CANADA - shooter in RCMP vehicle and uniform, 23 killed - Portapique, NS *suspect dead*

[ab01]

The decision to finally issue an alert came many hours after the province activated its Emergency Management Office (EMO), which had contacted police multiple times about sending an alert but never received a request from the RCMP to do so.


Chief Supt. Leather said delays within the chain of command slowed their ability to get an urgent message out.

“You can appreciate that a series of phone calls had to be made to find the officer in charge that evening and to speak to the serious incident commander to have the conversation about the issuing of a message,” he said. “A lot of the delay was based on communications between the EMO and the various officers – and then a discussion about how the message would be constructed and what it would say.”

RCMP defend not sending emergency alert before Nova Scotia gunman was killed



My thoughts below:

This just keeps sounding worse and worse for RCMP

Random firing at a public building

Delays bc of communication with the chain of command in issuing and alert

Nova Scotians have a right to be .....Well just plain pissed at how this was all handled IMO

There needs to be people held accountable for not doing enough to protect their citizens IMO

I realize this was a very chaotic and confusing situation for all agencies involved, All the more reason to issue an emergency alert until they could figure things out IMO.

 

[MistyWaters]

Who was shooting at what exactly on Saturday night?

I assume the killer was heard shooting at victims, but the police report hearing gunshots. How is it they were in an area with active gunshots and no suspect was produced dead or alive that night? Or that they at least didn't have a trail on him.

I’m trying to imagine the pandemonium that must’ve been occurring that night - hearing gunshots does not lead directly to the identity of a shooter who’s on the move in darkness - who was later learned was wearing an authentic RCMP uniform but unknown at the time. Houses aflame and explosions occuring, other officers arriving from other detachments to assist, by the aerial map of the properties they were equivalent to acreage size lots...nightime, darkness, people hiding in their homes....was the killer hiding in a home too and how would the RCMP tell one from the other?

About this entire tragedy, a couple of my thoughts -
The RCMP were somehow able to connect the silver Chev Tracker to GW and as karma would have it, it just happened to be low on gas.
And that the RCMP were ultimately able to corner and assassinate this piece of crud because I do think he had a get-away plan and it was not suicide by cop. An almost unthinkable situation if he hadn’t been tracked down in the Tracker he was driving (yes, maybe karma once again), more than 20 people killed by a mass murderer who was still on the lose somewhere in the Maritimes?

For any of the officers who were directly involved in this horrible, dangerous manhunt, it must’ve been one heck of a terrible, frightening experience, probably the worst of their lives. This wasn’t a day-in-the-life of officers, especially posted in rural locations who probably spend their day writing tickets, responding to domestic complaints and hauling in drunks. Each one of them had to have known they were risking their own lives to protect the general public and for that reason, I think that bravery shouldn’t be overlooked, in the midst of looking back at what they could’ve done differently.

 

[ab01]

I’m trying to imagine the pandemonium that must’ve been occurring that night - hearing gunshots does not lead directly to the identity of a shooter who’s in the move - who it was later learned was wearing an authentic RCMP uniform but unknown at the time. Houses aflame and explosions occuring, other officers arriving from other detachments to assist, by the aerial map of the properties they were equivalent to acreage size lots...nightime, darkness, people hiding in their homes....was the killer hiding in a home too and how would the RCMP tell one from the other?

In the midst of this tragedy, a couple of my thoughts -
The RCMP were somehow able to connect the silver Chev Tracker to GW and as karma would have it, it just happened to be low on gas.
And that the RCMP were intimately able to assassinate this piece of crud because I do think he had a get-away plan and it wasn’t suicide by cop. An almost unthinkable situation if he hadn’t been tracked down in the Tracker he was driving (yes, maybe karma once again), more than 20 people killed by a mass murderer who was still on the lose somewhere in the Maritimes?

For any of the officers who were directly involved in this horrible manhunt, it must’ve been one heck of a terrible, frightening experience, probably the worst of their lives.

I'm curious how the silver Chev tracker comes into play. Was that the vehicle that he carjacked in order to leave the crash scene in from shubencadie?

All the images and videos I have seen show him being apprehended at the Irving Big stop in a dark color Mazda3

I have never seen an image of the supposed silver Chev tracker

I think its possible that he switched vehicles leaving the silver tracker at his final victims residence or however he encountered her along the way btwn the crash site in shubencadie and Enfield Irving Big Stop gas station. Possibly mazda 3 belonged to victim GG JMO

crime scene map: NS Rampage - خرائطي على Google

source https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/04/21/death-toll-could-rise-in-nova-scotia-as-investigation-into-mass-killing-continues.html

 

[susiQ]

Also from the article:

At times during the chaotic hours after the shootings began, it wasn’t always clear who police were chasing. At one point during the manhunt, two Mounties shot bullets into a fire hall in Lower Onslow, N.S. The hall was being used as a Red Cross registration centre for evacuees from the Portapique area.


While no one was injured, that incident is now under investigation by the civilian oversight agency for police in Nova Scotia.


