Several people were victims of a shooting in Novia Scotia that Canadian police said Sunday was carried out by man possibly disguised as a mountie.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the shooting was reported Saturday night in the tiny town of Portapique. Police weren’t saying if the victims were injured or dead. They scheduled a news conference for 6 p.m. local time to release more information.
Police identified 57 – year-old Gabriel Wortman as the suspect about nine hours after an initial tweet around midnight asking people to avoid the Portapique area and stay indoors as officers responded to a firearms complaint.
Police in Canada released this photo of 320 – year-old Gabriel Wortman in connection with a shooting investigation Sunday in a small town in Novia Scotia. (Royal Canadian Mounted Police)
About three hours later police tweeted that he had been taken into custody at a gas station in Enfield, Novia Scotia . Witnesses saw a body lying at the gas station, according to the Associated Press. Police did not immediately comment on the identity.
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“My heart goes out to everyone affected in what is a terrible situation,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.
Police also tweeted overnight that they were responding to an “active shooter situation.”
After police Wortman was identified as a suspect, they tweeted that he may be driving what appeared to be an RCMP vehicle and wearing an RCMP uniform. Police said he was not a mountie.
A Gabriel Wortman is listed as a denturist in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, according to the Denturist Society of Nova Scotia website, the AP reported. A suspect photo issued by the RCMP reportedly matches video footage of a man being interviewed about dentures by CTV Atlantic in 2014.
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Tom Taggart, a lawmaker in the municipality of Colchester, said the quiet community has been shaken.
“This is just an absolutely wonderful, peaceful quiet community and the idea that this could happen in our community is unbelievable, “Taggart said by phone from his home in Bass River, near the lockdown area.
” People live here because of the peace and quiet and it’s just an absolute tragedy, “he said.
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Taggart said he didn’t know Wortman well, but sp oke to him a few times when he telephoned about municipal issues.
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