Nova Scotia gunman fought with girlfriend and tied her up before shooting rampage that killed 22, cops say
The Nova Scotia massacre that is now Canada's worst-ever mass shooting unfolded following an argument the gunman had with his girlfriend, police sources have revealed.
Gabriel Wortman, 51, dressed up as a police officer and used a vehicle marked to seem like a patrol car to carry out the attack on April 18 and April 19, which ultimately left at least 22 dead and a further two injured across northern and central Nova Scotia.
A police official has now confirmed that last weekend's shooting rampage erupted after a domestic dispute between Wortman and his girlfriend, who survived the attack.
Investigators reportedly believe that the couple was at a party when they started arguing. After they left, the 51-year-old escalated the argument back at his cottage, eventually assaulting the woman and tying her up.
She somehow managed to escape and hid in the nearby woods, at which point Wortman left and started the shooting.
Wortman, who owned a denture practice in the city of Dartmouth, near Halifax, is believed to have targeted his first few victims before randomly attacking as he drove around in his disguised vehicle.
The spree began in Portapique, a rural community in Nova Scotia where he lived part-time, and where several bodies were found inside and outside one house — the same one where he had attended the party a few hours prior.
Wortman is said to have had access to multiple guns over the course of the rampage, including a rifle, a handgun, and a shotgun, and bodies were also found in four other communities. The shootings ultimately left 16 crime scenes in five different rural communities.
Police found Wortman's girlfriend at around 7 am the next morning, and it was from her that they learned he was likely dressed as a police officer and driving a fake cruiser. She also provided them with a picture of the vehicle that was widely distributed and which changed the way the authorities were looking for him.
The night of horror finally ended after Wortman was shot dead by the authorities at a gas station around 13 hours after the attack began.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Nova Scotia later said they “will provide a detailed account of the incidents" at a news conference on Friday, April 24.
They have handed over aspects of the investigation to the Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT), an affiliated body that investigates "all matters that involve death, serious injury, sexual assault, and domestic violence or other matters of significant public interest that may have arisen from the actions of any police officer" in the region.
Despite the new information about the girlfriend, police have not yet commented on a possible motive.
"The investigation is detailed and complex," they said. "The investigative team is focused on learning more about this very tragic situation, including accurate victim information and whether others may have aided the suspect."
Mass shootings have been rare in Canada after it overhauled its gun control laws following the massacre at Montreal’s Ecole Polytechnique college in 1989 where gunman Marc Lepine shot 14 women before turning the gun on himself.