‘I think in order to gain the trust of the public they need to explain why they didn’t use the (alert) system and be transparent about it’
OTTAWA — Experts say RCMP officials need to be more forthcoming about what could have been a critical fault in their response to a mass murder in rural Nova Scotia last weekend, where a rogue gunman killed at least 22 people over a 14-hour rampage.
Questions about the police force’s response were repeated after Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil on Wednesday said the provincial Emergency Management Office reached out to the RCMP “a number of times” about issuing an emergency alert Sunday morning. By the time RCMP killed the gunman, 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman, at 11:26 a.m., the police force was still deliberating over the wording of a Red Alert emergency notification.
Flynn said such instances are always highly unexpected, which adds to the uncertainties facing police on the ground. “Early speculation in advance of the investigation findings damages the morale of the brave men and women who responded to this situation, and who are grieving the loss of their colleague and community members.”
Supt. Chris Leather later says officers arriving at the scene find “multiple casualties” both inside and outside of the home, but the shooter is gone.
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