N.S. mass shooting: New documents show killer had five guns ready to fire when he was shot dead at gas station
Before erupting into his horrific killing spree, Gabriel Wortman was “paranoid about the pandemic” that had shuttered his denture clinics, a friend told police. Yet just four days before his rampage, he had sent an email to another friend that read: “I am enjoying this prelude to retirement.”
A colleague who worked with Wortman at one of his denture clinics said he suffered “a mental breakdown,” the document shows. The colleague said Wortman was abusive and described him as “disturbed,” “very smart,” and “a psychopath,” and said he was “severely abused as a young boy.” Another acquaintance described him to police investigators as “a sociopath, abusive.” He kept a gun, “like a machine gun” by the fireplace at one of his properties. Yet another said he was “controlling and paranoid.”
Because the Crown has released only one such ITO, it is not known whether the various pieces of information witnesses told police proved to be true or not. The RCMP has not responded to a request for comment.For much of the chaos, Wortman masqueraded as a Mountie and drove a car almost identical to a police cruiser. When he was finally shot and killed at a gas station — by then driving a civilian car — he had five guns within reach, the new document reveals.
Police say they have traced the source of both semi-automatic rifles, but the details are redacted in the new document. Wortman did not have a firearms license and never has, the single, 40-page document says. In one bizarre scene described in the document, a victim who was injured but not killed was waiting for an ambulance and telling police what happened when he felt something inside his coat. He pulled out a bullet that was under his shirt, the document says. He put it in his pants pocket and pulled it out later to show someone, but said he couldn’t find it to give to police.
The witness saw “two Mountie cars smashed together,” a reference to Wortman’s replica cruiser that collided head-on with Stevenson cruiser during the manhunt. “During the evening an argument ensued,” during which Wortman assaulted the woman, the document says. Wortman and his common-law spouse had earlier been having drinks and Facetiming friends.
“Gabriel Wortman wasn’t a police officer wannabe and didn’t like police officers and thought he was better than them,” the document says, summarizing the interview with his common-law spouse.The document says that people saw a structure fire in the area, drove to the spot and saw a large building on fire and a “police car” parked in the driveway. As the people, whose names have been redacted, turned their vehicle around, the police car pulled up alongside them.
“Openness is the rule and secrecy is the unusual situation. The burden is on to establish that such secrecy is necessary,” Coles said. “The families of the victims, Nova Scotians and Canadians deserve a transparent, impartial and independent assessment of why and how this incident occurred.” The RCMP’s Behavioural Analysis Unit is conducting a psychological autopsy of the gunman. The intent is to gather insights into the reasons for his violent spree, including an analysis of his personality, past behaviour and how he related to others, the RCMP said.
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