The worst killing in Canadian history began last weekend when the gunman brutally assaulted his spouse, which may have served as a "catalyst" for the 22 sordid murders that followed, Canadian federal police said Friday .
Read also: Killing in Canada: the police informed late of the shooter's police uniform
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP, Federal Police) official Darren Campbell provided a chronology of the massive manhunt that began Saturday night in eastern Nova Scotia, and which came to a close thirteen hours later when the suspect was shot. His motivations remain a mystery to this day, he said. Darren Campbell added however that the assault on Saturday night by the killer of his spouse, who managed to escape and spend the night hidden in the woods, "could very well have been the catalyst for this chain of events" .
It was this woman who informed police on Sunday morning that the suspect was wearing a Royal Canadian Mounted Police uniform and that he was traveling in a replica patrol car. The fact that the woman managed to escape after having been violently "attacked" may have enraged the killer, suggested the police officer. The gunman was identified as Gabriel Wortman, a 51-year-old dental technician. She "had key information to help us better understand" who the suspect was, said Darren Campbell. The shooter had just killed 13 people by shooting and setting fire to houses in the small village of Portapique, on the shores of the Bay of Fundy.
The police immediately established a 4 square km perimeter around the village in an attempt to contain the suspect. He would have managed to take off and pursue his deadly run by driving in a field or by crossing an unknown barrier, disguised as a police officer and driving his replica RCMP car. "I can't imagine more horrible circumstances than looking for someone who looks like you , " said Darren Campbell. This "obviously complicated matters" and gave the suspect an "advantage" over the police and "anyone he encountered."