Canada searches for answers after gunman kills 18 people
The victims of the weekend's 12-hour shooting rampage by a gunman disguised as a policeman in central Nova Scotia included a female police officer, an elementary teacher, an elderly care nurse and a home care assistant.
The gunman was also killed after cutting a swathe of mayhem and destruction across nearly 100 kilometres of normally tranquil rural Nova Scotia late Saturday and early Sunday.
Speaking at his daily briefing in Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canadians were jolted from their efforts to defeat the coronavirus pandemic "by the senseless violence and tragedy in Nova Scotia."
Trudeau praised Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Constable Heidi Stevenson, who was killed by the gunman in the line of duty.
"Constable Stevenson died protecting others," Trudeau said. "She was answering the call of duty, something she had done every day when she went to work for 23 years."
The tragedy unfolded in small towns of Portapique, Truro, Milford, and Enfield where people know their neighbours and look out for each other, Trudeau said.
"Now these communities are in mourning, and Canada is mourning with them," Trudeau said.
On Monday morning, the Nova Scotia Teachers Union (NSTU) identified one of the victims as Lisa McCully.
"9,300 NSTU hearts are broken along with those of her colleagues and students at Debert Elementary, as well as her family and friends who knew her not only as a passionate teacher but as a shining love in their lives," Paul Wozney, president of the teachers' union said in a statement.
The Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) said two of its employees, Heather O'Brien and Kristen Beaton, were also killed in the rampage.
O'Brien was a licensed practical nurse, wife, mother and grandmother, VON president and CEO Jo-Anne Poirier said in a statement.
Beaton was a continuing care assistant, and a young wife and mother, she added.
"All of our front-line care providers are heroes. Yesterday, two of those heroes, Heather O'Brien and Kristen Beaton, were taken from their families, and from VON," Poirier said. "We mourn their loss, and we mourn for their families."
Investigators were looking for a motive on Monday.
Commissioner Brenda Lucki, head of Canada's national police force, the RCMP, told CBC News that she believed the shooter had begun the attack with an initial "motivation" but later "turned to randomness."
The rampage doesn't appear to be linked to terrorism, she added.
RCMP Chief Superintendent Chris Leather said police responded to multiple 911 calls on Saturday evening at a residence in the small rural community of Portapique, about 130 kilometres north of provincial capital of Halifax.
When police arrived at the scene they found several casualties inside and outside the home, he said. Several structures were also set on fire.
Radio-Canada reported that the pursuit of the 51-year-old gunman stretched across more than 100 kilometres.
The shooter died in a shootout with police. It is unclear whether he was killed or took his own life.
The shooter was said to be wearing an RCMP uniform and at one point drove a car resembling an RCMP police cruiser. Police confirmed he was not an employee of the force.
Trudeau asked the media to refrain from using the name of the perpetrator.
"Do not give this person the gift of infamy," Trudeau said.
