Man Kills More Than A Dozen People During 12-Hour Shooting Rampage In Canada

A man has killed 16 people after going on a shooting rampage in Canada.

The accused gunman, who has been identified as 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman, also died during the 12-hour rampage in Nova Scotia.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) commanding officer Lee Bergman said: "Today is a devastating day for Nova Scotia and it will remain etched in the minds of many for years to come."

Ms Bergman added that a police officer of 23 years, Heidi Stevenson, was one of the victims.

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She added: "Heidi answered the call of duty and lost her life while protecting those she served.

"Two children have lost their mother. And a husband has lost his wife. Parents have lost their daughter and countless others lost an incredible friend and colleague."

Authorities say Wortman altered a SUV to look like a police vehicle and reportedly dressed up like an officer before launching the attack.

They haven't yet established a motive for the rampage, however that will be part of the investigation.

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RCMP Chief Superintendent Chris Leather said: "We believe it to be one person who is responsible for all the killings and that he alone moved across the northern part of the province and committed what appears to be several homicides."

Mr Leather was also asked about why the suspect was trying to impersonate an officer.

He replied with: "Of course that's an important element in the investigation, the fact that this individual had a uniform and a police car at his disposal certainly speaks to it not being a random act."

The massacre is one of the worst to hit the North American country in 30 years.

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Fifteen people were killed in 1989 when a gunman opened fire on women.

The country also experienced two deadly attacks in 2017 and 2018, when a man shot dead six people at an Islamic cultural centre in Quebec City, and a man deliberately drove a van into 10 people in Toronto.

Premier of Nova Scotia Stephen McNeil expressed his grief and sadness over the rampage.

"I never imagined when I went to bed last night that I would wake up to the horrific news that an active shooter was on the loose in Nova Scotia," he said.

Topics: World News, News

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

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