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

[Vern]

In addition, the police reported her still in shock when she was found. If the other fellow was hypothermic, probably she was as well. One of the ways men like this keep women with them is by threatening the women that if they leave, the male will kill [insert people like your kids, your parents, your best friend, etc.]. And, it had happened. During those hours in which her instinct was forcing to save herself, she must have wondered if she wanted to live the future in front of her.

He was hiding in the woods about 4 hours he thinks (his article is linked below).

She escaped to hide in the woods when suspect left to go kill the first set of victims at the party (10:28pm I think it was reported). She didn't come out until 6:30 am, so she had a few more hours in the woods that CE2 did; possibly up to 8 hours for her. I did see something that she had to be taken to hospital, but can't seem to find it now.

Here's CE2 telling his survival story:
Man hid in woods for hours after finding brother dead in Portapique | The Chronicle Herald

 

[deugirtni]

I wonder how far in the bush she hid? If close enough to hear firetrucks and police vehicles why not come out and tell the police what her boyfriend/killer was driving then? Hindsight is 20/20 I know. She was the only witness left alive to give the description of what he was driving and wearing right? JMO

Was he actually wearing the cop uniform while she was with him??? They were at a party, had a fight, came home? Was he wearng it at the party? Or did he change into it in the midst of their fight when they ret'd home? Or did he mess with her, tie her up and then she saw him change into it??

 

[Maverick47]

<modsnip: removed reference to content from Frank Magazine> Note that GW's drunken assault of a teen waiting for a bus in front of GW's Halifax denturist clinic happened in 2001 - so about 19 years ago. Next, Toronto Star article dated 23 April quotes neighbour J. Hudson describing episode at a neighbourhood bonfire where GW removed tires of his girlfriend's car to prevent her from leaving. In this article, J. Hudson places this episode about 10 years ago and also attributes it to alcohol. Quote from The Star article:
“Back in those days, he was making a few threats here and there every once and a while but nothing serious and I just took it as, ‘Well Gabe, he’s just had too much to drink,’ ” Hudson said.

Definite pattern.

 

[dar107]

I have read conflicting articles on how his gf was confined. I've read "tied up" and "handcuffed " does anyone know off the top of their heads If LE confirmed handcuffed? Either way I feel he confined her..told her what he was about to do and set the house on fire when he left. For all we know he thought she was dead in house and never knew she escaped. Maybe he didnt kill her right away because he wanted her to suffer every way his sick mind could think of.

 

[paganini]

I have read conflicting articles on how his gf was confined. I've read "tied up" and "handcuffed " does anyone know off the top of their heads If LE confirmed handcuffed? Either way I feel he confined her..told her what he was about to do and set the house on fire when he left. For all we know he thought she was dead in house and never knew she escaped. Maybe he didnt kill her right away because he wanted her to suffer every way his sick mind could think of.

Off the top of my head, LE said in the lengthy PC that she had been hand cuffed.

 

[Maverick47]

<modsnip: quoted post was removed> If you look at this CTV news video, you will see that the timeline and locations are quite clear.
Watch CTV News Atlantic | Local News Video | Top Headlines

 

[MistyWaters]

<modsnip> a TO Sun article indicates it was "about a decade ago" that the father's brother, Glynn contacted him saying GW had said he was going to kill his mother and father. <modsnip> This is a link to an article from another journalist who spoke the the father.
WARMINGTON: Father of Nova Scotia mass killer heartbroken | The Chronicle Herald

I just have a really hard time believing a person who’s 51 years years old would fly off his rocker and become a mass murderer due to any sort of friction connected to his elderly parents. Maybe if he was in his teens or 20s....but 51? No, I just can’t buy that however if it’s connected it’s yet another example of someone who is a “grievance collector”.

Often close relatives of horrendous murderers receive vicious hate mail and death threats so perhaps the father is attempting to mitigate that by letting it be known he recognized all was not right with his son but there was nothing he could do....and rightly so, there wouldn’t be anything 70+ year old parents could have done to prevent this. JMO It’s refreshing when parents refuse to defend their adult children by casting blame in another direction.

