At least 17 people killed in Canada shooting spree

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A gunman in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia killed at least 17 people, including a policewoman, during a 12-hour weekend rampage, police said. The shooting spree is the worst act of mass murder the country has seen in 30 years.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman – who had disguised his car to look like a police cruiser – had been taken into custody Sunday morning, but didn't provide any additional details.

But, Canadian CTV News, quoting from multiple sources, reported that Wortman was killed by police outside the Irving gas station and Big Stop restaurant in Enfield, located roughly 40 kilometers from downtown Halifax, the provincial capital.

The gunman shot people in several locations across the Atlantic province. Police confirmed that Constable Heidi Stevenson, a 23-year veteran of the Nova Scotia RCMP, died Sunday morning while responding to the active shooter incident. A male RCMP officer was injured and taken to hospital with non-life-threatening wounds.

"Today is a devastating day for Nova Scotia, and it will remain etched in the minds for many years to come," Lee Bergerman, commanding officer of the RCMP in Nova Scotia, told reporters.

Authorities said they were still trying to establish a final death toll.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police members pack up after the search for a gunman in a shooting spree in Great Village, Nova Scotia, Canada, April 19, 2020. /Reuters

Chief Supt. Chris Leather said police first responded to a firearms complaint at a residence in Portapique, about 130 kilometers north of Halifax late Saturday evening after receiving several 911 calls.

When officers arrived, they discovered several bodies inside and outside of the home. They urged residents to remain in their homes with their doors locked while they scoured the community, searching for the suspect.

Leather said the search for the suspect led to several sites in the area, including structures that were on fire.

He added that at one point, Wortman was seen wearing a police uniform, which the officer viewed as 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," Leather said.

But he said it was too early in the investigation to tell what the gunman's motivation was and that some victims "appeared not to have a relationship with the assailant shooter."

RCMP monitor the TransCanada Highway while searching for shooting suspect Cabriel Wortman near Fort Lawrence, Nova Scotia, Canada, April 19, 2020. /Reuters

According to the websites of the Denturist Society of Nova Scotia and the province's Better Business Bureau, Wortman operated a denture clinic in Dartmouth, close to Halifax.

Mass shootings are relatively rare in Canada, which has tighter gun control laws than the United States. The massacre looked to be the worst of its kind since a gunman killed 15 women in Montreal in December 1989. A man driving a van deliberately ran over and killed 10 people in Toronto in April 2018.

Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil said it was "one of the most senseless acts of violence in our province's history.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, speaking to reporters in Ottawa, deplored what he called "a terrible situation."

"My heart goes out to everyone affected in what is a terrible situation. I want to thank the police for their hard work and people for cooperating with authorities."

(With input from agencies)