An elementary school teacher, two nurses, and a married couple who worked in corrections are among those identified so far as victims of Canada's worst mass shooting.
The horror started to unfold Saturday night when the RCMP responded to calls of an active shooter at a home in the rural community of Portapique, Nova Scotia. There, they found the bodies of multiple victims inside the house and outside. The rampage continued Sunday morning, finally reaching its conclusion at a gas station near Enfield, 92 kilometres away from where it started.
When it was over, at least 17 people were dead.
The first victim identified was a 23-year veteran of the RCMP, Constable Heidi Stevenson, a mother of two.
The tragedy is sure to re-ignite the country's debate over stricter gun control, and on Monday morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signalled he is willing to wade into that debate soon.
"I am very much open to moving forward with our gun control legislation," he told reporters Monday during his morning news conference, usually reserved for updates on his government's response to COVID-19. "I think there's always going to be questions about when is the right moment to do that, but with Parliament returning in some fashion over the coming weeks, I think we will look at opportunities to do just that."
Before the pandemic disrupted Parliament, Trudeau said his government was on the verge of bringing forth legislation to ban assault-style weapons.
"It was interrupted when the pandemic caused Parliament to be suspended, but we have every intention of moving forward on that measure and potentially other measures when Parliament returns," he said.
The prime minister said he hoped to have an agreement with all parties by the end of the day to "responsibly" get on with the business of democracy without exposing Members of Parliament to COVID-19.
Investigators are still trying to figure out what prompted the gunman, 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman, to plan and execute the mass shooting. The investigation is still in its infancy, but what is clear is that it was meticulously planned. The suspect was said to be wearing a realistic-looking, although fake, RCMP uniform and was driving a vehicle that looked almost identical to a police cruiser.
Trudeau could not say if any federal agencies had red-flagged Wortman previous to the weekend's massacre.
"Such a tragedy should never have occurred. Violence of any kind has no place in Canada," said Trudeau.
Unfortunately, many Canadians have had to forego a proper funeral during the pandemic because of social distancing rules, and Trudeau intoned there would be no relaxing of the measures for mourners in Nova Scotia.
"We understand how incredibly painful it is," he responded. "But, at the same time, there are thousands and thousands of Canadians across this country who have lost loved ones who haven't been able to gather, to grieve, to attend funerals."
There will be a vigil at 7 p.m. Friday on the Colchester Supporting Our Community Facebook page to commemorate those killed in the shooting.
