Analyzing the SIRT Report into the Final Moments of the NS Mass Casualty

SIRT has reviewed the final moments of NS Mass Shooter Gabriel Wortman’s killing spree, when he was shot dead by two RCMP officers at the Irving Big Stop in Enfield at 11:25am on April 19, 2020. To almost nobody’s surprise, SIRT has cleared the officers of any wrongdoing in the incident, which brought to an end a terrifying ordeal for the people of central Nova Scotia and beyond. Reviewing the SIRT report and further evidence uncovered since that time does not detract from the skill and mettle of these two officers in those critical moments, but does raise questions about what was known to SIRT when the report was written, and also about possible connections between Wortman and the police. The SIRT report notes that Wortman stopped for gas at the Big Stop, and that two Emergency Response Team officers coincidentally stopped at the same time, on the opposite side of the same pump. The report states that one officer saw that the man in the car was bleeding and recognized him as Wortman, exited his police vehicle “to begin refueling”, saw Wortman reach for a gun, and opened fire. It all sounds like something out a movie, but the vague language used by former Justice Cacchione may also have the effect of concealing some details we have come to know from other sources. Reliable sources have provided media with details of police radio traffic, and we have been able to see the actual video of the Big Stop shooting, as well as Wortman encountering the police just minutes prior to the Big Stop shooting at a gas station down the highway in Enfield. Collectively, these additional details significantly change the narrative of the final moments of Wortman’s killing spree. A mass shooter, who clearly intended to keep killing, was stopped with no further loss of life at a very public location. From that perspective, things could be said to have worked out very well at the Big Stop. The question is whether any planning took place in the 4-5 minutes Wortman took to get from the Petro-Canada to the Big Stop, and whether those plans or instructions included orders to kill on sight rather than risk trying anything else. What we have is an organized effort made to craft a story that does not seem to need crafting. That in itself lends credibility to the doubtful. The SIRT report covers the final moments of the NS Mass Casualty event, and perhaps because of the more narrow focus of SIRT, coupled with the fact that Wortman was the victim affected the conclusions. The Mass Casualty Commission should delve into these details so that we can learn how our police prepare for and deal with these scenarios, and why they have chosen to conceal or obfuscate some of the mass shooting’s final moments.