A gunman disguised as a policeman killed at least 16 people, including a police officer, during a 12-hour shooting spree across rural Nova Scotia, on Canada’s Atlantic Coast, making it the worst mass shooting in modern Canadian history, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said Sunday.
In an update on Sunday evening, RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki said the suspect was also killed in the rampage bringing the total death count to 17 but added that the incident doesn’t appear to be terror-related.
RCMP officials in Nova Scotia said earlier in the day the investigation into the incident was ongoing and the number of victims could grow.
It was too early to say what motivated the shooting spree in several locations across the province, Lucki said.
“We don’t know for sure, and we’re going to have to do a lot of work on finding the motivation — a lot of background, a lot of profiling-type events and a lot of crime scene processing,” Lucki told CBC News.
The RCMP will also be calling on their experts in forensics and criminal profiling, Lucki said.
“Whatever it takes so that we can give the families of the victims answers to the many questions that they probably have,” Lucki said.
Fallen officer identified
RCMP Const. Heidi Stevenson, who was shot and killed by the gunman, is pictured in an undated official photo. (RCMP)
Nova Scotia RCMP commander Assistant Commissioner Lee Bergerman identified the deceased police officer as Cst. Heidi Stevenson, a 23-year veteran of the force.
“Heidi answered the call of duty and lost her life while protecting those she served. Earlier this afternoon I met with Heidi’s family and there are no words to describe their pain,” Bergerman said.
“Two children have lost their mother. And a husband has lost his wife. Parents have lost their daughter and countless others lost an incredible friend and colleague.”
Bergerman also said a second male officer was injured and was in hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
RCMP Chief Supt. Chris Leather said he was not at liberty to discuss the circumstances of Stevenson’s death.
‘A quickly evolving situation’
RCMP officers prepare to take a person into custody at a gas station in Enfield, N.S. on Sunday April 19, 2020. Police identified the suspect in a shooting spree that killed at least 19 people as Gabriel Wortman. The 51-year-old man died in a shootout with RCMP officers at the Irving Big Stop in Enfield, N.S., about 35 km from downtown Halifax. (Tim Krochak/THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Leather said police responded to multiple 911 calls on Saturday evening at a residence in the small rural community of Portapique, about 130 kilometres north of provincial capital of Halifax.
When police arrived at the scene they found several casualties inside and outside the home, he said.
The quickly evolving situation led the police officers to search multiple locations, Leather said. There were also multiple house fires, he added.
The RCMP dispatched heavily armed police officers and advised residents of the area to lock their doors and shelter in place.
‘Armed and dangerous’
An undated photograph of a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) cruiser, altered by the RCMP to point out the car’s unique number, is shown in an appeal to the public after they say multiple victim shooting suspect Gabriel Wortman could be driving the car and wearing an RCMP uniform near Portapique, Nova Scotia, Canada Apr. 19, 2020. (RCMP Nova Scotia/Handout via REUTERS)
Early Sunday morning police identified 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman as the suspect in the “active shooter situation” with several victims, adding that he was considered armed and dangerous.
Leather confirmed that Wortman appeared to be wearing a RCMP uniform and driving a car resembling a RCMP police cruiser. Police said Wortman is not employed by the RCMP.
“If you see him, call 911. DO NOT approach,” RCMP tweeted Sunday morning.
Finally, later Sunday morning the RCMP said Wortman was seen driving another vehicle, a silver Chevrolet Tracker SUV. He was confronted by police near a gas station about 35 kilometres north of Halifax in Enfield, around 11:40 am.
Workers with the medical examiner’s office remove a body from a gas bar in Enfield, N.S. on Sunday, April 19, 2020. (Andrew Vaughan/THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Leather said it is unclear whether Wortman died in the shootout with police or took his own life.
The province’s Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) said Sunday evening it was investigating the shooting of a man in Enfield by RCMP officers.
According to a release, the suspect was involved in a serious criminal event in Shubenacadie, N.S. A confrontation with police followed in Enfield, “resulting in officers discharging their firearms.”
The suspect was then found dead at the scene.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was “saddened to learn about the senseless violence in Nova Scotia.”
“Our hearts go out to the people who have lost loved ones, and to the RCMP family mourning a fallen officer,” Trudeau said in a statement. “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.”
Prior to Sunday’s rampage in Nova Scotia, the worst mass shooting in Canada was the so-called Montreal Massacre, where a lone gunman killed 14 female engineering students at Montreal’s Ecole Polytechnique on Dec. 6, 1989.
With files from CBC News
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