CANADA - shooter in RCMP vehicle & uniform, 22 killed (plus perp), Portapique, NS, 18 April 2020 #2

[mcdonalds]

Could some of the confusion regarding the Blair home fire may be due to the interview given by the son who stated the children hid under the bed, he set fire to the house, and they ran to the neighbors and hid with their children?

Between the redacted documents, the multiple media sources (approved and not), direct police statements/conferences- its very confusing an any one of us could make the same mistakes.

IMO: i'm willing to give some latitude to some of the errors in the police statements/ITO redactions -the responding emergency,police members are in shock themselves from what when on and what they experienced. But in a close community of people who are trying to make sense of everything- people will talk and the truths of what they saw, knew and what happened to those they loved will come out- regardless of approved WS media sources.

Additional- And really none of the information that we hear- correct or not- will ever change the fact that GW had found the ways and means to commit such evil and will not change the outcome for the 22 victims- but hopefully it will enable things to change within the forces so this never happens again.

 

[MistyWaters]

Could some of the confusion regarding the Blair home fire may be due to the interview given by the son who stated the children hid under the bed, he set fire to the house, and they ran to the neighbors and hid with their children?

Between the redacted documents, the multiple media sources (approved and not), direct police statements/conferences- its very confusing an any one of us could make the same mistakes.

IMO: i'm willing to give some latitude to some of the errors in the police statements/ITO redactions -the responding emergency,police members are in shock themselves from what when on and what they experienced. But in a close community of people who are trying to make sense of everything- people will talk and the truths of what they saw, knew and what happened to those they loved will come out- regardless of approved WS media sources.

Additional- And really none of the information that we hear- correct or not- will ever change the fact that GW had found the ways and means to commit such evil and will not change the outcome for the 22 victims- but hopefully it will enable things to change within the forces so this never happens again.

I agree, a precise timeline including locations of the burned properties is far secondary to focus on the 22 lives which were taken.

Perhaps the reason descriptive news of the Portapique burned homes isn’t being publicly released is because it might give the impression the killer held some sort of elevated grievances with those particular homeowners.....but maybe the fires were intentionally set in certain locations only because the killer anticipated it would ignite a raging forest fire throughout the area, thereby erasing evidence and concealing his murderous rampage. Or possibly he was interrupted from even more arson activity, causing greater death when police arrived, just my speculation. But as he was still there, hadn’t yet fled the community, that had to be for a reason.

Until such time as more of his motive is understood, if it ever will be, or if this tragedy was preplanned, it’s difficult to know if his actions were intentional or that of a raging lunatic who’d completely lost it IMO.

 

[newguy123]

The fact he burned his own residence and other structures would indicate he knew he would not be coming back, ever, and was laying waste to anything and anyone in his way. And yet......why go looking for others? The innocents?? And yet, even if this evil interlude were somehow understandable......the next day is not. There were hours for him to "calm down". With him heading back to the Halifax area he prob. was not "done" his deeds in full.

 

[mcdonalds]

but maybe the fires were intentionally set in certain locations only because the killer anticipated it would ignite a raging forest fire throughout the area, thereby erasing evidence and concealing his murderous rampage.

Was there not a comment made early on that they had put air support on standby in the event it did cause a forest fire? (I am not sure if it was the initial conference with Supt Leather where it was mentioned.)

 

[Amoca]

Heather O’Brien was murdered in the Nova Scotia shooting. It took the RCMP seven hours to tell her family. - Macleans.ca

From this source it sounds as though both VON victims were killed only meters and moments apart.

They could have possibly be going to the same house, one home support worker, one LPN. When we had heavy 2 person lifts, we'd sometimes have backup to do it, or an LPN would go there for medical treatments (VON is our Home Care-- Victorian Order of Nurses) and a Home Support Worker there to do personal care, feeding, etc.

It sounds like they were quite close, but given the pandemic was keeping most people home, at that time of the morning, there would be home support workers and nurses all over the county.

 

[tayaway]

DBM

 

[Amoca]

The fact he burned his own residence and other structures would indicate he knew he would not be coming back, ever, and was laying waste to anything and anyone in his way. And yet......why go looking for others? The innocents?? And yet, even if this evil interlude were somehow understandable......the next day is not. There were hours for him to "calm down". With him heading back to the Halifax area he prob. was not "done" his deeds in full.

His quote that he was "enjoying this prelude to retirement", which was posted in the Chronicle I think, is absolutely chilling. He knew what he was doing.

