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18 people and counting killed over the weekend in the deadliest mass shooting in Canadian history

VOA NEWS/AFP

According to AP News, 18 people were killed by a gunman disguised as a police officer in the province of Nova Scotia Canada over the weekend, the deadliest mass shooting in Canadian history. A motive for the killings has not yet been established for identified suspect Gabriel Wortman, 51, who was killed by police. According to BBC, police have said that the suspect shot people at many different locations in Nova Scotia, in a seemingly random pattern, and took the life of a female Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer. He was reported to have been driving what looked like a police car. The RCMP said on Monday that they believe there may be more victims within the remains of homes torched as part of the weekend’s attacks. ~

At about 23:32 local time on Saturday night, the RCMP said officers were responding to a “firearms complaint” at a home in the small town of Portapique and advised residents to lock themselves indoors. They found several casualties inside and outside the home, and there were many reports of homes on fire in the area. Police fanned out across more than a dozen crime scenes after the rampage left homes in smoldering ruins in rural communities across the province. RCMP officers continued pursuing Wortman for hours, following a series of crime scenes that police said were “scattered across the province” and which they are still working to piece together. He was eventually killed in a confrontation with the police. ~

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described the attack as “a tragedy.” “Violence of any kind has no place in Canada. We stand with you and we grieve with you,” he said, addressing the nation on Monday. He also spoke on the tight-knit community of the province. “The vast majority of Nova Scotians will have a direct link with one or more of the victims. The entire province and country is grieving right now as we come to grips with something that is unimaginable.” ~

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