Police: At least 10 killed in shooting rampage in Canada

[ansible]

Source: abc12

ENFIELD, Nova Scotia (AP) — Canadian police said at least 10 people were killed after a 51-year-old man went on a shooting rampage across the northern part of the province of Nova Scotia. The man was identified as Gabriel Wortman. He was arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in a gas station in Enfield, Nova Scotia, northwest of downtown Halifax. Police later announced that he had died.

“In excess of 10 people have been killed,” RCMP Chief Superintendent Chris Leather said. "We believe it to be one person who is responsible for all the killings and that he alone moved across the northern part of the province and committed what appears to be several homicides.” Brian Sauvé, President of National Police Federation union, said a police officer was among those killed in a shooting and another was injured.

Police have not provided a motive for the attack. By late morning, there were half a dozen police vehicles at the scene. Yellow police tape surrounded the gas pumps, and a large silver-colored SUV was being investigated by police. The incident started in the small, rural town of Portapique, with police advising residents to lock their homes and stay in their basements. Several building fires were reported by residents as well, but police didn’t immediately confirm details.


Read more: https://www.abc12.com/content/news/Shooter-in-custody-Canadian-police-say-multiple-victims-569770961.html

[hlthe2b]

1. No less dreadful than reading it had happened here. I'd hoped Canada had largely escaped our trends

[iluvtennis]

3. + 1 nt.

[tclambert]

2. Surely that's a misprint. Canada?

[donkeypoofed]

4. We so have a few guns here, and they're hard to get

Lucky our mass shootings are not as many as other places but they really upset us.

[wryter2000]

6. We're with you

It almost upsets me more than if it had happened here. We've come to expect it.

[Sir Normie]

25. "We've come to expect it."

That is absolutely true. It's also the saddest thing I've heard this year.

Thus far.

[Recursion]

23. There's 12 million guns in private hands in Canada

Almost 1 for every 3 people.

[tclambert]

49. Estimates are we have over 300 million guns in the United States.

On Wikipedia it says 393 million, significantly more than the population, and about 3 guns per household.

These estimates come from before the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to a surge in gun sales. (We want to be able to defend our hoards of toilet paper.)

[wryter2000]

5. Not Canada

I guess it can happen anywhere there are guns, but damn. to our DUers in beautiful Canada.

[IronLionZion]

7. Frustrated by the stay at home orders?

it would be interesting to know the motive. We may have to worry about other folks losing their minds during the lockdown.

[ZZenith]

9. Willing to bet this guy had issues long before Covid19.

[Bev54]

17. They don't yet know the motive or if they have found all the victims

I doubt this was covid, he had planned this out for a long time, including painting his car to look like a police car, with all the markings and he dressed in a police uniform. There is an obvious story behind this, but our police here are much more closed mouth and do not always give out many details. He set fire to properties and cars. It is so sad, we have so few in Canada that it hits us hard when something like this happens. People do own guns here but we are not gun enthusiasts like the US. Majority of people do not own guns as I understand is the same in US.

[Cha]

26. Mahalol for that, Bev.. I've been to beatiful Nova Scotia when

I lived in New York.

It's so heartbreaking.. as are all killings.

[Bev54]

48. It is now up to 18 victims

and they are not sure they yet have them all, several houses were set on fire and they have not yet been able to search to see if there are remains of anymore victims. It is so disgusting and senseless.

[amuse bouche]

34. Story on HP said he restored a car to look like a police car and wore a

law enforcement officer uniform. Well planned out

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nova-scotia-shooting-victims_n_5e9d190ec5b63c5b5870d06a

[klook]

8. ..

[marble falls]

10. American gun virus has spread north.

[Recursion]

20. Canada's had a long history of mass shootings

I don't know why people think the US is the only place these happen

[Cha]

28. Because it doesn't happen as much in other countries.

[Recursion]

32. Sure it does; that's just the American media bubble

American media just doesn't bother reporting when Finland or Germany have yet another school or workplace shooting, let alone when it happens in Eastern Europe or Latin America.

[marble falls]

35. I know what you mean. I foolishly allow the significantly lower rate of gun death ...

in Canada to cloud my opinion.

[Recursion]

36. Their gun death rate is significantly lower, which has nothing to do with mass shootings

Mass shootings aren't a significant driver of gun deaths on either side of the 49th parallel.

[marble falls]

41. Shot dead is shot dead. And you're more likey to be shot dead and shot dead in mass shooting ...

in the US.

[Recursion]

42. You're most likely to be shot dead in a mass shooting in Norway, followed by Finland

followed by the Netherlands. The US is like #8 there.

[marble falls]

43. Thats one way to patch up a flagging argument, divert ...

We're talking about Canada and the US. If you got nothing else I guess we're done.

[madville]

44. Our war on drugs policies are mostly to blame for US shooting statistics being so high

mixed in with racial economic disparity.

[Recursion]

45. Plus our shameful domestic violence culture

Fix that and the war on drugs and our gun violence problem goes away.

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. Possibility he started driving a - stolen? - RCMP car and uniform

The AP article in the OP has "Police stated earlier Sunday the suspect was driving a car that looked like a police vehicle and wearing a police uniform, but later said he was “believed to be driving a small, silver Chevrolet SUV,” traveling southbound on a highway"; the BBC says:

Police earlier said the suspect drove what appeared to be a police car.
...
He was not employed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police but "may be wearing a RCMP uniform", they said.

"There's one difference between his car and our Royal Canadian Mounted Police vehicles: the car # [registration plate]. The suspect's car is 28B11, behind rear passenger window. If you see 28B11 call 911 immediately," they tweeted on Sunday.

