road where he met RCMP officers who had responded to multiple 911 calls reporting shots fired and active fires.
“When he was sitting on the side of the highway waiting for the ambulance he felt something in his coat and pulled out a bullet,” the information says. “It was under his shirt.”
The gunman was further described as a “millionaire” who also owned a Jeep Wrangler, a Ford F0150 and a “big, fun garage with a bunch of motorcycles in there” as well as a loft apartment.
His rampage included shootings in Portapique, Wentworth, Glenholme, Debert and the Milford area before he was shot and killed nearly 100 km away in Enfield.
The details released Tuesday by provincial court Judge Laurel Halfpenny-MacQuarrie was in response to a CBC application filed in late April to unseal the information investigators used to obtain search warrants. Other media, including the SaltWire Network, have joined the application.
Tuesday's unsealing involved one of seven initial warrants or production orders requested in the application.
Another hearing is set for Monday regarding the other six documents. Other hearings have been set for June regarding further warrants dealing with the case, which remains under investigation.