TORONTO (AP) – The worst mass shooting in Canadian history began with a dispute between the gunman and his girlfriend, who survived the attack, an agent confirmed to The Associated Press on Thursday night.
The shooting recorded over the weekend in Nova Scotia began with a fight between the couple, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Authorities will offer more details at a press conference on Friday, he said.
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Police had said Gabriel Wortman, 51, acted alone in the shooting that claimed the lives of at least 22 people in 16 locations in five rural communities in the north and center of the region.
The suspect was shot Sunday morning, 13 hours after the attacks began.
Authorities believe Wortman deliberately attacked his first victims, but then started shooting randomly as he moved between locations.
Wortman carried out much of the murder disguised as police in a labeled car to make it look like a patrol car, authorities said, adding that he shot his victims both inside and outside their homes and set fire to homes in Portapique.
Wortman, who owns a dental clinic in the town of Dartmouth, near Halifax, lived part of his life in Portapique, according to residents. Her business, Atlantic Denture Clinic, has been closed since last month due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Authorities said Wortman had no police record, but information from at least one previous encounter with the law later emerged. Nova Scotia court records confirmed that he was ordered to receive anger management advice after pleading guilty to assaulting a man in Halifax on October 29, 2001.
