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ASSUMED OFFICER: Police have named Gabriel Wortman as a suspect. On the right, a fake police car that should have been used in parts of the murder. Photo: JOHN MORRIS / REUTERS
Gabriel Wortman, 51, is the alleged perpetrator of at least 16 Nova Scotia murders overnight.
Canadian federal police RCMP has shared the photo and name of the man suspected of being behind the shooting in the province of Nova Scotia. Gabriel Wortman is described by them as “A white, bald man, 1.88-1.92 meters tall with green eyes.”
It is confirmed that he died.
Looks like police
It was in Portapique that the shooting started on Saturday night. Police chased Wortman for several hours and the scene spans a minimum of 50 kilometers. It must have been worse over the town of Shubenacadie.
RCMP Commander Chris Leather claims that the shooter used a weapon, but that he may have used other methods in what appears to be a killing spree as well.
The suspect was eventually detained at a service station in Enfield, some 35 kilometers from Halifax. There, Wortman was shot by the police and died at the scene.
Must have worn part or all of the RCMP uniform and must have been driving a car that looked like a police car. This is what the police say indicates that the attacks were not accidental.
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17 died and several were injured
On Sunday night, the confirmed death toll was 17 people, including the alleged perpetrator. At least two people are injured. According to the Deputy Police Commissioner for Nova Scotia, Lee Bergerman, one of the wounded is a police officer who must not be fatal.
So far, only one of the victims has been named: Police Heidi Stevenson, who had worked in the police for 23 years, leaving a husband and two children.
“Today is an overwhelming day for Nova Scotia and will burn forever on the minds of many for years to come,” says Bergerman, according to The Chronicle Herald of Nova Scotia.
Canadian national broadcaster CBC writes that Wortman worked on dental prosthetics and will have homes in both Halifax and Portapique. He will also have several properties registered in his name in Dartmouth and Portapique.
The police do not yet have a final death toll, as there are so many places and not all have been completed. They also claim that so far they have no idea about the murderer’s motive, but have stated that they do not believe it is terrorism.
Leather has stated that he cannot say anything about Wortman’s relationship with the victims, other than that some of them do not appear to be related to him at all.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expresses his condolences to those who have lost loved ones.
Canada has not had many shooting episodes, and this appears to be the deadliest in modern times. According to The Chronicle Herald, this is the worst massacre since 1989, when a shooter killed 14 women at l’Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal and wounded 14 others before killing himself.