“We don’t know what they were shooting at,” said Pat Curran, interim director of the Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT), an independent body that investigates police actions. “We just know that the suspect was not in the area at that time.”

Yikes MOO

Can’t WAIT to know what that was all about!

 

[Kent]

I'm curious how the silver Chev tracker comes into play. Was that the vehicle that he carjacked in order to leave the crash scene in from shubencadie?

All the images and videos I have seen show him being apprehended at the Irving Big stop in a dark color Mazda3

I have never seen an image of the supposed silver Chev tracker

I think its possible that he switched vehicles leaving the silver tracker at his final victims residence that was located btwn the crash site in shubencadie and Enfield along Hwy 2. Possibly mazda 3 belonged to victim GG JMO

That does seem to be the case. A photo of Gina Goulet's business on Facebook shows a dark grey Mazda 3 in the driveway, and her friend reported that she recognized Gina's car in the Enfield photos.

The Shubenacadie witness, Eric Fisher, seemed to have a very good view of the crash scene, so it seems likely that he or Constable Chad Morrison provided the info about the silver Chevy Tracker.

 

[LadyL]

Shawn* My bad for the error in spelling. He & GW were former hunting friends.

RCMP defend not sending emergency alert before Nova Scotia gunman was killed

holy crap I haven't seen this info posted! he had a list!!!

Nathan Staples, a man from Glenholme, N.S., who lives about 15 minutes from where the killing began Saturday night, said investigators told him Tuesday that they found his name on a list obtained when the RCMP searched the Portapique property of the shooter, a 51-year-old denturist.

“The investigator said I was seventh or eighth on the list.

He and the shooter once shared an interest in old police cars, but Mr Staples says he can’t guess why gunman Gabriel Wortman would have had him on a list – other than a few months earlier, he had declined to sell a used police car to him. The RCMP said they couldn’t discuss any specifics of their investigation.

RCMP defend not sending emergency alert before Nova Scotia gunman was killed

 

[16cats]

Where was he going when he was


I was impressed with that too! He and his brother heard a gunshot, father said he did not. One son insisted on checking out, father said no, brother stayed with father. When he found his brother dead on the road his instincts definitely kicked in, even knowing that his cell phone could give him away.

maybe he is ex military.

 

[Lexiintoronto]

Regarding his possible use of accelerants: Most of us here in rural N.S. have generators, chainsaws, large lawnmowers, and so on, and have fuel stored on our property at all times.

 

[MistyWaters]

I'm curious how the silver Chev tracker comes into play. Was that the vehicle that he carjacked in order to leave the crash scene in from shubencadie?

All the images and videos I have seen show him being apprehended at the Irving Big stop in a dark color Mazda3

I have never seen an image of the supposed silver Chev tracker

I think its possible that he switched vehicles leaving the silver tracker at his final victims residence or however he encountered her along the way btwn the crash site in shubencadie and Enfield Irving Big Stop gas station. Possibly mazda 3 belonged to victim GG JMO

crime scene map: NS Rampage - خرائطي على Google

source https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/04/21/death-toll-could-rise-in-nova-scotia-as-investigation-into-mass-killing-continues.html

I don’t know which is correct but I always tend to rely most on information published by local media. By the time the killer was travelling toward Halifax on hwy 102, he must’ve already been under the scope as they knew what vehicle he was driving. For that reason I don’t think he had any further opportunity to commit any other murders even with the intention of stealing a vehicle with a full gas tank and it appears he had no choice but to stop for a fill-up not even realizing the RCMP were on his tail. But as for news reports, of course this could also be subject to change.

Timeline of Nova Scotia shooting that left at least 18 dead, including RCMP officer - HalifaxToday.ca
11 a.m. Police say Wortman was last seen travelling southbound on Highway 102 toward Halifax from the Brookfield area.

11:20 a.m. RCMP say Wortman has changed vehicles and is now in a silver SUV — a Chevrolet Tracker.

11:40 a.m. RCMP tweet that Wortman is now in custody. He was caught at a gas station in Enfield, N.S., where a body could be seen lying on the ground. A source familiar with the matter who wasn't authorized to speak publicly later confirms to The Canadian Press that the suspect has died.

 

[ab01]

That does seem to be the case. A photo of Gina Goulet's business on Facebook shows a dark grey Mazda 3 in the driveway, and her friend reported that she recognized Gina's car in the Enfield photos.

The Shubenacadie witness, Eric Fisher, seemed to have a very good view of the crash scene, so it seems likely that he or Constable Chad Morrison provided the info about the silver Chevy Tracker.

If that is in fact the case then the reason they knew he was driving the Silver chevy tracker was bc they were already on scene. He was likely only driving that vehicle for a very short period of time and for a fairly short distance before switching to the grey Mazda 3.

 

[ab01]

I don’t know which is correct but I always tend to rely most on information published by local media. By the time the killer was travelling toward Halifax on hwy 102, he must’ve already been under the scope as they knew what vehicle he was driving. For that reason I don’t think he had any further opportunity to commit any other murders even with the intention of stealing a vehicle with a full gas tank and it appears he had no choice but to stop for a fill-up not even realizing the RCMP were on his tail. But as for news reports, of course this could also be subject to change.

