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How an RCMP officer escaped and survived after being shot by the N.S. gunman
Court documents reveal Const. Chad Morrison's harrowing encounter
Minutes after being shot by a man in what appeared to be a marked police cruiser, Const. Chad Morrison found himself alone and gripping his service rifle behind an empty ambulance depot.
The Nova Scotia RCMP officer knew the gunman was nearby and was worried he was still a target.
Morrison's harrowing encounter with the man responsible for killing 22 people in April is described in search warrant documents released by the courts Monday.
That morning, about 10 a.m. AT on April 19, Morrison and a colleague, Const. Heidi Stevenson, had responded to a request for officers from the East Hants detachment in Enfield to help out in Colchester County, where the manhunt was underway.
It was roughly 12 hours after RCMP were first alerted to shots fired and homes burning in Portapique, N.S., a village about 70 kilometres from Morrison's location.
By close to 11 a.m., Morrison was pulled over, waiting for Stevenson near the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park, according to a summary of a statement he gave on April 21 to investigators.
By that point, the man Mounties were frantically seeking was known to have killed numerous people at different rural locations. Morrison knew the gunman was masquerading as an officer.
But as he listened to his police radio, Morrison was confused about the shooter's precise location, according to the court documents. He explained to investigators that, as best as he could tell, the gunman was still in Brookfield, N.S., about 20 kilometres away.
When he spotted the familiar shape of a white Ford Taurus with RCMP markings a few hundred metres away, he radioed to ask if other officers were in the area.
His anxiety lessened when Stevenson responded. Morrison pulled up to the T-intersection of Highway 2 and Highway 224 to talk to her, presuming that she was behind the wheel, according to his statement.
The approaching cruiser wasn't speeding and didn't raise any alarms. Later, he would tell investigators that the only thing that was different was a black push bar attached to its front bumper.
As the vehicle came closer, it registered with Morrison that a man was driving.
Within seconds, that man pulled out a silver handgun and started firing out his window.
Later, Morrison said the gunman, Gabriel Wortman, had a "melancholy expression on his face" and a "grit" look as he raised his gun, according to the summary of his interview.
There were three or four shots. Morrison was hit, though it's not clear from the documents where or how many times.
Still in the driver's seat, the officer "floored it" and took off south along Highway 2 toward Milford, N.S, careening off a guard rail as he drove, the court documents said.
He repeatedly hit the button to notify dispatch that he was in trouble and needed immediate assistance but wasn't sure if the message went through.
WATCH | N.S. shooting suspect on camera shortly before he was caught:
When he arrived at a station used by paramedics, Morrison found it was empty. The court documents state he knew he could be a "sitting duck" and went behind the building with his rifle, radioing he was there and needed help.
On his radio he heard another officer say, "Stevenson is down." His statement said that he was close enough to Highway 14 that he could see black SUVs with roof lights on, rushing to the spot where his colleague was shot. Before long, an ambulance arrived that took him to hospital.
Sgt. Angela Hawryluk, who summarized Morrison's interview in an application to gain access to the shooter's financial records, wrote that the body armour he wore protected him from a chest or abdomen wound.
When he returned home from hospital April 21, Morrison had bandages on both arms.
Stevenson, though she was also wearing soft and hard body armour, did not survive.
Spouse witnessed N.S. gunman torching their cottage, court documents say
'I'm done, I'm done. It's too late,' shooter told spouse, according to search warrants
The man responsible for April's mass shootings in Nova Scotia took a leisurely drive around a community close to his rural cottage, stopped to chat with a fellow denturist and oversaw work being done on his property in the hours before the massacre began.
The details of a seemingly mundane day leading up to the shootings are contained in sections of court records that a provincial court judge ordered released Monday following a court hearing.
The documents also say that on the evening of April 18, the gunman's spouse was present inside as he doused the floor of the cottage they shared with gasoline — before grabbing guns and igniting the log building he'd prized. The woman, whose name is redacted from the records, later told police he said, "I'm done, I'm done. It's too late [redacted], I'm done."
On April 18 and 19, Gabriel Wortman killed 22 neighbours, acquaintances and strangers in several communities in rural Nova Scotia. He torched his own cottage and garage, and three other homes over a 13-hour period before being shot dead by police at a gas station in Enfield, N.S. after a lengthy search.
