On April 18 and 19, 2020, 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman committed multiple shootings and set fires at 16 locations in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, killing 22 people, and injuring three others before he was shot and killed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in the community of Enfield. The attacks are the deadliest shooting rampage in Canadian history.
Police were criticized for not using Alert Ready to warn the public about the unfolding attacks, as well as not responding to reports of Wortman's previous behaviour and acts of violence. An investigation into law enforcement's response to the rampage, including the decision not to use Alert Ready, was launched. A public inquiry into the law enforcement response was declared on July 28, 2020, following escalating criticism of the investigation's lack of transparency.
On May 1, 2020, in the wake of the attacks, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, following through on a 2019 campaign promise, announced an immediate ban on some 1,500 makes and models of "military-grade assault-style" weapons, including two of the five guns used in the attacks. The ban included the Ruger Mini-14, as used in the École Polytechnique massacre. Wortman obtained the gun illegally within Canada, while the other four guns he used included a Smith & Wesson 5946 handgun stolen from an RCMP officer he had killed and three guns smuggled in from the United States. All firearms used in the attacks were acquired illegally.
Events
April 18
Portapique attacks
The attacks originated in the rural beachside community of Portapique, 130 kilometres (81 mi) north of Halifax, when Wortman assaulted his female partner Lisa Banfield at their cottage. During the assault, he poured gasoline throughout the cottage and set the residence on fire. Wortman then forced his partner to walk to their nearby warehouse and confined her in the back seat of his replica RCMP cruiser. She was able to escape and hid in the woods until early the next morning. Wortman set the warehouse on fire.
Beginning at 22:01, a number of Portapique residents called 9-1-1 to report gunshots and several fires. Investigative reporting by CBC News's The Fifth Estate found that the first call came from a woman named Jamie Blair, one of the first victims and a neighbour of Wortman. Her husband Greg had confronted Wortman outside their home and was subsequently shot and killed, becoming the first victim of the rampage. Jamie hurriedly ushered her two younger sons into a bedroom and was holding the door shut when Wortman fired multiple rounds through the door, killing her instantly. Wortman then tried to set the house on fire, but was unsuccessful and eventually left. The two boys managed to escape and fled to the home of a neighbour, Lisa McCully, who lived directly across the street from Wortman. A third son of the Blairs, who was not present at the time, said he believed Wortman targeted his father first because Greg Blair owned rifles and would have been able to stop the gunman.
At about 22:05, Wortman reportedly returned to his burning house and killed McCully, who had mistaken him for an RCMP officer responding to the fire. McCully's children took in the two Blair sons, and together they hid for several hours while on the phone with 9-1-1 waiting to be rescued. From then on, Wortman continued his rampage throughout Portapique, entering several of his neighbours' homes and shooting indiscriminately at anyone he came across. He deliberately set fire to some of the victims' houses.
At 22:10, two of Wortman's neighbours drove to his house to investigate the fire while calling 9-1-1. Along the way, they passed by the house of Dawn and Frank Gulenchyn, whom Wortman had already shot and killed, and noticed what appeared to be a police car parked in front with its roof lights off. After confirming Wortman's house was on fire, the two drove back and encountered the same police car fleeing the scene of another house fire. As they pulled alongside the vehicle, Wortman fired at them with a handgun, hitting the driver in the shoulder before he drove away.
Initial police response
When the first three RCMP officers arrived on the scene at 22:26, they slowly entered the neighbourhood on foot, eventually finding some of the victims. Police said many had died while trying to escape flames or to help other victims. Some of the victims were not discovered until many hours later. One officer reported by radio that they could not locate the shooter and that "it's very bad, what's going on down here". The Fifth Estate reported that the first responding officers were "overwhelmed" and called for assistance in locating or engaging the shooter.
First responders also found the neighbours whom Wortman shot at, who identified him by name and said he had gone towards the beach. They noted that there was another unmapped exit from the neighbourhood. They told the officers that Wortman was wearing a uniform and was driving in a replica police vehicle, which was also previously reported by several 9-1-1 calls.
At 23:32, the RCMP posted a tweet saying it was dealing with a "firearms complaint"; it asked residents of the Portapique area to stay inside with their doors locked, as officers set up a search perimeter of 2 kilometres (1.2 mi). Overnight, there was still confusion as to whether Wortman had been apprehended and if he was the driver of the apparent police car. At the time, the RCMP was unable to use a helicopter to assist in the manhunt because their only Atlantic-based helicopter was unavailable due to routine maintenance.
The RCMP later determined that Wortman had left Portapique at around 22:45, 19 minutes after police first responded, by taking a dirt road along a blueberry field, which the officers had not blocked off. After escaping, he spent the night parked behind a welding shop in the Debert area, about 26 kilometres (16 mi) east of Portapique. There, he left behind police equipment and gun-related items in a ditch on the property of a resident he knew. At some point later, the RCMP's Emergency Response Team responded to the Portapique attacks. Before then, residents reported seeing little to no law enforcement presence in the area, despite making 9-1-1 calls to report fires and gunshots.
April 19
Wentworth Valley attacks
By 01:00, the RCMP had circulated internal bulletins to police agencies across Nova Scotia, identifying Wortman as a suspect who was "armed and dangerous" and associated with "an old white police car". At 05:43, Wortman left Debert and drove north on Highway 4 to a house whose residents he knew, located on Hunter Road in Wentworth, approximately 37 kilometres (23 mi) north of Portapique. He arrived at around 06:30 and shortly thereafter killed the two occupants and their two dogs. Wortman remained at the house for about three hours; what he did during that time is unclear.