 

[kmclaren]

I have read conflicting articles on how his gf was confined. I've read "tied up" and "handcuffed " does anyone know off the top of their heads If LE confirmed handcuffed? Either way I feel he confined her..told her what he was about to do and set the house on fire when he left. For all we know he thought she was dead in house and never knew she escaped. Maybe he didnt kill her right away because he wanted her to suffer every way his sick mind could think of.

No, RCMP did not say either. They said she was assaulted, managed to escape and hid in the woods overnight. Anything else is just media chatter.

Link, see comments starting at 7:00, he talks about her again during questions at 35 minutes (where he emphasizes the assault was "significant") and again at 1:03 talks about her as a witness:

 

[kmclaren]

yes that’s correct it was said at the presser

Can you link that quote because I did not hear that during the presser?

 

[maddiel]

<modsnip: quoted post was removed> If you look at this CTV news video, you will see that the timeline and locations are quite clear.
Watch CTV News Atlantic | Local News Video | Top Headlines

"RCMPNS correction: Please note that Hunter Rd. is in Wentworth and not in Glenholme as we previously stated. Please accept our apologies for the error." (3:54 PM · Apr 24, 2020 from @rcmpns)

Where the RCMP apologized for saying he was in Glenhome when he was still in Wentworth during their press conference that morning?

 

[Vern]

<modsnip: quoted post was removed> If you look at this CTV news video, you will see that the timeline and locations are quite clear.
Watch CTV News Atlantic | Local News Video | Top Headlines

<modsnip> the McLean's article I linked earlier, a very trusted Canadian National News Source, has the timeline and incident location maps as shown in the background during the RCMP News Briefing.

<modsnip> 911 calls from Hunter Road / Wentworth murders started coming in at 9:35am. By 10 am he had travelled down Hwy 4 and was in Debert, pulling people over and shooting them.

RCMP offer details about timeline for mass killing in Nova Scotia

 

[MistyWaters]

Was he actually wearing the cop uniform while she was with him??? They were at a party, had a fight, came home? Was he wearng it at the party? Or did he change into it in the midst of their fight when they ret'd home? Or did he mess with her, tie her up and then she saw him change into it??

It appears she indeed did tell them he “was wearing” a police uniform. When he became angry, then tied/handcuffed(?) and beat her, maybe in his lunacy he also would dress up in the RCMP uniform? I’d be very surprised it was the first time he inflicted physical violence upon her.

“The woman provided more information about GW. “This included the fact that he was in possession of a fully modern and equipped replica RCMP vehicle and was wearing a police uniform,” said Campbell.”
13 hours of terror: tracking a mass murderer's rampage through Nova Scotia

 

[ab01]

Can you link that quote because I did not hear that during the presser?

I believe it was in the reporter question and answer section.

I know I linked it earlier I will post the link here

My apologies it was actually from this article. I posted it when I saw it during the press conference hence my confusion as I was transcribing the press conference at the same time.

N.S. shooter handcuffed, assaulted his girlfriend before mass killing

TORONTO -- The shooter involved in a mass killing in Nova Scotia began his attack by handcuffing and assaulting his girlfriend before she escaped and hid in the surrounding woods, CTV News has learned.

Gabriel Wortman’s girlfriend, who has not been identified, was badly beaten, but survived the assault and later informed officers of Wortman’s fake police cruiser, which the shooter used to evade police for several hours as his rampage continued through central Nova Scotia.

It was the shooter’s girlfriend who also provided officers with an image of the vehicle, which was shared on the Nova Scotia RCMP’s Twitter page.

 

[kmclaren]

Thanks, I didn't think I heard it officially from the RCMP. It could well be true, reporters poke around and get info from other sources. Just glad it seems she will recover.

I believe it was is the reporter question and answer section.