A judge on Monday approved the release of six more of the approximately 23 judicial authorizations RCMP have obtained since the massacre — to search gunman's properties in Portapique and Dartmouth, and for his financial records. Redacted copies of seven were previously released.
Though the new documents are heavily redacted, each is about 90 pages long and includes information about how the gunman procured decommissioned RCMP cruisers and police equipment and about his financial transactions months prior to the attacks. All information related to the type of firearms used remains blacked out.
Expected to head to Dartmouth
It's unclear why the gunman "snapped," as his spouse described it to police. The documents also offer little information about why Wortman targeted his victims, some of whom he knew. His partner told police she did not know their neighbours well.
She also told police that,
that night, she believed he was going to take her to Dartmouth, where
they had another home and a clinic, to kill people or burn buildings,
according to the documents. The specifics are blacked out. The woman has
never spoken publicly about what she saw on April 18. Her lawyer has
declined requests for comment from CBC News.
At some point after Wortman loaded guns and ammunition into his mock cruiser, the woman escaped. She told investigators she initially hid in a truck before spending hours in a wooded area in Portapique.
Though she heard someone announcing they were police on a loudspeaker, she said she feared it was her partner. Around dawn she went to the home of a neighbour who called 911.
Large cash withdrawal
RCMP have previously said Wortman liquidated his assets and stockpiled gas and food due to COVID-19 fears. A warrant that the court released in May revealed people told the investigators the gunman was paranoid and had a history of abuse.
According to the new documents, his spouse also told police in the weeks prior to the attacks he was "consumed" by the pandemic, talking about it constantly and saying he "knew he was going to die."
She also said he feared that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would find a way to control money and that prompted him to withdraw nearly half a million dollars from his own accounts. The RCMP interviewed officials from CIBC and Brinks about a March 30 withdrawal in Dartmouth.
Officials from the bank told police that Wortman asked to liquidate investments and then transferred the money to his business accounts. On March 25 at a branch in Dartmouth, he asked the bank's director that his $475,000 be paid out in $100 bills, according to the court documents.
The records state the bank worked with Brinks to set up a pick-up on March 30.
RCMP
have not said how much cash police have recovered. The search warrant
documents show that on April 22, investigators found cash folded in
tinfoil packets inside an ammunition box discovered at the Portapique
property.
Suspicious transactions flagged
Canada's money-laundering watchdog, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre (Fintrac), reported on Wortman's personal and professional financial activities after the massacre, according to the newly released documents.
The records say Wortman's PayPal account was used to buy vehicle accessories labelled as being for police use on eBay. The court documents describe the purchases as "for items utilized in the facilitation of domestic terrorist activities."
The gunman's cottage in Portapique was destroyed in a fire he set, but a large deck along the shore was mostly intact. Pictured is the area under the structure. (Steve Lawrence/CBC)
According to the court documents, the Fintrac review found that PayPal flagged suspicious transactions between March 22 and Dec. 5, 2019 — though it's not clear from the records if that's when they were reported as suspicious or if that's when they occurred.
Those purchases included accessories for police vehicles such as:
- A centre console for a 2013 Ford Taurus.
- A ram for the front bumper of a Taurus sedan.
- Siren lights.
- A dashcam.
- Thin blue line vinyl decal.
- Hubcaps.
- A gun rack.
Other transactions listed as suspicious include $15,045 worth of items — including decommissioned cars — purchased with credit cards from GCSurplus in Ottawa. The site is run by Public Services and Procurement Canada.
There's also reference to cash deposits payable to Wortman from Northumberland Investments, one of his companies. The Fintrac review found three questionable transactions: two cash deposits in 2010 totalling $200,000 and another for $246,000. The transactions happened in Fredericton and Dartmouth, but the documents don't elaborate on the circumstances.
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Brian MacDonald of Debert, N.S., had a feeling the gunman in Nova Scotia’s mass shooting had been on his property. 2:13
Border crossings
What is clear is that over the years, people around the gunman knew he had a penchant for acquiring car parts and collecting motorcycles. Some also knew he had guns and one car that he'd outfitted to resemble an actual cruiser.
The documents reference interviews with two people who responded to a Kijiji ad about an off-road vehicle in the weeks prior to April's attacks. In both cases, Wortman showed off his replica cruiser inside the large garage he had in Portapique.