 

[Amoca]

It is not:

Yeah, I got that. I did edit that part didn't I? You're quick!

 

[Amoca]

Could some of the confusion regarding the Blair home fire may be due to the interview given by the son who stated the children hid under the bed, he set fire to the house, and they ran to the neighbors and hid with their children?

Between the redacted documents, the multiple media sources (approved and not), direct police statements/conferences- its very confusing an any one of us could make the same mistakes.

IMO: i'm willing to give some latitude to some of the errors in the police statements/ITO redactions -the responding emergency,police members are in shock themselves from what when on and what they experienced. But in a close community of people who are trying to make sense of everything- people will talk and the truths of what they saw, knew and what happened to those they loved will come out- regardless of approved WS media sources.

Additional- And really none of the information that we hear- correct or not- will ever change the fact that GW had found the ways and means to commit such evil and will not change the outcome for the 22 victims- but hopefully it will enable things to change within the forces so this never happens again.

Yup. I thought the Blairs house burnt, too, based on the son's interview that GW had set the house on fire, the kids were hiding, then they went to neighbour and hid with the other children. God those poor kids.

 

[tayaway]

His quote that he was "enjoying this prelude to retirement", which was posted in the Chronicle I think, is absolutely chilling. He knew what he was doing.

At first, I thought he meant actual retirement, but reading your post, ya, what if he meant retirement as in death, and I'm bringing the whole lot of you down with me?

 

[mcdonalds]

At first, I thought he meant actual retirement, but reading your post, ya, what if he meant retirement as in death, and I'm bringing the whole lot of you down with me?

So why April 18 -- if he had been planing it days before, months before or years before- what happened the night of April 18 that set him off? He had a history of domestic, assault, posturing with the police, fights with business partners/issues and people he had taken issues with- he didn't do it then - so why now?

 

[MistyWaters]

The fact he burned his own residence and other structures would indicate he knew he would not be coming back, ever, and was laying waste to anything and anyone in his way. And yet......why go looking for others? The innocents?? And yet, even if this evil interlude were somehow understandable......the next day is not. There were hours for him to "calm down". With him heading back to the Halifax area he prob. was not "done" his deeds in full.

Yes he knew he was not coming back. There was a prior murder with a raging, accelerant-caused house fire so intense that remains of one of the victims was never found. Maybe he expected to be declared dead in his residence but the arrival of the RCMP and his failure to shoot the two guys in the car who ID’d him resulted in plan B including fleeing and causing more cold-blooding killings elsewhere. It’s probably impossible for anyone to ever know what was in his head as obviously his thoughts were not rational or based on sound-thinking and logic.

Just a reference to the report about a victims body never found in the fire -
Castor, Alberta triple murder saw family killed, home burned to the ground, dog shot, RCMP say

 

[tayaway]

So why April 18 -- if he had been planing it days before, months before or years before- what happened the night of April 18 that set him off? He had a history of domestic, assault, posturing with the police, fights with business partners/issues and people he had taken issues with- he didn't do it then - so why now?

Maybe the date didn't matter? It could've just felt right to him in the moment? It's been speculated that it coincided with the mass shootings/bombings that happened on Apr 18, 19, and 20th throughout modern history.

 

[NBKevadian]

Heather O’Brien was murdered in the Nova Scotia shooting. It took the RCMP seven hours to tell her family. - Macleans.ca

From this source it sounds as though both VON victims were killed only meters and moments apart.

They could have possibly be going to the same house, one home support worker, one LPN. When we had heavy 2 person lifts, we'd sometimes have backup to do it, or an LPN would go there for medical treatments (VON is our Home Care-- Victorian Order of Nurses) and a Home Support Worker there to do personal care, feeding, etc.

It sounds like they were quite close, but given the pandemic was keeping most people home, at that time of the morning, there would be home support workers and nurses all over the county.

REPLY:In the linked article it said one VON was on her way to work. The other was driving her Sunday “circle” to each of her 6 children’s homes, who each live within 5 mins of her, and see her grandchildren through their picture windows. She was on the phone with a friend while driving. She heard gunshots. Told her friend it was ok, that RCMP were there. The last thing her friend heard was a scream.
Just a coincidence that two VONs were victims at the same place, minutes apart.