The gunman later changed cars to drive a "small silver Chevrolet SUV", police added.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-52346447

Police tweeted this:

[cwydro]

12. Dayum, never expect to hear this anywhere but here.

In the land of the violent.

[Recursion]

21. Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, Germany, and Finland all have mass shooting problems

It's kind of part of America's media bubble that we think we're the only country this happens in. The rate in Finland is shockingly high, in fact.

[roamer65]

13. If it were in the US, the fatalities would be 10x as many.

Canada is much more restrictive on the high powered weaponry.

[Recursion]

22. Not really

Last edited Mon Apr 20, 2020, 09:59 AM - Edit history (1)

They had a registry for long guns but basically gave up on it because nobody could figure out a way to make it useful. They've had a kind of persistent history of mass shootings, and any semi auto is as "high powered" as any other so it's not like US shooters have some magical death machine that Canadians don't have access to.

[roamer65]

37. True, but no where near our level.

You folks up there don’t have daily school shootings like we did down here. They finally have stopped because the kids aren’t in school.

[Recursion]

38. The US doesn't have "daily school shootings" either

Where do people get these ideas?

[roamer65]

39. Because we have more days in a year where they happen than not.

Sadly, my exaggeration isn’t far from truth.

[Recursion]

40. Not really, there are more days with "gun incidents" than not

But that includes things like "a student finds a shell casing and reports it" or "the janitor comes in and there's a bullet hole in the window".

[muriel_volestrangler]

14. This went on for 12 hours

11:30 P.M. SATURDAY
Police responded to a firearms complaint late Saturday evening in Portapique, N.S. just north of Halifax. The RCMP later announced they were investigating an “active-shooter situation” and warned residents to stay indoors.

8:54 A.M. SUNDAY
The RCMP identified the suspect as 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman, who was described as armed and dangerous.
...
11:40 A.M.
Police said they had the suspect “in custody” but did not release any details.

Multiple sources later confirmed to CTV News that the suspect was shot and killed by police at the Irving gas station and Big Stop restaurant in Enfield, N.S., located roughly 40 kilometres from downtown Halifax.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/a-timeline-of-the-deadly-shooting-incident-in-nova-scotia-1.4902954

https://www.capebretonpost.com/news/provincial/those-who-knew-gabriel-wortman-stunned-by-news-of-shooting-spree-439461/

https://scallywagandvagabond.com/2020/04/portapique-shooting-gabriel-wortman-nova-scotia-gunman-denturist-dead-motive/

[BigmanPigman]

15. Why did he disguise himself by wearing a police uniform

and driving what appeared to be a police car? Did he burn down the homes after he killed his victims? Did he do the same with his car once caught? Was he a frustrated police officer wanna be? So many questions.

This is horribly sad.

[Bev54]

18. We don't have the answers yet

Our police are much more closed mouth about incidents than in the US

[christx30]

24. Cop is a good disguise for a murderer.

A lot of people will respect the police officer’s authority. They’ll hesitate to take any self defense, for fear of criminal charges. A witness might not remember hair color or a face, but you’ll sure as heck remember the uniform.
Someone wanting to cause havoc for its own sake couldn’t have a better disguise than acting like a cop.

[Cha]

29. Agree.. :(

[Judi Lynn]

16. Very sorry to learn murderous hatred has infected Canada by now. n/t

[bucolic_frolic]

19. The body count is now up to 17

https://montrealgazette.com/news/crime/several-victims-in-n-s-shootings-alleged-gunman-arrested/wcm/40cdf325-8cc5-453d-bc34-22f8436a99af/

[Cha]

30. Oh god.. :( 'HORRIFIC': RCMP officer among 17 dead in Nova Scotia killing spree

Const. Heidi Stevenson, a 23-year member of the force and mother of two, was identified as the officer killed. A male officer suffered non-life threatening injuries.

Link to tweet

https://montrealgazette.com/news/crime/several-victims-in-n-s-shootings-alleged-gunman-arrested/wcm/40cdf325-8cc5-453d-bc34-22f8436a99af/

[KitSileya]

27. Horrible.

I am willing to bet that he'll have a history of domestic violence of some sort. It's the huge predictor for mass killings, that the perpetrator, usually a man, has a history of violence against partners and/or family. Until they restrict access to weapons and start taking reports of domestic violence as seriously as they should these mass killings will continue. It can't be only one, it has to be both.

[Cha]

31. There's a pic of him in the link in this, post, Kit.. :(

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=2474666

[KitSileya]

33. Betcha he started by killing his family

Probably a current or former partner, as well as other family members. These types of guys always do, usually when their parter has left or is trying to leave. Most dangerous time in an abusive relationship is when you leave, after all. If our cultures took domestic violence more seriously, it'd be easier for women to leave, and men would grow up in a culture that didn't see women as their property. That's one of the reasons VAWA was so important, and a huge point in favor of VP Biden as nominee for president.

[OnlinePoker]

46. You got it

The first victims were his ex-wife/girlfriend and her new boyfriend. I find it interesting that he did this mass killing on the anniversary of Waco and the Oklahoma City bombing using symbols of authority (mock-up of an RCMP car and police uniform).

[KitSileya]

47. It is horribly predictive.

As I said, until our cultures - pretty much all cultures, so not singling one out - start taking violence against women seriously not only at a legal level, but also at a cultural level, these mass killings will continue. Mark my words, this was an honor killing, the same as we deplore Muslim countries of not dealing with enough.