Atleast 13 Killed In Canada Shootout, 2nd One Since 1989

TORONTO: A man disguised as a police officer went on a shooting rampage in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia on Sunday, killing 13 people, in the deadliest such attack in the country in 30 years. Officials said the suspected shooter was also dead.

A police officer was among those killed. Several bodies were found inside and outside one home in the small, rural town of Portapique, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) north of Halifax.

Overnight, police began advising residents of the town — already on lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic — to lock their doors and stay in their basements. Several homes in the area were set on fire as well.

Police identified the man believed to be the shooter as Gabriel Wortman, 51, who was thought to live part-time in Portapique. Authorities said he wore a police uniform at one point and made his car look like a Royal Canadian Mounted Police cruiser.

"This is one of the most senseless acts of violence in our province's history," said Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil.

RCMP spokesman Daniel Brien confirmed that 13 people had been killed in addition to the suspect. The dead officer was identified as Constable Heidi Stevenson, a mother of two and a 23-year veteran of the force. Another officer was also injured. Brien said he could not rule out that the death toll could still rise.

Mass shootings are relatively rare in the country. Canada overhauled its gun-control laws after its worst mass shooting in 1989, when gunman Marc Lepine killed 14 women and himself at Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique college. This weekend's shooting is the deadliest since then. It is now illegal to possess an unregistered handgun or any kind of rapid-fire weapon in Canada.

"As a country, in moments like these, we come together to support one another. Together we will mourn with the families of the victims, and help them get through this difficult time," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a written statement. (AP)

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