Using one of his companies, he purchased the 2017 Ford Taurus used in the attacks on July 3, 2019, from the RCMP, according to the search warrant records.
A friend of Aaron Tuck, who was one of Wortman's victims, told police that in August 2019, Tuck told him that Wortman's mock cruiser was indistinguishable from an actual police vehicle and that he kept a holster for a gun in the back of it. Tuck was killed alongside his wife, Jolene Oliver, and his daughter, Emily, at their home in Portapique.
Peter Griffon, a neighbour who was on parole and who printed the decals for the cruiser, initially lied to police about his involvement but later showed investigators images of the vehicle he kept on his phone. He did odd jobs for Wortman and on April 18 had been splitting wood for him. He last saw him around noon that day, before Wortman headed out for a drive.
Wortman also stopped and talked with a fellow denturist, who is not identified, about work and COVID-19.
The gunman's spouse said Wortman was constantly scouring sites for police gear which he bought in both Canada and the U.S.
Records the RCMP obtained from Canada Border Services Agency showed that Wortman crossed the U.S.-Canada border in Woodstock, N.B., 15 times over a two-year period, with his last return to Canada on March 6. He did not have permits to import supplies for his denturist business, but the CBSA said he was personally importing car parts.
Wortman appears to have had a long history of threats and violence. A former neighbour has spoken out about being harassed by Wortman after reporting to RCMP that Wortman abused his spouse. The spouse and another relative relayed to police an account of Wortman's vicious attack on his father during a trip to the Caribbean. In 2011, someone reported to Truro police that the denturist threatened to "kill a cop."
The documents released Monday are the second batch of search warrant documents the court has agreed to release. CBC applied in April for access to the records and seven other media outlets joined the application.
David Coles, the lawyer representing the media organizations, has filed a request for a judicial review of decisions Judge Laurel Halfpenny MacQuarrie had made in the case. Halfpenny MacQuarrie will consider that request Oct. 2 in Halifax provincial court.
If you are seeking mental health support during this time, here are resources available to Nova Scotians.
Neighbour reported N.S. mass shooter's domestic violence, weapons to police
'Even though I'm military and I know how to use a weapon, that man scared the crap out of me,' woman says
A former neighbour of the gunman behind last month's mass shooting in Nova Scotia says she reported his domestic violence and cache of firearms to the RCMP years ago and ended up leaving the community herself due to fears of his violence.
Brenda Forbes said that in the summer of 2013, she told police about reports that Gabriel Wortman had held down and beaten his common-law spouse behind one of the properties he owned in Portapique, a coastal community west of Truro.
Domestic violence is being examined as a key aspect of the mass shooting, as police have said the rampage began on the night of April 18 after the gunman argued with his common-law spouse and restrained and beat her before she managed to escape into the woods.
He went on to kill 22 people and burn a number of homes before police shot and killed him outside a gas station in Enfield, N.S.
Forbes said her first awareness of Wortman's domestic violence was shortly after he moved to Portapique in the early 2000s, when his partner came to her door and asked for help.
"She ran to my house and said Gabriel was beating on her and she had to get away. She was afraid," said the 62-year-old veteran of the Canadian Forces.
Forbes said she encouraged her neighbour to seek help but recalled that she was frightened of her partner and of repercussions of going to police due to threats he'd made against her family.
She said that in 2013, she learned Wortman had been seen hitting his partner behind one of his properties.
"He had her on the ground, was strangling her ... He was beating on her," she said of the account she heard, saying there were three male witnesses.
"On that incident, I called the RCMP and I told them what happened, and I said he has a bunch of illegal weapons, and I know because he showed them to us," said Forbes, who has since moved outside the province.
She said that in response to her complaint, the RCMP interviewed her while she was working at a cadet camp in Debert, N.S., and she retold the story. She said she encouraged one of the three witnesses to give his account to police, but he refused, saying he feared violence from Wortman.
Witness wanted more thorough investigation
Forbes, who first told her story to the Halifax Examiner, said it upset her that police seemed unable to take firmer action on her complaint.
"From what I got from the RCMP, because [the partner] would not put in a complaint, as she was scared to death, they basically said, 'There's not much we can do. We can monitor him but there's not much else we can do,'" she said.
The Canadian Press emailed the RCMP about the prior report of domestic abuse, but a spokesperson wasn't immediately available for comment.
