Wikipedia

2020 Nova Scotia attacks

series of shootings in Nova Scotia, Canada

On April 18–19, 2020, fifty-one-year-old Gabriel Wortman committed multiple shootings and set fires at 16 places in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. He killed twenty-two people and injured three others before the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) shot and killed him in Enfield.[1]

2020 Nova Scotia attacks
Map
About OpenStreetMaps
Maps: terms of use
50km
30miles
Enfield, Nova Scotia
Enfield
Enfield, Nova Scotia
Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia
Shubenacadie
Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia
Debert, Nova Scotia
Debert
Debert, Nova Scotia
Wentworth, Nova Scotia
Wentworth
Wentworth, Nova Scotia
Portapique, Nova Scotia
Portapique
Portapique, Nova Scotia
LocationNova Scotia, Canada
Date22:00, April 18, 2020 (2020-04-18T22:00) –
11:26, April 19, 2020 (2020-04-19T11:26) ADT (UTC−03:00)
Attack type
Spree shooting, mass murder, arson
Weapons
Deaths23 (including the perpetrator)
Injured
3
PerpetratorGabriel Wortman

The attack lasted for thirteen hours. Wortman impersonated a police officer for part of the attack by driving a car he had made to look like a police car and wearing a police uniform. The killings were not terrorism, but police do not yet know the reason Wortman did these killings.[2] He had guns even though he didn't have a licence, so police are trying to find out how he got the guns.[3]

Police did not use Canada's Alert Ready system, which could have sent messages to the phones of people in the area of Wortman to stay inside. Many people think they should have used it, and police are trying to find out why it wasn't used. [4][5][6]

It is the deadliest attack of its kind in Canadian history.[7]

Attacks

change

April 18

change

The attack began as domestic violence between Wortman and his girlfriend in their home in Portapique, Nova Scotia, which is 130 kilometres (81 mi) north of Halifax.[8][9] They had came home from a party and were arguing. Wortman attacked her and she ran away into the woods. Wortman then set fire to his house and went back to the party. He began shooting at the people there and killed seven.[9][8][10]

Many calls to the police were made about more shootings and fires outside of eight homes in Portapique from 10:14 p.m.[11][12][13] RMCP officers arrived twelve minutes later at 10:26 P.M. and found that thirteen more people had been shot dead by Wortman and three houses had been set on fire.[13][14] Police said many had died while trying to escape the flames or help other victims.[9][15] By the time they had got there, Wortman had already escaped.[16] Another man said he had been shot and injured by a man driving a police car.[9]

Police quickly realised that Wortman had probably committed the crimes and started a search of Portapique for him. RMCP made a tweet telling the people in the town to stay inside and lock their doors.[10][11][16][17][18]

April 19

change

Police found Wortman's girlfriend at 6:30 a.m. and she told them that Wortman had a fake police car and gave them a photo of it.[9][8] A BOLO was sent out to all police officers in Nova Scotia telling them to look for a fake police car. Police then announced there was an active shooter situation.[6][12][19]

At around 8:00 a.m., a 9-1-1 caller reported an explosion and gunfire at a house in Wentworth, Nova Scotia, about 37 kilometres (23 mi) north of Portapique. The two residents of the house and a neighbour were killed. Wortman went to another house in police uniform but the people wouldn't let him in and called the police, so Wortman left. At 9:35 a.m., he shot and killed a woman who was walking in Wentworth Valley. He then went south back towards Portapique.[9][1][17][18]

From 10:54 a.m., Wortman was seen in Glenholme, Debert, Onslow, and Brookfield, in that order. This would show him heading towards Halifax.[15][20] In this time, he performed two traffic stops pretending to be a police officer and shot and killed both drivers.[10]

Sometime before 10:49 a.m., Wortman stopped next to a police officer's car in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia and shot him. This injured the officer and he drove to a hospital and survived. He then continued down the road and crashed head on into another police officer's car who was driving.[10][16][21][22][23] The female officer began shooting at Wortman, but was killed by him. He stole her gun and ammunition and set her car on fire.[10][16][24] He then shot and killed someone who tried to help the officer before stealing his silver Chervrolet Tracker car and driving south.[10][17]

A short time later, he killed a woman he knew in her home in Shubenacadie and stole her Mazda 3 car. He was later seen driving south through Milford, near Halifax.[16][25][26]

At 11:26 a.m., Wortman drove into a rest area near Enfield, Nova Scotia., 92 kilometres (57 mi) south of Portapique and 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Halifax.[16] A police officer saw him and knew who he was and shot Wortman dead.[26]

In total, Wortman had murdered 22 people and injured 3 others.

