Death toll from Canada mass shooting rises to 23
OTTAWA: A message of condolence from Queen Elizabeth II and musical tributes for the victims of the worst mass shooting in Canadian history poured in on Tuesday as the death toll rose to 23.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said new human remains were discovered in homes and vehicles set ablaze by the suspect during the weekend killing spree in Nova Scotia.
“We believe there to be 23 victims, including a 17-yearold (girl). All other victims are adults, both men and women,” the RCMP said in a statement.
“We have recovered remains from some of the locations of the fires.”
The RCMP did not specify if the shooter was among those counted, and could not be immediately reached for clarification.
The gunman, identified as 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman, launched his rampage late Saturday in the seaside village of Portapique.
He died roughly 14 hours later after being shot by police at a gas station outside Halifax, 100 kilometres away.
Queen Elizabeth II said she and Prince Philip were “deeply saddened by the appalling events in Nova Scotia.”
The monarch, Canada’s head of state, also paid tribute to the RCMP officers – one of whom died – and others who “selflessly responded to these devastating attacks.”
Across Canada, flags flew at half-mast, while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau proclaimed: “Today we are all Nova Scotians.”
He recounted how members of his RCMP security detail knew and remembered fondly Constable Heidi Stevenson, who was killed while responding to
We believe there to be 23 victims, including a 17-year-old (girl). All other victims are adults, both men and women. Royal Canadian Mounted Police
the shootings.
“It really goes to show just how tightly knit not just the RCMP is as a force, but how close we are as a country,” Trudeau said.
Other victims identified were a young father, a woman who twice previously beat cancer, a pregnant woman, a nurse, an elementary school teacher, prison guards and a retired firefighter.
Among the dead were also two elderly couples who had recently retired and moved from Toronto – Canada’s largest metropolis – into cottages in the quiet Nova Scotia towns.
The assailant’s motive was still a mystery. Media reports said Wortman was a denturist who owned clinics in Halifax and Dartmouth that were closed under the pandemic lockdown.
The shooter was also reportedly obsessed with policing, having refurbished several old squad cars, and struggled with alcoholism. In an update on their investigation, police said Wortman wore an “authentic police uniform” during the shootings but that the vehicle he drove from town to town was a “replica” police car.
A search for evidence, they added, was ongoing at 16 locations in the towns of Portapique, Wentworth, Debert, Shubenacadie, Milford and Enfield.
A “virtual vigil” was planned for Friday evening, but several have already popped up on social media.
Residents are unable to gather for in-person services due to coronavirus restrictions on large gatherings. — AFP