RCMP Supt. Darren Campbell said during a news conference last month that investigators "have spoken to witnesses who have provided information to us about prior assaults; those are all things that we are dealing with right now."
He has also said that investigators are speaking to the former common-law spouse to gain a better understanding of previous incidents.
However, Forbes said she felt at the time the incident should have been more thoroughly investigated.
"If you tell them that he may have illegal weapons, should you not go and check it out?" she asked.
'I was scared'
Her husband, who also served in the Canadian Forces, recalled being shown their neighbour's weapons cache.
"He knew I had weapons, being in the military, so he was always one of those guys who had to show others that whatever they had, he had something better," George Forbes said. Wortman showed him firearms, including pistols and a rifle, in the garage, he said.
"We reported that to the police also," he said. Police have said the gunman didn't have a licence for his weapons.
Brenda Forbes said that after she reported the abuse incident to the RCMP's Truro detachment, Wortman became more aggressive toward her.
George Forbes recalled him coming to the front door and threatening his wife. Brenda Forbes said Wortman would drive around their house and park outside the door.
"I was scared. ... Even though I'm military and I know how to use a weapon, that man scared the crap out of me," she said.
She said she and her husband left the area in 2014 out of growing fear and discomfort over Wortman's behaviour.
Calls for inquiry into role misogyny played in mass killing
Linda MacDonald, a founder of Persons Against Non-State Torture, said in an interview that advocates who are trying to reduce violence against women have long seen a connection between hatred of women and mass shootings.
The Truro-based nurse is among the signatories of a recent statement that called for a deeper look at the role misogyny played in the April 18-19 killings.
"There's definitely an element of male violence against women in this crime," she said. "Our main request is an independent public inquiry with a feminist analysis included."
MacDonald said if male violence against women was considered more seriously in the criminal justice system, it could avoid tragedies such as the one that occurred in Nova Scotia
Financial expert: newly released documents show mass murderer was not an RCMP informant
By Tim Bousquet
The mass murderer carrying $475,000 in cash at the Brink’s office in Burnside, on March 30, 2020.
On Monday, Judge Laurie Halfpenny MacQuarrie signed an order releasing the next batch of six search warrant documents related to the RCMP’s investigation of the mass murders of April 18 and 19.
Eight media organizations, including the Halifax Examiner, have hired lawyer David Coles to petition the court to release the documents. So far, 13 document sets out of an expected 22 have been released, albeit they are extremely redacted. We’ve instructed Coles to ask for a judicial review to challenge Halfpenny MacQuarrie’s decisions related to the redactions.
In any event, despite the redactions, we learned new information through the documents released Monday. The new information below comes via an “Information to Obtain” (ITO) for a production order related to a video at Brink’s’ Burnside office.
FINTRAC issues Suspicious Transaction Reports
The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) issued multiple Suspicious Transaction Reports (STR) related to the killer, who the Halifax Examiner calls GW, and Northumberland Investments Inc., a company that is owned and controlled by GW.
Northumberland is registered in New Brunswick but uses 193 Portland Street in Dartmouth as its address — that was the address of GW’s home and denturist business. Northumberland additionally used a Fredericton, NB address; that address is an apartment building, and if GW ever lived there he had long ago moved away.
The first STR was issued by TD Bank on August 10, 2010. Northumberland Investments had been a client since 1988, but in 2010, Northumberland made three suspicious deposits — two cash deposits totalling $200,000, and a “partial cashing of a term deposit” of $46,000. “Activity shows client depositing large sum of cash and offsets bulk of funds via drafts payable to” GW.
“That looks like money laundering,” Jessica Davis, a securities and intelligence expert who worked at FINTRAC before starting her own consulting firm, told the Examiner in a phone interview. “The document doesn’t say where the cash came from. It’s hard to believe that the bank didn’t ask, so that’s frustrating.”
Asked if FINTRAC may have disregarded or overlooked the 2010 STR, allowing GW’s financial malfeasance to continue, Davis said “maybe FINTRAC looked into it, but there might have been too many other things going on to look at it. I can’t be certain it’s money laundering.”
The ITO quotes a cousin of GW, who was interviewed by RCMP Sgt. Corey Kilburn on April 28. The cousin, whose name is redacted, is a retired RCMP officer. When placed in the interview room, the cousin noted that while he was an RCMP officer he interviewed people in the very same room.