 

[CitizenCSI]

I do hope the psychological autopsy reveals some insight into the roots of this tragedy. It may never explain why someone with this much success and comforts of life have that much blind hatred towards others willing to lose it all for what? Revenge? I believe he always had this kind of destruction in his mind but fought back the urge while preparing his plan for another day. I think if anyone other than a farmer buys $800 worth of fuel, that would send a red flag up. That’s like 4 barrels of gas.

 

[deugirtni]

I do hope the psychological autopsy reveals some insight into the roots of this tragedy. It may never explain why someone with this much success and comforts of life have that much blind hatred towards others willing to lose it all for what? Revenge? I believe he always had this kind of destruction in his mind but fought back the urge while preparing his plan for another day. I think if anyone other than a farmer buys $800 worth of fuel, that would send a red flag up. That’s like 4 barrels of gas.

I would agree on the gas at most times, but thinking because it's 'Covid', there may have been a legitimate reason not to want to get stuck, kind of like the toilet paper sitch?

Too bad we can't know 'the real story' yet. Hopefully one day we can? Did he burn the homes of those who had 'wronged' him (in his head at least) at some point, while others were killed, but their homes left intact, possibly because they came out to see what the fire was about, and he was killing anyone getting in the way of his plan .... which I'm assuming was to kill his gf/common law wife?

I keep thinking about how extremely trapped that woman was. She lived with him.. she worked at his business.. she had to be there when he wasn't there.. he could go off gallavanting around wherever, picking up fuel and ammunition or whatever he wanted, while she was stuck being present for the clientele? I think about.. what if she'd wanted to get help.. what if she'd ever become attracted to another man and just simply wanted to leave GW? It seems she was as trapped as one could be! If she went to a shelter, she likely knew she still wasn't going to be safe, same with staying with friends or family. I wonder if he also controlled her money situation.. that could explain why she never bolted and ran far far far away to set up a new life for herself somewhere else.

 

[MistyWaters]

I think if anyone other than a farmer buys $800 worth of fuel, that would send a red flag up. That’s like 4 barrels of gas.

Some generators run on gasoline. Given the initial COVID-19 panic that resulted in stockpiling, especially if the killer had a storage tank on his property that complied with regulations, it may’ve not been that unusual.

 

[MistyWaters]

Whoever this witness is below, they knew him very well.

Canada has legislation for citizens to report suspected terrorist activity to a National Security Tip Line but if anything good can come out of this, I think it will be the establishment of a similar process regarding domestic terrorism, whether or not it’s connected to any ideology. To be expected, some will scream and holler that a high-risk list contravenes our rights and freedoms and gives too much authority to police, Big Brother is coming and all that.

Just by this brief description, this individual would’ve been deemed a high risk ticking-time bomb IMO.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/mass-killing-nova-scotia-search-warrant-1.5575059
“One witness described Wortman as intelligent but, "a psychopath," who was severely abused as a child and paranoid about the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the statement detailed in the document. The same person relayed that Wortman once had a mental breakdown, and kept guns at his denturist office as well as his Portapique property.

The witness also told police that Wortman, "would dress up as a police officer and would role play. Gabriel had a whole uniform with a hat, jacket and has a vest."

 

[Amoca]

REPLY:In the linked article it said one VON was on her way to work. The other was driving her Sunday “circle” to each of her 6 children’s homes, who each live within 5 mins of her, and see her grandchildren through their picture windows. She was on the phone with a friend while driving. She heard gunshots. Told her friend it was ok, that RCMP were there. The last thing her friend heard was a scream.
Just a coincidence that two VONs were victims at the same place, minutes apart.

Wow, I just assumed both were working, being in the same area. What an awful coincidence.

 

[Oscarjackson12]

Whoever this witness is below, they knew him very well.

Canada has legislation for citizens to report suspected terrorist activity to a National Security Tip Line but if anything good can come out of this, I think it will be the establishment of a similar process regarding domestic terrorism, whether or not it’s connected to any ideology. To be expected, some will scream and holler that a high-risk list contravenes our rights and freedoms and gives too much authority to police, Big Brother is coming and all that.

Just by this brief description, this individual would’ve been deemed a high risk ticking-time bomb IMO.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/mass-killing-nova-scotia-search-warrant-1.5575059
“One witness described Wortman as intelligent but, "a psychopath," who was severely abused as a child and paranoid about the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the statement detailed in the document. The same person relayed that Wortman once had a mental breakdown, and kept guns at his denturist office as well as his Portapique property.

The witness also told police that Wortman, "would dress up as a police officer and would role play. Gabriel had a whole uniform with a hat, jacket and has a vest."

It might be the girlfriend.