This story contains details that some readers may find disturbing. Discretion is advised.
More chilling details have emerged from Canada’s worst mass shooting, leaving 22 victims dead and three wounded.
From Dartmouth, RCMP Superintendent Darren Campbell—the officer in charge of support services for the Nova Scotia RCMP—led the update on the horrific act.
According to RCMP, there was a confrontation in Portapique on Saturday night between the shooter and a woman with whom he was in a relationship. She escaped from him and hid in the woods until morning.
(The incident began in the small town of Portapique, Nova Scotia.)
The RCMP was approached at about 10:30, Saturday night, by a man who had been shot by a passing motorist—reporting that he was driving a vehicle that looked like a police car. Officers set out on an overnight search for the assailant, who lit several houses in the town on fire.
A total of 13 people were killed.
The woman who had been in hiding emerged from the woods at around 6:30, Sunday morning, and phoned police. Supt. Campbell says thanks to her, police were able to collect “key” information about the gunman, including the fact that he had vehicles that looked like police cars, and had access to pistols and long-barreled weapons.
(Image released by police of gunman’s replica RCMP cruiser.)
Campbell says the next morning, the gunman went to a residence in the Wentworth area, killing two men and a woman. He proceeded to another residence, and knocked on the door—but the occupants did not answer. He then located a woman walking along the road, and killed her. From there he went to Debert, encountering two vehicles and killing two more people.
More than 12 hours after police arrived in Portapique, a series of 911 calls were received. That’s when the RCMP learned that the gunman had gone to Wentworth, Debert and Glenholme.
Two officers had arranged to meet in Enfield, when they saw what appeared to be the suspect vehicle. An altercation ensued, where Constable Chad Morrison was shot. He left the area to seek emergency aid for his wounds.
A tribute to Constable Heidi Stevenson at RCMP headquarters in St. John’s. Via RCMP Newfoundland and Labrador on Twitter.
Constable Heidi Stevenson joined in the pursuit. Her vehicle and the suspect’s car collided head-on along the highway. Supt. Campbell says the gunman killed Cst. Stevenson, and stole her side-arm, also killing a passerby who tried to intervene.
Members of the RCMP’s tactical unit in an unmarked car encountered the gunman refilling at a gas station in Enfield, and fatally shot him.
Three Common Links Between Mass Murderers, Says Women’s Rights Activist
Meanwhile, a woman who splits her time between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland says the research shows commonalities among mass murderers that we cannot ignore.
Jenny Wright, an expert panelist with the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability, says the three links are: a fascination with weapons or the forces, domestic violence, and a sense of entitlement.
She says we have to stop this idea that these are lone and random acts. Wright describes domestic violence as much the same thing—on a smaller scale—but it’s intimate terrorism.
