A gunman killed 16 people during a shooting rampage in Nova Scotia on Sunday, the deadliest shooting in Canada’s history.
The suspect, identified as Gabriel Wortman, 51, disguised himself as a police officer and tricked out his car to resemble a Royal Canadian Mounted Police cruiser, authorities said. He was killed Sunday in a police shootout at a gas station in Enfield, Nova Scotia.
RCMP spokesman Daniel Brien confirmed that 16 people have died in addition to the shooter himself. Police did not elaborate on how the shooter died, although gunfire was exchanged between the suspect and police.
A police officer, Constable Heidi Stevenson, who was a 23-year veteran of the force and a mother of two, is also among the dead. Another officer was injured.
Bodies were discovered in several locations including in and around a home in the town of Portapique, where Wortman is believed to have lived part-time.
“This is one of the most senseless acts of violence in our province’s history,” Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil said.
“As a country, in moments like these, we come together to support one another. Together we will mourn with the families of the victims, and help them get through this difficult time,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.
Canada’s second deadliest mass shooting occurred in 1989, when a gunman killed 14 women and himself at Ecole Polytechnique college in Montreal.