At around that time, police located Wortman's spouse in Portapique; she had fled to a neighbour's home to call 9-1-1 since Wortman had smashed her cellphone. She was barefoot and claimed to have been hiding outdoors for much of the night. She confirmed that he was impersonating a police officer and provided a photo of his replica police vehicle. A BOLO alert containing this updated information was issued to officers across the province at around 08:00, warning Wortman "could be anywhere" in Nova Scotia. The RCMP publicly announced that they were dealing with an active shooter situation in Portapique at 08:02. Wortman was publicly identified as the suspect at 08:54.
Wortman eventually set fire to the house in which he had stayed. As he left, he killed a neighbour who had been out for a walk who saw the fire and tried to help. Wortman began driving south on Highway 4 back toward Portapique at 09:23. At 09:35, he shot and killed another victim, a woman who was walking on the side of the road in Wentworth Valley. At around 09:45, armed and still dressed in a police uniform, he went to another house in Glenholme whose residents he knew. The couple recognized him and refused to let him in, and the man armed himself with a 12-gauge shotgun to deter Wortman's entry.
Wortman tried to trick them into thinking he was an officer and involved in the manhunt. He called out his own name and shouted, "Come out with your hands up," but the couple called the police and he left. By 09:48, Wortman was seen near a campground in Glenholme.
Debert and Shubenacadie attacks
Before 10:00, in Debert, Wortman performed two traffic stops on random cars a few hundred metres apart and killed their occupants. At 10:08, he was seen travelling through Debert and Onslow. In a tweet posted at 10:17, the RCMP for the first time warned the public that Wortman was impersonating a police officer and shared the photo of his vehicle. At the Onslow-Belmont fire hall (set up as a shelter for victims from Portapique), two RCMP officers mistook an emergency management officer for Wortman and opened fire without warning. They missed their target and continued their manhunt without checking on the occupants of the fire hall. Wortman was recorded on surveillance video passing through Truro at around 10:20, and then Millbrook First Nation at 10:25. He briefly stopped in a parking lot to exchange his jacket for a reflective vest.
Sometime before 10:49, Wortman pulled alongside RCMP constable Chad Morrison's cruiser at the intersection of Route 2 and Route 224 in Shubenacadie, about 50 kilometres (30 mi) from Debert. Morrison had planned to meet fellow officer Heidi Stevenson at that location. Wortman shot into the car with a handgun, injuring Morrison, who fled down Route 2 and took shelter at an empty paramedic station. He was later found by paramedics and was transported to a hospital.
Wortman drove less than 500 metres (1,600 ft) south into the junction with Route 224 and collided head-on with Officer Stevenson, who was driving north. Stevenson engaged Wortman; he returned fire and killed her. Immediately after, he stole her sidearm and remaining ammunition before setting both cars on fire.
Wortman shot and killed a nearby motorist who had stopped to help Stevenson, and drove off in the victim's silver Ford Escape SUV. Police announced the vehicle change at 11:06. Shortly thereafter, Wortman killed a woman he knew at her Shubenacadie home. He changed clothes again and stole her Mazda3 to drive away. By 11:24, he was spotted continuing south along Highway 102 through Milford.
Enfield shootout and Wortman's death
Over thirteen hours after police began pursuing him, at 11:26 a.m., Wortman stopped to refuel at the Irving Big Stop service area in Enfield, 92 kilometres (57 mi) south of Portapique and 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Halifax. Two RCMP officers arrived, one drawing his firearm as he exited the vehicle, immediately aiming at Wortman inside the car. Wortman raised Stevenson's sidearm to his head and fired; the officers fatally shot him.
One officer discharged his rifle 11 times, the other one discharged his pistol 12 times. Wortman was struck twice in the head, twice in the neck, seven times in the right arm, once in the left arm, and had 25 wounds to his torso.
Wortman's death was confirmed by police at 11:40 a.m. According to a partially redacted document, Wortman's spouse said he had been on his way to Halifax to "get" someone before he was killed. Local authorities went to a residence to provide protection for its two occupants.
Victims
List of victims (by location)
Portapique
- Greg Blair
- Jamie Blair
- Joy Bond
- Peter Bond
- Corrie Ellison
- Dawn Gulenchyn
- Frank Gulenchyn
- Lisa McCully
- Jolene Oliver
- Joanne Thomas
- Aaron Tuck
- Emily Tuck
- John Zahl
Wentworth
- Tom Bagley
- Lillian Campbell
- Sean McLeod
- Alanna Jenkins
Debert
- Kristen Beaton (plus her unborn child)
- Heather O'Brien
Shubenacadie
- Gina Goulet
- Cst. Heidi Stevenson
- Joey Webber
Wortman killed 22 people, including RCMP Constable Heidi Stevenson. The other officer he shot, Constable Chad Morrison, survived, as did the man he shot in Portapique who first reported his possible use of a police car. Wortman tied up and injured his partner before she escaped at the start of the rampage. Thirteen of the dead were found in Portapique, four in Wentworth, two in Debert, and three in Shubenacadie. They are believed to have died from gunshot wounds. Eight of the victims were found in the remains of structure fires.
According to RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki, some of Wortman's first victims were closely connected to him, but over time, those he attacked were selected more at random. The Globe and Mail reported that one of the victims in Wentworth had previously gone hunting with Wortman, while CBC News reported that another victim owned the property in Portapique that was subject to a dispute between Wortman and his uncle.
Clinton Ellison, one of the survivors of the shooting and the brother of victim Corrie Ellison, later died by suicide in May 2026, after struggling with PTSD due to the shooting.