Perpetrator

change
Gabriel Wortman
Born(1968-07-05)July 5, 1968[27]
New Brunswick, Canada
DiedApril 19, 2020(2020-04-19) (aged 51)
Enfield, Nova Scotia, Canada
Cause of deathGunshot wounds
OccupationDenturist
Details
DateApril 18-19, 2020
Location(s)Nova Scotia (Portapique, Wentworth, Debert, Shubenacadie, Enfield)
Target(s)Random
Killed22
Injured3

The perpetrator of the attacks was 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman, who was a denturist who lived in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. He had been arrested for assault before in 2001, but was given 9 months of probation.[27]

References

change
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "22 victims of N.S. rampage include retirees, pregnant health care worker, veteran". CBC News. April 20, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  2. ↑ Blatchford, Andy (April 19, 2020). "Gunman kills at least 16, including officer, in Nova Scotia". Politico. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  3. ↑ Lamoureux, Mack (April 22, 2020). "Nova Scotia Gunman Was Not a Legal Firearms Owner, RCMP Says". Vice. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  4. ↑ Gorman, Michael (April 20, 2020). "N.S. premier not ready to question if a public alert should have been issued about gunman". CBC News. Archived from the original on April 21, 2020. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  5. ↑ Tasker, John Paul (April 21, 2020). "Questions emerge about RCMP's failure to send emergency alert on gunman's rampage". CBC News. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Gatehouse, Jonathon (April 25, 2020). "N.S. gunman's 'advantage': Hours passed before RCMP told public he was disguised as one of them". CBC News. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  7. ↑ Gillies, Rob (April 19, 2020). "16 killed in shooting rampage, deadliest in Canadian history". Associated Press. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Stephenson, Mercedes; Armstrong, James (April 23, 2020). "Nova Scotia shootings began after gunman attacked his girlfriend, sources say". Global News. Archived from the original on April 23, 2020. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 "Gunman's resemblance to police officer made chase dangerous and complicated, says RCMP". CBC News. April 24, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Nardi, Christopher (April 24, 2020). "N.S. mass murderer's uniform, cruiser let him kill at will. He looked like one of us, RCMP say". National Post. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 CBC News (April 22, 2020). "RCMP give new details on timeline of manhunt for N.S. shooter". CBC News. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Nova Scotia mass killings: What we know and what we don't know". CBC News. April 19, 2020. Archived from the original on April 20, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "RCMP share maps showing N.S. gunman's movements during rampage". CBC News. April 24, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  14. ↑ Anderson, Scott (27 April 2020). "RCMP have not disclosed when first 911 call came in about N.S. mass shooting". CBC News. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Tasker, John Paul (April 20, 2020). "'Those scars will never heal': piecing together a gunman's murderous rampage in Nova Scotia". CBC News. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 Gatehouse, Jonathon (April 22, 2020). "'They don't know if they've caught him': Recordings reveal chaos of Nova Scotia manhunt". CBC News. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Levinson-King, Robin; Murphy, Jessica (April 24, 2020). "Nova Scotia shooting: 'They had no idea the hell they were going to face'". BBC News. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Cecco, Leyland (April 24, 2020). "Nova Scotia gunman used fake police cruiser to flag down victims". The Guardian. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Nova Scotia shooting: Gabriel Wortman kills 16 including police officer in Canada's deadliest shooting attack". MassLive. April 19, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Timeline of Nova Scotia mass shooting". The Globe and Mail. April 19, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  21. ↑ Sheehy, Kate (April 20, 2020). "Nova Scotia shooting: Details emerge in suspect Gabriel Wortman's rampage". New York Post. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  22. ↑ "Death toll from Nova Scotia gunman's rampage climbs to 19". CBC News. April 20, 2020. Archived from the original on April 21, 2020. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  23. ↑ Bissett, Kevin; Bresge, Adina (April 25, 2020). "Nova Scotia Mountie saved lives by stopping mock police car: union". CTV News. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  24. ↑ Donkin, Karissa (April 24, 2020). "Some of N.S. gunman's weapons came from U.S., police say". CBC News. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  25. ↑ "Canada shooting: Gunman kills at least 18 in Nova Scotia". BBC News. April 19, 2020. Archived from the original on April 19, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 McMillan, Elizabeth; Hounsell, Kayla (April 23, 2020). "Girlfriend of N.S. gunman was among his victims, but she survived". CBC News. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 "Wortman Assault Conviction" (PDF). Province of Nova Scotia. January 3, 2002. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
Retrieved from "https://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2020_Nova_Scotia_attacks&oldid=9431516"