Twenty-two killed, burned evidence, and RCMP open fire at Onslow Firehall: What you need to know about the Nova Scotia shooting
Photo Credit: (CityNews Edmonton/Google Images)
Written by: Morgana Adby
Since the initial report on April 19, far more details about the tragedy and emergency response has been released. However, as the RCMP continues to inform the public on the timeline, there are many loose ends to be attentive of.
There is even an independent investigation of a strange event at a local fire hall, where two officers opened fire at the building with civilians inside. More on that under Standout Loose Ends.
Information confirmed by RCMP
We now know he had 22 victims, while at least two local residents had to seek medical attention in a hospital.
We know he had access to various tools, used to disguise himself as an RCMP officer. As mentioned in today’s press conference, during the rampage he also had left behind some piece of another type of uniform.
We know that he had an authentic police uniform and an inauthentic police car. We also know he had access to unlicensed weaponry at the beginning of his rampage, in addition to the weapons he stole during the manhunt.
The RCMP confirmed that the shooter had at least one handgun, and used long guns. One weapon was tracked to Canada, but the remaining seems to have been bought in the United States. There was no response to how the shooter brought the United States weapons across the border, because of the active investigation.
“In terms of numbers of weapons, some of the witnesses that we interviewed since that time have told us about a significant number of weapons. However, our challenge is that the suspect’s residence in Portqpique has been completely burned to the ground,” said superintendent Darren Cambell.
We now know he did violently attack a woman he had a relationship with, she survived and was able to contact the police during the shooting spree. She is recovering, and cooperating with police. This is important because the circumstances may allow more details to arise, and because she was a critical witness.
When she came forward, the investigative part of the emergency response began contacting family and others that the RCMP say could have potentially been on a hit list. These family members were brought to safety and interviewed.
Most of the victims were Portapique neighbours. During one situation, when the shooter knocked on their door, three residents called 911 providing his identity and description to emergency operators; one example of the many 911 calls. In this case, the residents did not open their doors, and the shooter moved on. This also acted as a red flag to RCMP that the shooter may have had a list of intended victims because he went out of his way to attend a house of people he knew.
Responding to requests for details on people the shooter allegedly had a falling out with, the RCMP said that there “seems to be a trail,” of people who had fallings out with the shooter, no further details were provided.
We also know the circumstances around the confrontations with police. According to Superintendent Cambell, Constable Heidi Stevenson and Constable Chad Morrison had planned to meet up at Highways 2 and 24. When what appeared to be a police vehicle approached Const. Morrison, he thought it was his coworker at first. However, it was the shooter, who opened fire, injuring the officer. As he left and notified his coworkers of the situation, Const. Stevenson approached.
“At that point, both vehicles collided head-on. Constable Stevenson engaged the gunman, the gunman took Constable Stevenson’s life. He also took Constable Stevenson’s issued sidearm and her magazines,” said superintendent Campbell.
Shortly after that, the shooter killed a bystander and set his replica and constable Stevenson’s police car on fire. He then took the deceased bystander’s car, to continue to a residence he was familiar with.
Upon arrival, he killed the resident of the house and changed cars once again, and would use the red car until he was stopped by police at a gas station. He also changed clothes during that time.
The shooter’s residence has been completely burned, which is a major challenge for understanding what resources he had. In addition to the authentic police uniform and an unplated replica police cruiser that he used, he also had three former police vehicles that were plated. One of the plated vehicles was in the shooters Halifax residence, two were burning at the gunman’s Portapique residence. It is unclear how many uniforms the shooter had at his Portapique residence, but the RCMP did confirm the investigation has indicated he had obtained numerous uniforms.
Superintendent Campbell told the press that they are tracing the equipment used, including objects like the lightbar for the vehicle. He also mentioned that police cruisers out of use are often sold to third parties, such as cab companies or first responders. Additionally that in Nova Scotia police use end to end encryption, so it is unlikely that the shooter could have used radio information to avoid police.
Why Wait? Concerns Over Public Emergency Communication
The last question of the April 24 press conference has been echoed by many Canadians wondering why they did not release an emergency alert to residents. The RCMP was in the process of doing so when the gunman was taken down by police. At that time, there had already been information released on twitter.
A CBC reporter asked, “Why wait eleven, perhaps twelve hours to warn the public [that the shooter may have had a mock police cruiser]?”
Superintendent Campbell said that at the time, they were only aware of the three plated police vehicles, two of which were burning, the other that had been located in Halifax. It was only when the victim that the gunman had domestically assaulted came forward in the early morning.
When asked about reports that the RCMP was aware of the gunman’s replica, and had told him he had to keep it in a trailer when on the road, the Superintendent said he was not aware of it and wanted any witnesses to come forward.
Standout Loose Ends: Motivation and The Potential Misconduct at Onslow Belmont Fire Hall
This is a fluid investigation, with many questions left unanswered. How the shooter obtained so much authentic RCMP attire, his guns and his motivations are all things that will have to wait until the RCMP confirms. That acknowledged, there are two specific things that the public may like to be attentive to.
It is noteworthy to contrast the comments made by Superintendent Cambell, indicating that the shooter may have had many disputes within his small community with the shock being expressed by community members. After something horrifying, this response is to be expected: the grief pouring out of Nova Scotia is tangible and should be expressed in whatever fashion people are experiencing it. However, it should not colour your understanding of who the gunman was, at least this early on.
Although difficult, one should be cautious of labelling this a senseless tragedy, before the investigation has ran its course. This is because if there is something important to be found while investigating the gunman’s motivations and methods, it would be unfortunate to have already communicated a specific narrative.
The second loose end requiring your attention is the bizarre RCMP conduct at the Onslow Belmont Fire Hall. While the fire hall was being used as a registration hall for locals being evacuated, two RCMP officers used their firearms to shoot around and at the building. Photos show many bullet holes in the outer walls of the building. The officers did not speak with anyone in the building or announce their presence. Luckily, none of the civilians inside were injured. The conduct is now under independent investigation by the Serious Incident Response Team.
One woman, Joy McCabe, who lives beside the firehall told The Chronicle Herald that at the time she thought the officers were engaging the gunman. When she saw the RCMP officers open fire at the Firehall, she hid for a time and reports that she heard 6 shots. When she checked the window again she saw a person crouching between two cars, who she originally assumed was the shooter.
She told the Chronicle Herald, “After I got a little more comfortable and my husband said there wasn’t anything going on, I look and there was a guy down between two cars. All I could see was the top of the head, I could see that it was a shaven head (like a brush cut), you know. And I don’t know why, I just thought, 'Why is he ducking and hiding if isn’t, you know, it’s got to be the shooter.'”
However, the shooter was in another area at the time, and according to the SIRT director, nobody knows what these RCMP officers were firing at. It is also unclear who the witness actually saw when she checked the window.
McCabe told CBC, "I would like to know who was that person ducked down there, why were the police firing at the building, like why did they pull in and just start shooting right away? There's just a whole lot of unanswered questions.”
The mysterious incident remains under investigation. Many Canadians will await the results to find out more about what happened at the Onslow Belmont Firehall.
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