TRURO, NS — Videos of Nova Scotia RCMP officers fatally shooting the perpetrator of one of the worst mass murders in modern Canadian history have been made public.
Monday’s decision by commissioners of a public inquiry into the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting reversed their earlier decision to shield videos from publication.
The five videos from multiple security cameras at an Irving Big Stop gas station in Enfield, NS, were recorded as RCMP officers killed the gunman on April 19, 2020, ending a 13-hour rampage that claimed 22 lives.
One of the videos shows the arrival of the Chevrolet Suburban driven by RCMP Const dog handler. Craig Hubley, who opens his car door next to the bombs about 28 seconds after the killer pulled over.
The agent in full body armor appears to draw his gun a second after opening the front door. He starts screaming before repeatedly shooting at the gunman’s side window.
Hubley’s gun recoils as he fires and moves toward the front of the gunman’s car. Const. Meanwhile, Ben MacLeod, a member of the emergency response team traveling with Hubley, exited the passenger side of the vehicle, walked around the front of the police vehicle and fired his carbine into the front window of the killer’s vehicle.
The shooting of the killer, Gabriel Wortman, begins shortly after 11:25 am and is over within seconds.
In testimony before the inquest in April, Hubley said his suspicions were aroused when he noticed a man in a car at a pump in front of his police van who seemed unaware that blood was oozing from a lump on his head. She said one glance confirmed the man was Wortman, whose photo she had etched into his memory that morning.
Both Hubley and MacLeod testified that they began shooting when they saw Wortman raise a gun in his right hand.
Another video, recorded behind the Mazda hatchback the killer stole from his latest victim, shows the moments before police arrive.
When officers arrive, the gunman’s right hand is seen apparently reaching for an object, though it’s hard to see what it is.
There is a brief rocking motion inside the Mazda, and then an instant later, a hail of bullets from Hubley shatters the Mazda’s side window. MacLeod’s carbine volley arrives in seconds and puts multiple holes in the front window.
The five videos were released by the Mass Victims Commission accompanied by a warning about what they represent.
The commissioners wrote in their decisions that they initially decided to release only still images of the footage due to its potential to re-traumatize those affected by the mass shooting, but multiple media outlets contested the decision.
“We urge the public to keep in mind that any time photographs and videos associated with mass casualties are discussed or reported in a public forum, the people portrayed and their families are affected and, for some, it is retraumatizing.” the decision says.
In the video showing the windows of the Mazda being smashed, there is also footage of other members of the emergency response team arriving within six minutes, smashing the driver’s side window and throwing the killer’s body onto the pavement, where he is surrounded. and review it briefly. to the.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on June 20, 2022.
the canadian press
Reference-ca.news.yahoo.com