A preliminary psychological autopsy of the man responsible for Canada’s worst mass murder reveals he was an “injustice collector” — someone who holds onto grudges until they boil over in rage.
When the gunman’s rage boiled over in northern Nova Scotia on April 18, launching a 13-hour shooting rampage, among his 22 murder victims were those targeted because of perceived injustices of the past, police said Thursday.
RCMP Supt. Darren Campbell described a “wrath of violence” during an update on the ongoing investigation. The RCMP revealed new details about events before, during and after the tragedy.
As police continue to investigate the gunman’s movements, so too are they probing his motivation.
Gabriel Wortman, 51, wore an RCMP uniform and drove a replica RCMP cruiser during his rampage that started by assaulting and confining his common-law spouse. It ended when he was shot and killed by police the next day.
RCMP profilers and a forensic psychologist from the RCMP’s national behavioural analysis unit are conducting a psychological investigation into Wortman.
The profiling is “an effort to better understand the gunman, why he committed these horrible crimes and to determine if there were any predictable factors which may assist in preventing similar future tragedies,” Campbell said.
The preliminary profile describes three categories for Wortman’s victims: those targeted for perceived injustices of the past; reactive targets of his rage; and random targets along his path.
Police did not provide a breakdown of how many or who fell into each of those categories.
“We may never uncover all of the details or fully understand why the gunman did what he did. The investigation is committed to providing answers to the victims, the surviving family members, the public and to hold anyone who played a role accountable in these horrible crimes,” Campbell said.
Much of the new information was in response to media reports and public rumours about the police response to the shootings.
“There is no room for speculation,” he said.
There was a shoot out between RCMP Const. Heidi Stevenson and the gunman before Stevenson was killed, police confirmed, but they do not believe Stevenson rammed the gunman’s replica cruiser during the manhunt, as some reported.
“She bravely engaged the gunman,” Campbell said, “there was an exchange of gunfire between Const. Stevenson and the gunman.” While their cars collided, he said, it was not likely at the intiative of Stevenson.
Stevenson and Const. Chad Morrison, who was also shot but survived, were wearing both soft and hard body armour at the time.
Wortman did not use his replica RCMP cruiser to stop and pull over any of his victims who were in their vehicles, police said in response to wide-spread belief.
Guns
Police remain tight-lipped about many details of the five guns Wortman had with him when he was killed, saying they are under active investigation with international law enforcement agencies.
“What can be confirmed is that the gunman had acquired all of his firearms illegally. Of the five firearms found in the gunman’s possession on April 19th, three were obtained illegally from the United States, one was obtained illegally in Canada through the estate of a deceased associate,” Campbell said.
The fifth gun was one he stole from Stevenson.
All but one of his own guns were obtained after an internal police bulletin was circulated in 2011 warning that Wortman was having a mental health crisis, had a handgun and rifles and wanted to kill a police officer.
The alarming officer safety bulletin was prepared by the Truro Police Service and circulated across the province by the Criminal Intelligence Service of Nova Scotia. It was not in the RCMP’s searchable database, however, likely purged after two years, as is the protocol, police said.
As such, RCMP Chief Supt. Chris Leather said, investigators were not aware of the explicit bulletin information when responding to the scenes of the shootings in April.
“While a bulletin existed from 2011, it likely would not have changed the response of April 18 and 19,” Leather said.
Police did not specify which of the guns was still in Wortman’s possession after the safety bulletin.
Alert system
Leather addressed concerns over the RCMP issuing its public warning of the gunman driving a look-a-like police car only on Twitter and did not activate the provincial Alert Ready System, which would send a loud alert to all cell phones.
Some relatives of victims said a cell phone alert would have prevented their loved ones from venturing outside and into Wortman’s path.
Leather said Thursday he made the decision to activate the alert system less than a week after the rampage for another incident. It did not go well.
“We learned the unintended consequences,” he said. People jammed 911 emergency lines asking questions, such as should they pick up their children, should they hide, what they should do.
He also said the alert hit areas far from where the potential emergency was, even in PEI.
“RCMP is working on national policy to ensure this is addressed. As well, we are working with our partners in the province to ensure that when used, the system effectively helps to protect public safety,” said Leather.
Uniforms
Police confirmed that two relatives of Wortman’s are retired members of the RCMP. Both were estranged from the gunman and have cooperated with the investigation.
“It is not believed that either of these retired RCMP members provided operational duty uniforms to the gunman, such as the items that were in the possession of the gunman and discarded at one of the murder scenes,” said Campbell.
Wortman also was friends with a police officer from another Nova Scotia police agency. That officer has also cooperated, Campbell said, and is also not believed responsible for providing uniform items.
Police said Wortman had no known association with the RCMP. He was not a volunteer or auxiliary member, nor had any special relationship with the force, possibly a reference to rumours he was a police informant.
How he got the uniform is still being investigated.
Police cars
The gunman had bought four former police cars through local auctions. Emergency equipment, such as the roof lights, were bought through online auctions and installed by him and some of his friends, Campbell said.
The vehicle decals were reproductions printed locally but the manager of the print shop was not aware of the work and is cooperating with the probe.
The probe, called Operation H-Strong, remains ongoing.
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