13 killed in Canada shooting rampage, deadliest in 30 years

A man wearing a police uniform went on shooting violence in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia on Sunday, killing 13 people, in the most dangerous such attack in the country in 30 years. Officials said the suspected shooter was also dead.

A police officer was among the dead. Several bodies were found inside and outside one house in the small, rural town of Portapique, about 60 miles (100 kilometres) north of Halifax. Overnight, police started advising residents of the city — already on lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic — to lock their doors and stay in their basements. Several houses in the area were set on fire as well.

Police recognised the man believed to be the shooter as Gabriel Wortman, 51, who was thought to live part-time in Portapique. Officials said he covered himself as a police officer in uniform at one point and made his car look like a Royal Canadian Mounted Police cruiser.

Wortman was caught by the RCMP at a gas station in Enfield, just outside Halifax. Police later announced that he had died. “This is one of the most pointless acts of violence in our region’s history,” said Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil.

RCMP spokesperson Daniel Brien approved that 13 people had been killed as had the shooter. He said he could not rule out that the death toll could still increase. Already, that makes it one of the most dangerous shootings in Canadian history.

Mass shootings are almost rare in Canada. The country improved its gun-control laws after its worst mass shooting in 1989 when gunman Marc Lepine killed 14 women and himself at Montreal’s Ecole Polytechnique college. This weekend’s shooting is the most destructive since then. It is now unlawful to own an unregistered handgun or any kind of rapid-fire weapon in Canada. The country also requires training, a personal risk assessment, two references, spousal notification and criminal record checks to purchase a gun.

Police have not given a motive for the attack, but RCMP Chief Superintendent Chris Leather said many of the victims did not know the shooter.

The dead officer was recognised as Constable Heidi Stevenson, a mother of two and a 23-year veteran of the force. Another officer was also wounded.

Leather said at the point there was an exchange of gunfire between the suspect and police. There were half a dozen police vehicles at the scene of a gas station where the suspect was shot. Yellow police tape surrounded the gas pumps, and a sizeable silver-coloured SUV was being investigated.

Police said earlier Sunday the suspect was driving a car that looked like a police vehicle and was wearing a police uniform, but later said he was “believed to be driving a small, silver Chevrolet SUV.” They said he is not an RCMP employee or officer.

“My heart goes out to everyone affected in what is a terrible situation,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.

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 had been shaken.

“This is just a 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.