Truro: The public inquiry into the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia issued its final report today, saying the many failings in the RCMP’s response should lead to an overhaul of the national police force.
The seven-volume report from the Mass Casualty Commission says an external review of the RCMP is needed, and the federal public safety minister should then identify responsibilities that could be better handled by other policing agencies.
The three-member commission found the Mounties failed to notice years of warning signs about the killer, who fatally shot 22 people, including an RCMP officer, on April 18 and 19 in 2020.
The inquiry heard the 51-year-old denture-maker disguised himself as a police officer and drove a replica police cruiser during a 13-hour rampage that ended when he was shot dead by two RCMP officers at a gas station north of Halifax.
The report also draws links between the shootings and the killer’s mistreatment of women, particularly his spouse, whom he isolated from her family and assaulted for many years.
The commission says the first step in preventing mass violence is recognizing the danger of escalation inherent in all forms of violence, including gender-based, intimate-partner and family violence. — Canadian Press