A gunman disguised as law enforcement stormed across the Canadian province of Nova Scotia on Sunday, killing 16 people, including an officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Thus became the deadliest such attack in Canadian history. Officials first said Sunday that police had arrested the suspect at a gas station in Enfield, outside Halifax, but later said the suspected shooter was dead.
Bodies were found inside and outside one home in the small, rural town of Portapique, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) north of Halifax – what police called the first scene. Some 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 indiscriminately.
Police at once began advising residents of the town – already on lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic – to lock their doors and stay in their basements. A number of homes in the area were set on fire as well.
The man believed to be the shooter as identified by police as Gabriel Wortman, 51, who 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 arrest of Wortman at a gas station in Enfield, outside Halifax, but later on said he had died. Though It was not clear how he was killed.
Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil said “This is one of the most senseless acts of violence in our province’s history.
“The dead officer among the 16 killed, was identified as Constable Heidi Stevenson, a mother of two and a 23-year veteran of the force. Another officer was also injured.
Mass shootings are comparatively very rare in Canada. The country overhauled its gun-control laws after gunman Marc Lepine killed 14 women and himself at Montreal’s Ecole Polytechnique college in 1989. Before this weekend’s rampage, that had been the country’s worst.It is now illegal to possess an unregistered handgun or any kind of rapid-fire weapon in Canada.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a written news release “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.”
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they would investigate whether the attack had anything to do with the coronavirus pandemic but no link has been found thus far.