According to the ITO, the cousin “pretty much grew up” with GW and “found him to be a strange little guy.” GW’s parents were “bizarre,” said the cousin.
For GW, said the cousin, “everything was about money” and “he talked about it all the time.”
GW “was paranoid and put his houses in his parents’ name as he was worried about CRA coming for him. GW’s father wouldn’t take his name off the property and that caused the argument.” Both the cousin and GW’s common-law wife describe a vicious attack by GW on this father, albeit the wife said it happened in Cuba and the cousin said it happened in the Dominican Republic.
The cousin said “the last time he spoke with GW, GW talked about how easy it would be for someone to collect all sorts of credit cards, run them up and leave…. GW was always thinking of ways to beat the system and ways to screw Revenue Canada. GW was a scammer and an opportunist.”
The ITO documents that, indeed, GW had “all sorts of credit cards” and other financial instruments. He had five PayPal accounts; three VISA accounts with TD Bank, as well as a “personal account” and a chequing account; two VISA accounts with RBC, as well as two jointly held personal accounts with the Dartmouth branch, one jointly held personal account with the Fredericton branch, and a line of credit with the Bedford branch; and a credit card with CIBC.
Davis suggested that the multiple VISA accounts at each bank could be re-issuances after one card expired, but there is not enough information to confirm that.
Three more STRs were issued in 2020, on April 20, April 22, and May 1 — after the murders, although they detail suspicious activity for several years before the murders. Several of the transactions were “reported to FINTRAC”; it’s not clear from the documents if they were reported before or after the murders.
The transactions are as follows:
GW’s PayPal account — between March 22, 2019 and December 5, 2019, GW’s account was “believed to be used to make purchases for items utilized in the facilitation of domestic terrorist activities.” Those purchases totalled US$3,741.58, and included “vehicle accessories commonly used by police, including items specifically labeled as being intended for police use.” GW bought the items through eBay, with credit cards from TD Bank and CIBC.
Northumberland’s TD Bank account — between June 1, 2019 and April 18, 2020 (the day the murder rampage started), the Northumberland account was used for “atypical cash deposits over reporting thresholds that were primarily utilized to fund drafts payable to” GW. Specifically, one payment of $15,192.66 was made to GW’s personal Visa account, and a second payment of $37,288 was made payable to GW, and was later deposited in a CIBC banking account owned by GW.
GW’s personal TD accounts — a payment of $15,192.66 was made from GW’s TD personal account to his VISA account held at TD, and a draft of $37,278 was made payable to GW and was deposited into GW’s CIBC account.
The Brink’s withdrawal — an employee with CIBC’s Corporate Security explained the Brink’s withdrawal of $475,000. On March 20, GW “liquidated some of his assets by cashing in GICs that were purchased in 2017 and received $400,000. He deposited that money in his business account.
Five days later, on March 25, GW “redeemed some investments and received $75,000.” He also placed that money in the business account. The same day, he spoke with the branch manager at the Portland Street CIBC branch and requested that he be given $475,000 in cash, in hundred dollar bills. “Arrangements were made” to provide the cash through Brink’s, which was done five days later.
The regional director of corporate security with Brink’s Canada confirmed the transaction was arranged by CIBC, as did an employee at the Burnside Brink’s office.
“That shows that he wasn’t being paid because he was an RCMP informant,” Davis told the Examiner. “That Maclean’s story is all wrong.”
“This struck me as simply a small town transaction,” said Davis. The bank didn’t have that kind of money in its vault, so they made the transfer through Brink’s.”
There are other details of GW’s financial transactions, but aside from minor amounts (less than $1,000), most document the purchase of retired police cars and police gear.
There’s more non-financial information contained in the ITO, and we’ll report on that in future articles.
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N.S. gunman liquidated assets, stockpiled gas and food due to COVID-19 fears, RCMP say
Shooter told people he created a replica police cruiser to pay tribute to fallen officers
· CBC News · Posted: Jun 29, 2020 5:00 AM AT
RCMP Supt. Darren Campbell says investigators have interviewed people who knew the shooter well and determined that he was very concerned about the COVID-19 pandemic. (Robert Guertin/CBC)
The man who killed 22 people in rural Nova Scotia stockpiled cash, food and fuel due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, but he gave the people close to him no indications he was plotting an attack, according to the RCMP.
