The Nova Scotia gunman who killed 22 people in one of Canada’s worst mass killings evaded police for nearly 13 hours by driving across a field, spending the night in an industrial park and changing his clothes and vehicles several times.
The Nova Scotia gunman who killed 22 people in one of Canada’s worst mass shootings evaded police for nearly 13 hours by driving through a field, spending the night in an industrial area and changing his clothes and vehicles several times.
The gunman was disguised as a police officer, wearing parts of an authentic RCMP uniform and driving a replica RCMP car during part of the shooting rampage that began on the night of April 18 in Portapique, N.S.
WATCH | RCMP say N.S. gunman wore parts of authentic uniform
Supt. Darren Campbell gives an update on investigation into mass shooting 2:10
Over the next 13 hours, he killed strangers and people he knew before being shot dead by police nearly 100 kilometres away from where the first shots were fired.
Nova Scotia RCMP provided many more details on the gunman’s movements on the night of April 18 and the morning of April 19 during a news conference on Tuesday.
WATCH | RCMP say gunman left the Portapique area by driving through a field
Supt. Darren Campbell outlines the timeline of the N.S. shooter’s deadly rampage 3:35
Supt. Darren Campbell also said the gunman was related to retired RCMP officers.
But Campbell added that there is no indication at this time that any former members of the RCMP helped the gunman or provided him with a police uniform or RCMP vehicle.
“Though the gunman will never stand trial, we still have a duty to complete this investigation by the same standards that we would have if he was standing trial,” Campbell said.
911 call
Police initially didn’t say when the first 911 call came in, but Campbell said Tuesday that it was around 10 p.m. local time on April 18.
Police say 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman killed his first victims in Portapique. He then left the small seaside community by driving through a field at around 10:35 p.m., just minutes after police arrived in the area, where they found dead bodies on the road and several homes on fire.
He drove about 26 kilometres east and arrived in Debert around 11:12 p.m., Campbell said.
The gunman hid out in the industrial area for more than six hours before resuming his rampage. Police have searched the area in Debert but they don’t know exactly what the gunman did while he was there.
“We are making a plea to anyone in that a