Category: mass shooting

Mass Shooting Inquiry: RCMP Officers Doubted Reports About Replica Police Cruiser

The first three RCMP officers who responded to the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting testified Monday they were initially doubtful the killer was in a marked RCMP vehicle, even though a dispatcher relayed that information from two 911 calls. Const. Stuart Beselt, the team leader the night of April 18, 2020, told the inquiry that…


Man Behind 2020 Mass Shooting in Nova Scotia Came From Dysfunctional Family: Uncle

A close relative of the man who disguised himself as a Mountie and fatally shot 22 people in Nova Scotia says the killer was a lifelong scammer and opportunist raised in a deeply dysfunctional family, newly released documents say. Chris Wortman, a former Mountie who was the gunman’s uncle, told police soon after the killings…


Night of NS Shootings, Witnesses Wondered About ‘Strange’ RCMP Car as It Went By

Witnesses noticed the odd actions of what appeared to be an RCMP cruiser late on April 18, 2020, not realizing the driver was responsible for a murderous rampage that had just left 13 people dead in Portapique, N.S. The details of the witness recollections are summarized in a document released today by the public inquiry…


Nova Scotia Mounties Should Be Compelled to Testify at Mass Shooting Inquiry: Experts

Public trust in the inquiry investigating the mass shooting in Nova Scotia almost two years ago would be undermined if the RCMP officers involved are not compelled to testify, legal experts say. Last week, the commission of inquiry came under intense scrutiny when the RCMP’s union argued the 18 officers would be “re-traumatized” if they…


Spouse Must Speak at Mass Shooting Probe: Families

HALIFAX—The public inquiry into the Nova Scotia mass shooting that left 22 people dead heard today from lawyers representing the victims’ families, who said the commission must call the spouse of the killer to testify under oath. The commission has tabled summaries about how the first night of the killings on April 18, 2020, are…


Spouse Must Speak at Nova Scotia Mass Shooting Probe: Families

HALIFAX—The public inquiry into the Nova Scotia mass shooting that left 22 people dead heard today from lawyers representing the victims’ families, who said the commission must call the spouse of the killer to testify under oath. The commission has tabled summaries about how the first night of the killings on April 18, 2020, are…


NS Shooting Probe Focuses on Police Actions

HALIFAX—The public inquiry into Nova Scotia’s mass shooting is continuing today, with evidence expected to detail how police first responded to the killings in Portapique, N.S. Michael MacDonald, the commission’s chairman, reminded the public in his opening remarks that the federal-provincial probe is at the stage of trying to confirm the facts of what happened…


Children Called in Key Details Amid Mass Shooting

HALIFAX—When a gunman impersonating a Mountie started killing people in Portapique, N.S., on April 18, 2020, four children huddled in a home where they relayed key information about the killer as the tragedy unfolded around them. Portions of a transcript of that disturbing 911 call were released today by an independent commission of inquiry investigating…


Mass Shooting Inquiry in NS to Hear ‘Disturbing’ Details Today

Canadians are being warned to brace for the retelling of the country’s worst mass shooting in modern history at a public inquiry today. The mass casualty commission will provide a chronological description of the tragedy that claimed the lives of 22 people in rural Nova Scotia in April 2020. Barbara McLean, lead investigator for the…


Mass Shooting Inquiry: COVID 19 Has Undermined the Grieving Process in Nova Scotia

HALIFAX—The inquiry investigating the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia heard today from a panel of community leaders who talked about what life is like in the rural communities affected by the tragedy. Mary Teed, a local resident and head of the Colchester Adult Learning Association, told the inquiry that the COVID-19 pandemic has stalled…