I know I linked it earlier I will post the link here

My apologies it was actually from this article. I posted it when I saw it during the press conference hence my confusion.

N.S. shooter handcuffed, assaulted his girlfriend before mass killing

TORONTO -- The shooter involved in a mass killing in Nova Scotia began his attack by handcuffing and assaulting his girlfriend before she escaped and hid in the surrounding woods, CTV News has learned.

Gabriel Wortman’s girlfriend, who has not been identified, was badly beaten, but survived the assault and later informed officers of Wortman’s fake police cruiser, which the shooter used to evade police for several hours as his rampage continued through central Nova Scotia.

It was the shooter’s girlfriend who also provided officers with an image of the vehicle, which was shared on the Nova Scotia RCMP’s Twitter page.

 

[Snoopster]

I’m inclined to think he hated everyone equally

I think he hated people in general, but hated men and women in different ways. He was prideful with men...trying to take financial advantage of them to show he was the alpha. Yet, to be slighted by a woman....that is the thing that would tip him over the edge. That is where the misogyny kicks in.

 

[Errrr]

I just have a really hard time believing a person who’s 51 years years old would fly off his rocker and become a mass murderer due to any sort of friction connected to his elderly parents. Maybe if he was in his teens or 20s....but 51? No, I just can’t buy that however if it’s connected it’s yet another example of someone who is a “grievance collector”.

Booze can take years off your life in more ways than one.

 

[katydid23]

After each tragedy, we learn so much about what "works" and what doesn't in "novel" situations like this. Procedures are instituted, changed or enhanced, and those involved in protecting and policing, especially those on the front lines in such a chaotic situation, have an opportunity to review and make suggestions. In the world of aviation, some use the term "tombstone mentality" to refer to actions that are taken after a disaster.

I had a thought about the huge advantage this rampager had over the populace and LE, "hiding" and killing "in plain sight" from what appeared to be a "real" official police car. If only there were some way to alert other officers to be on the lookout so they could avoid or engage this particular vehicle.

Would it be realistic for LE to have a sort of "secret handshake" in the form of something on their vehicles/person that could be used during an event like this? For instance, one example off the top of my head is how members of the Secret Service wear a certain color of lapel pin as the first indication that someone who looks and acts like an agent might not be legit.

I'm thinking about some sort of visual or auditory signal that is ONLY known by the actual police. For this to work, it has to be arranged beforehand, so the "fake" cop isn't in on the secret. It's an idea, and like many of my ideas, it's easy to imagine and brainstorm about, but probably not feasible in the real world. IMO.

I think the Secret Service have another thing like that ---When guarding a high profile politician, they reportedly have a code word for the day---and if some other guy in a suit walks up to the government car-he'd better know the code word if asked. Or something like that....

 

[Alethea]

I’m not asking or suggesting anyone sleuth family but was GW never married? No children? I’ve seen his GF referred to as GF and “partner,” but no mention of an ex wife or children.

 

[Kent]

<modsnip: quoted post was removed>

According to this CBC article, another single gunshot was heard shortly after 8am. The neighbour who heard it didn't call 911, but went to investigate and turned around when another neighbour told him the house was on fire and there were "bullets flying." Some time later, he heard an explosion and once again headed toward the house to check it out. Half an hour after that, they found Tom Bagley's body on the property. From this, it sounds like they were getting reports of a house fire in Wentworth earlier, but the shooting wasn't reported until around 9:30.

On Sunday morning when I woke up to news reports about the shootings, they were reporting a house fire in Wentworth that "may or may not be connected", which lines up.

 

[JuneBug67]

Insightful and fair article on what the police were facing the 18th and 19th. Very resonant with what many already concluded. Some mistakes were made, but they were almost all very understandable mistakes in the context of these shockingly wicked events. The most crucial mistake, and perhaps the least understandable one, was the was the failure to initiate an alert when they realized he was still out there and active Sunday morning.

RCMP kept off trail of N.S. mass murderer by perfect storm of issues in first 12 hours of probe: expert