Over 13 hours and a span of 150 kilometres, Gabriel Wortman killed friends, neighbours and strangers on April 18 and 19 while masquerading as a Mountie.
In the weeks before the mass shootings that started in Portapique, N.S., fear about the potential collapse of institutions and infrastructure led Wortman to liquidate his savings and investments, said RCMP Supt. Darren Campbell in a lengthy interview with CBC News.
"We do know that the gunman was very paranoid. We also know some would describe him as a survivalist," he said.
"He'd voiced concerns about the pandemic, and that he wanted to be prepared in the event of things not working in the way they normally would."
Many questions still remain about the shooter's actions leading up to his deadly rampage. Earlier this month, Maclean's magazine obtained videos of Wortman withdrawing money from a Brink's depot in Dartmouth on March 30 and reported it was a $475,000 transaction.
A spokesperson for Brink's told CBC News it was unable to comment because of the ongoing RCMP investigation.
The remains of the gunman's cottage and the burnt shell of
one of his decommissioned RCMP cruisers at his property on Portapique
Beach Road on May 13. (Steve Lawrence/CBC)
Campbell said RCMP discovered hundreds of thousands of dollars in a fire-proof container on one of the properties Wortman owned in Portapique. He said investigators are auditing his financial records and would not specify the exact amount of cash seized.
So far, he said they think the gunman believed it wasn't safe to leave his savings in the bank.
"He felt that his financial interests would be better served by him having control over his financial assets so that's why he converted them," said Campbell, who through his role as support services officer from Nova Scotia RCMP gets updates on investigation.
On April 19, RCMP in Nova Scotia released this photo of a mock RCMP vehicle that Wortman drove. The RCMP say it wasn't a real cruiser, but looked identical in every way, with the exception of the numbers police circled in this photo. (Nova Scotia RCMP)
Probate court documents list the shooter's six properties as being valued at $712,000. His personal investment wealth, referenced as encompassing RRSPs, RRIFs and pensions, was estimated at $500,000.
"From what people tell us, he was hardworking and he had many holdings. He was able to amass what wealth he had based on opportunities he took. He was also a recipient of some inheritances. All of those things contributed to his wealth," Campbell said.
In a 2011 will, he left all his assets to his common-law partner. She has since renounced her role as executor of his estate. Several family members of people killed in the rampage have launched a class action against the estate.
Maclean's spoke to sources who suggested the transaction at Brink's was consistent with a payout to an agent or informant who passed information to police. CBC News has not confirmed this was the case. RCMP have repeatedly said they had no relationship with the gunman. Campbell called the allegations "very sensational and factually incorrect."
The faces of the 22 people killed by Gabriel Wortman in Nova Scotia in April. Wortman was shot and killed by police. (CBC)
aul Derry, who was a police informant and agent including in relation to a Hells Angels-ordered shooting in Halifax in 2000, said he was never paid that way.
"I think that it is an awful leap to conclude somebody is an informant or an agent because they picked up a large amount of money. There's nothing in that [scenario] that would even be familiar to me and I've been paid many times over my 39 years of dealing with the RCMP," he said.
Derry said he would have refused to go into a Brink's to collect either payment or "flash money" used for a drug buy.
"The security breaches, you'd be open to, there would just be too many. You're talking about walking into a privately owned company with many people who work there. The security clearance is going to be minimal in comparison to what you'd need for an undercover operation," he said.
There were always extensive protocols in place for any money transfer and they always involved multiple RCMP officers, one of whom would give the cash to him directly, Derry said.
RCMP say no evidence of organized crime links
Campbell maintains investigators have found no evidence that Wortman had illegal sources of income or that he acted in any capacity as an informant or agent for the RCMP.
Revealing whether someone has provided information to police as a confidential source is privileged information that cannot be divulged, said Campbell. However, the Mountie stressed that scenario didn't apply in this case and he called reporting to the contrary a "fairy tale."
"Recent media articles painting him as some underworld, organized crime figure, nothing has been uncovered whatsoever that would suggest that."
The RCMP say they've determined the gunman acted alone during the rampage, but they're still investigating whether he had any help leading up to the attacks. So far, no charges against other parties have been laid.
They continue to look into the origins of three guns Wortman obtained from the U.S. and the authentic police uniform he wore.
