Gunman Disguises Himself as Police Officer for 12-Hour Rampage, Deadliest Shooting in Canadian History
A gunman disguised as a police officer went on a 12-hour rampage in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, shooting people in their homes, setting fires and killing at least 16 people, including a police officer, in the deadliest such attack in the country’s history.
Officials said the suspected shooter, identified as 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman, who apparently worked as a denture-maker, was also dead.
Police did not provide a motive for the killings.
“Today is a devastating day for Nova Scotia and will remain etched in the minds of many for years to come,” a visibly shaken Lee Bergerman, an assistant RCMP commissioner, said at a news conference on Sunday.
“Today is a devastating day for Nova Scotia and will remain etched in the minds of many for years to come.” –@RCMPNS Commanding Officer, Assistant Commissioner Lee Bergerman https://t.co/MNZ66ZYvCO
— Bill Bratton (@CommissBratton) April 20, 2020
Overnight Saturday, police began advising residents of the rural town of Portapique, about 60 miles north of Halifax — already on lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic — to lock their doors and stay in their basements.
Several bodies were later found inside and outside one home in the small town of Portapique. Bodies were also found at other locations.
The assault began late Saturday, and authorities believe the shooter may have targeted his first victims but then began attacking randomly.
Several homes in the area were set on fire as well.
RCMP spokesman Daniel Brien confirmed that 16 people had been killed in addition to the suspect.
The dead officer was identified as Constable Heidi Stevenson, a mother of two and a 23-year veteran of the force.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
Blessed are the Peacemakers.
RIP Cst. Heidi Stevenson. pic.twitter.com/hcliyjvZSd
— Cst. Marc Taraso (@CstTaraso9345) April 20, 2020
Another officer was also injured.
Police said Wortman was thought to live part-time in Portapique. Authorities said he wore a police uniform at one point and made his car look like a Royal Canadian Mounted Police cruiser.
Police first announced that they had arrested him at a gas station in Enfield, outside Halifax, but later said he had died. It was not clear how, and they did not explain further.
“This is one of the most senseless acts of violence in our province’s history,” said Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil.
Mass shootings are relatively rare in Canada. Before this weekend’s rampage, the country’s worst shooting came in 1989 when gunman Marc Lepine killed 14 women and himself at Montreal’s Ecole Polytechnique college.
“As a country, in moments like these, we come together to support one another. Together we will mourn with the families of the victims, and help them get through this difficult time,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a written news release.
While officials believe the attack did not begin as random, RCMP Chief Superintendent Chris Leather said many of the victims did not know the shooter.
“That fact that this individual had a uniform and a police car at his disposal certainly speaks to it not being a random act,” Leather said.
He added that police believe he acted alone.
At one point, there was an exchange of gunfire between the suspect and police, he said.
Cpl. Lisa Croteau, a spokeswoman with the provincial force, said police received a call about “a person with firearms” late Saturday night, and the investigation “evolved into an active shooting investigation.”
Christine Mills, a resident of the area, said it had been a frightening night for the small town, with armed officers patrolling the streets. In the morning, helicopters flew overhead searching for the suspect.
“It’s nerve-wracking because you don’t know if somebody has lost their mind and is going to beat in your front door,” she said.
Tom Taggart, a lawmaker who represents the Portapique area in the Municipality of Colchester, said the quiet community has been shaken.
“This is just an absolutely wonderful, peaceful quiet community and the idea that this could happen in our community is unbelievable,” Taggart said by phone from his home in nearby Bass River.
A Gabriel Wortman is listed as a denturist — a person who makes dentures — in the city of Dartmouth, near Halifax, according to the Denturist Society of Nova Scotia website. A suspect photo issued by the RCMP appears to be of the same person seen in video footage being interviewed about dentures by CTV Atlantic in 2014.
Who was Gabriel Wortman, the denturist behind the Nova Scotia mass shooting? https://t.co/pCDP0M3wXn
— National Post (@nationalpost) April 20, 2020
Mills also said Wortman was known locally as someone who divided his time between a residence in Halifax and a residence in Portapique.
Taggart said he didn’t know Wortman well but spoke to him a few times when he telephoned about municipal issues.
Taggart described knowing Wortman’s “lovely big home” on Portapique Beach Road.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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