Canada announced Thursday the launch of an independent review of the worst killings in its history, including to determine why it took more than 12 hours for police to shoot the man who killed 22 people last April. This review will be entrusted to a committee made up of three independent experts which will have to make a first report in February 2021 with proposals to prevent such a tragedy from happening again, announced the Minister of Public Safety Bill Blair.
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Disguised as a police officer and riding in a fake police car, Gabriel Wortman, a 51-year-old dental technician, sowed death on April 18 and 19 in a quiet region of Nova Scotia (east) after a violent argument with his wife. He was shot dead on Sunday 19 by the police after a manhunt lasting more than 12 hours, over approximately 150 km, during which he shot dead 22 people, including a policewoman, between Saturday evening and Sunday midday. Federal police had been criticized for using Twitter to warn the population of this rural area that a gunman was scouring the area.
"I am convinced that this review will give us a much better understanding of the events of that tragic day, of the circumstances which led to it, of all the answers which were given" , assured Bill Blair during a press briefing. The report that will follow should "provide us with concrete recommendations so that we can avoid such tragedies in the future" , he added. The committee will examine in particular the way in which the police intervention was carried out, and the decision not to use the public alert system to warn the population. It will also study the context of the killing, "including the role of gender-based violence and domestic violence," according to the government.
Experts will also examine the shooter's access to firearms, according to those around him fascinated by weapons and the police in general. The killer, whose motives remain a mystery to this day, possessed several firearms, a replica of a police car and a uniform he had used during his murderous outfit. The final report is due in August 2021.