Timeline of Nova Scotia shooting that left at least 18 dead, including RCMP officer - HalifaxToday.ca
11 a.m. Police say Wortman was last seen travelling southbound on Highway 102 toward Halifax from the Brookfield area.

11:20 a.m. RCMP say Wortman has changed vehicles and is now in a silver SUV — a Chevrolet Tracker.

11:40 a.m. RCMP tweet that Wortman is now in custody. He was caught at a gas station in Enfield, N.S., where a body could be seen lying on the ground. A source familiar with the matter who wasn't authorized to speak publicly later confirms to The Canadian Press that the suspect has died.

I understand your point and why you feel that way as things were happening very quickly. But there are numerous MSM videos and photos out there of his arrest and not one of them show a silver Cheverolet tracker. Maybe you have found one but I have not. All the videos and images that I have seen show Armed officers with guns drawn on a Grey Mazda 3 at the gas station. Then Crime scene techs processing the same vehicle. We know RCMP has said there were no other victims killed at the Irving big stop, so I can only come to one fairly simple conclusion. RCMP has not yet released the details to MSM about how the perp ended up in the mazda 3. But I do believe those details will be coming JMO

 

[Unscripted]

MOO, but I'm pretty certain the light silver Chevy Tracker belonged to Joey Webber and that his vehicle was commandeered after the car fires on the roundabout in Shubenacadie (@ route 2 and 224). Shooter would have most likely driven that 2 km down the Route 224 to Gina's and then taken her dark grey Mazda 3 on to the Irving Big Stop in Enfield where it all ended at 11:26 per media reports referenced previously here. ^

 

[Mollyboo]

Ab01, Thank you for expressing that. It was a very confusing, scary time for the officers involved, we have never had a situation such as this in our small province. My son-in-law was on the scenes and he is angry, tired and heartbroken. The amount of devastation he has seen in the last few days will stay with him and the others forever. They did their best with what they knew at the time, no one can prepare for the carnage this killer has left us with. Please do not criticize the RCMP during this time, they are also grieving and trying to help the families put their loved ones to rest..

 

[Unscripted]

"He told me that his son <Joey> was out on a family errand that morning over towards Shubenacadie. [He] very innocently left the area and quickly came upon the face of evil and met his untimely end," he says. "So they are very, very upset, and rightly so."

Joey Webber remembered as good father and upstanding community member by councillor - HalifaxToday.ca

 

[BearCatSafari]

Shawn* My bad for the error in spelling. He & GW were former hunting friends.

RCMP defend not sending emergency alert before Nova Scotia gunman was killed

Wow, I have a feeling LE must have picked his brain for quite awhile about the killer.

Also, might he be the "witness" who informed LE the killer would be wearing a uniform and driving a mock up vehicle? Stands to reason besides cars they discussed other LE paraphernalia and maybe how to obtain it.

He and the shooter once shared an interest in old police cars, but Mr Staples says he can’t guess why gunman Gabriel Wortman would have had him on a list – other than a few months earlier, he had declined to sell a used police car to him.

 

[BearCatSafari]

The more I read, the more I'm a bit dumbfounded. They don't know whether they caught the shooter at 11:21PM April 18? Are RCMP not talking to each other as they swarm the area?

"Do we know if they've caught the assailant?" a first responder asked dispatch at 11:21 p.m.

"No, not for sure," was the response. "They don't know if they've caught him."
​

​

Speculation.. Perhaps they thought the man who hid in the woods was the suspect?

 

[Bravo]

Ab01, Thank you for expressing that. It was a very confusing, scary time for the officers involved, we have never had a situation such as this in our small province. My son-in-law was on the scenes and he is angry, tired and heartbroken. The amount of devastation he has seen in the last few days will stay with him and the others forever. They did their best with what they knew at the time, no one can prepare for the carnage this killer has left us with. Please do not criticize the RCMP during this time, they are also grieving and trying to help the families put their loved ones to rest..

Give your SIL a virtual hug from me. I have the upmost respect for all LE involved. I cant begin to imagine what this was like for them. I can understand Victims Family having anger. It's going to be part of their process. For me, directing anger at LE gives killer exactly what he wants and power that lives on.

 

[BearCatSafari]

Do you have any links to videos of his arrest? I haven't seen any yet.

 

[Bravo]

Not surprised to read he had a manifesto. Killers such as him typically do. I would not be surprised to learn it was very, very detailed. IMO

 

[paganini]

<modsnip: quoted post was removed>

My impression was that he was trying to take on the appearance of someone who was simply stopped for gas and that there were lots of police on the highway in response to the police having been shot nearby. The quote below appears in several places. <modsnip: no MSM link to support>

Police thought he was in a Chevrolet Tracker and saw Wortman at a gas station but “didn’t put it together.”

This would soon change.

“He went to another gas station and was filling up when police arrived,” said sources. “They challenged him. He had (what’s believed to be Stevenson’s) gun out and was hit with about 10 rounds.”

[ADMIN NOTE: Link added here.]​