17 dead in Canada shooting rampage
Police looking into possible link with business closures during the outbreak
MONTREAL—A gunman who drove a mockup police car killed at least 16 people including a female constable in a shooting rampage across Nova Scotia, police said on Sunday. The shooter, identified as Gabriel Wortman, 51, was shot dead by officers after a 12-hour manhunt across the eastern province ended on Sunday morning. Gun violence in Canada is far less frequent than in the neighboring United STATES.—STORY
MONTREAL—A gunman who drove a mock-up police car killed at least 16 people in a shooting rampage across Nova Scotia, Canadian federal police said on Sunday, the worst case of its kind in the country’s history.
The shooter, identified as Gabriel Wortman, 51, was shot dead by officers after a 12-hour manhunt across the eastern province that ended on Sunday morning.
Among the victims was a veteran female constable with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), which also handles municipal and provincial law enforcement in the province.
Shots fired
Police said the suspect had been on the run since Saturday night, when officers were alerted to shots fired in the town of Portapique, around 100 kilometers from Halifax.
Gun violence in Canada is far less frequent than in the neighboring United States, and weapons more strictly controlled, but the killings were the country’s worst ever, exceeding the toll in 1989 when a gunman murdered 14 female students at Montreal’s Ecole Polytechnique.
“This is one of the most senseless acts of violence in our province’s history,” said Nova Scotia Premier Stephen Mcneil.
Public broadcaster CBC quoted RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki as saying police know of at least 16 victims, besides the shooter.
Nova Scotia RCMP Assistant Commissioner Lee Bergerman said the dead included Constable Heidi Stevenson, a 23-year veteran of the force.
In addition to Stevenson, a mother of two, a male officer was injured and was in the hospital with nonlife threatening injuries, Bergerman said.
The National Post newspaper said another victim was an elementary school teacher, citing a Facebook post from the woman’s sister.
Several victims were discovered both outside and inside a house in Portapique, sparking the manhunt through multiple communities, police said.
“The search for the suspect ended this morning when the suspect was located. And I can confirm that he is deceased,” RCMP Chief Superintendent Chris Leather told a press conference.
Leather said that at one point, the suspect appeared to be wearing part of a police uniform and was driving a vehicle made to look like an RCMP cruiser.
Virus connection
He said police would be investigating if the incident had any connection to the coronavirus, which has seen nonessential businesses closed under measures to combat the pandemic.
Media reports said the shooter was a denturist with clinics in Halifax and Dartmouth. Dentists in Nova Scotia have been ordered to close unless needed for emergency procedures.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement that he “was saddened to learn about the senseless violence in Nova Scotia,” and he hoped for a full recovery of the wounded.