Man with criminal records printed decals
A man whose parents own a home in Portapique printed the decals that Wortman used to create his replica cruiser.
Peter Griffon, who previously was linked to a Mexican drug cartel and faced drug charges, used to work at a sign shop in Truro, N.S. Police say he printed the graphics without his employer's permission. The business owner has not responded to CBC's multiple requests for comment.
Campbell said police have spoken to Griffon and he has been cooperative. He said while there may have been copyright issues related to the RCMP logo, printing the decals isn't a criminal offence.
"He's obviously someone we have discussed at length and we're convinced he wasn't aware of any type of plan that the gunman had," he said.
Stockpiling gasoline did not raise red flags
While people have referenced Wortman making some "offside comments" prior to the mass shooting, Campbell said investigators have found the steps he took — including buying hundreds of dollars worth of gasoline — reflected he was stockpiling due to COVID-19 as opposed to any premeditation of the largest mass shooting in Canada's history.
In normal times, those same actions would have raised red flags, Campbell said; but given that many residents were grappling with worries about groceries and gas, it didn't stand out.
"It was
to the extreme, however, it appears he did many things to the extreme,"
he said. "There's been no evidence that he was pre-planning [the mass
shooting]."
RCMP Supt. Darren Campbell receives updates about the Nova Scotia mass shooting investigation through his role as support services officer. 5:41
Investigators believe the gunman ended up using gasoline when he set fires that destroyed most of his own cottage, a large warehouse and several vehicles on his own properties, as well as homes and vehicles belonging to some of the people he killed.
A forensic psychologist and RCMP profilers are now conducting a psychological autopsy of the shooter. Earlier this month, Campbell said the initial findings reflected that he was an "injustice collector" who fixated on grudges and let rage build up about perceived slights.
People police interviewed have described the 51-year-old denturist as abusive and controlling. In 2002, he pleaded guilty to assaulting a teen. A former neighbour has spoken out about being harassed by him and said in 2013 she reported to RCMP that he was violent toward his common-law spouse and that he owned illegal guns.
Car presented as tribute to fallen officers
RCMP also believe Wortman's preparations for weathering the pandemic included the decommissioned police car he outfitted to look like a modern RCMP cruiser that he used during the rampage.
"His comments were that if he needed to escape, that he wouldn't be challenged if he was driving such a vehicle," said Campbell.
"We can't ignore those realities and those facts. These are pieces of information that was shared with us by the people closest to him."
But the shooter also started putting together the vehicles long before the coronavirus became a concern. Campbell confirmed he acquired it last fall and many people knew about the project.
It was one of several stripped-down surplus police cars he's believed to have purchased from government auctions.
People laid flowers in front of the RCMP detachment in Enfield, N.S., after the death of Const. Heidi Stevenson and 21 others. (Robert Short/CBC) Wortman dodged raising alarm bells among those he knew, the senior RCMP officer said, because he told people the car would be a type of tribute to the force.
"It was to be representative of fallen officers so people bought that story. So why he wanted it, needed it, decided he needed it at that particular time, obviously we'll never know."
It's still not clear what prompted the rampage. RCMP have said Wortman attacked his common-law partner first after they started arguing that Saturday evening. He restrained her in one of the decommissioned police cruisers while he torched their home, according to police and court documents.
Surveillance camera footage obtained by RCMP shows the gunman driving his replica RCMP vehicle through Debert, N.S., on the morning of April 19. (RCMP)
Knowing motives may not protect the public
Some forensic psychiatrists caution against speculating about motives in mass shootings, as it risks giving people contemplating similar violent acts a way to identify with or relate to perpetrators.
Dr. James Knoll, director of forensic psychiatry at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, N.Y., said since drivers like resentment, revenge, narcissism and injustice can take many forms; it's better to focus on warning signs that could help prevent similar acts.
Psychiatrist Dr. Ronald Pies, who with Knoll co-authored a 2018 column in the Psychiatric Times titled Beyond "Motives" in Mass Shootings, said looking at motives doesn't usually do anything to protect the public.
"Unless there are reasons, in a mass shooting, to suspect an extensive plot that involves other would-be shooters — as, for example, in a mass attack planned and carried out by a terrorist cell — it is hard for me to see the benefit of what I would call 'motive mongering,'" he said by email.
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