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13 Hours Inside the Nova Scotia Massacre — True Crime
13 Hours Inside the Nova Scotia Massacre

Canada’s worst shooting spree in modern history has left us with far more questions than answers. Journey inside every single hour of this tragedy as it happened with Global News Halifax reporter Sarah Ritchie. This 13-part true crime series will try to piece together exactly what happened and what could or should have been done to prevent it.

Copyright: © 2021 GlobalNews / Curiouscast

Latest Episodes:

July 2021 Update Jul 13, 2021

The 13 Hours team brings you an update on what’s happened since the series wrapped in April. A local magazine has been publishing leaked information that some say may have come from a source inside the RCMP. That includes audio of 911 calls made by some of the first victims of the killing spree, who told dispatchers that a man driving a police car was murdering people in Portapique on the night of April 18, 2020.

Meanwhile the public inquiry has started its work, but there are already questions being raised about who the RCMP has hired to provide information to the mass casualty commission.

We have much more on our website, including articles, maps, and photos:globalnews.ca/13hours

Instagram: @13hourspodcast

Email: 13hours@curiouscast.ca

Twitter: @SarahRitchieTV

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Introducing... China Rising Jun 22, 2021

Introducing Episode 1 of China Rising - Hostage Diplomacy

On the first episode of China Rising, we examine the Chinese government's practice of detaining political prisoners, by hearing directly from Canadians who've become caught in the crossfire. Christian aid workers Julia and Kevin Garratt lived in China for 30 years before their arrest in 2014, when they were suddenly cast as pawns in a geopolitical chess match. The Garratts’ traumatic experience is eerily similar to the case of the 'Two Michaels,' Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, detained in China since December 2018. Using their stories and others as a guide, we'll investigate how Western countries, including Canada, should respond to China's so-called 'Hostage Diplomacy.'

You can listen to more episodes here: https://link.chtbl.com/china-rising

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The Pathway to Murder | 13 Apr 12, 2021

In this final episode, the gunman is killed in a chance encounter with police at a gas station, ending 13 hours of horror in Nova Scotia.

But this story begins decades before April 18, 2020. Family members describe a pattern of abuse in the Wortman family going back generations. And experts say there are links between childhood maltreatment and violence.

In fact, a history of childhood abuse and neglect is very common among mass shooters in the United States. It’s one of four commonalities that researchers call the pathway to violence. Experts say ending the cycle of violence for good is one way we can prevent mass shootings from happening.

We have much more on our website, including articles, maps, and photos:globalnews.ca/13hours

Instagram: @13hourspodcast

Email: 13hours@curiouscast.ca

Twitter: @SarahRitchieTV; @alexandrakress

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In The Dark | 12 Mar 29, 2021

Episode 12 begins with the story of the final hour of the killing spree, and the gunman’s final victim. A mysterious phone call alerted Gina Goulet’s daughter that something was wrong on the morning of April 19, 2020.

In this episode, we explore how the families of the victims are fighting for transparency and accountability, nearly a year after the shootings happened. They’re planning to sue the gunman’s estate, the government and the RCMP. And the families were key to ensuring that government called a public inquiry into the killing spree.

The inquiry will explore what happened and why, with a focus on the actions of the gunman and the police response. It will also consider the impact of gender-based violence and domestic violence, which experts say is key to understanding.

We have much more on our website, including articles, maps, and photos:globalnews.ca/13hours

Instagram: @13hourspodcast

Email: 13hours@curiouscast.ca

Twitter: @SarahRitchieTV; @alexandrakress

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Collision Course | 11 Mar 15, 2021

This episode picks up the gunman’s movements through central Nova Scotia on the morning of April 19, 2020, as he drove toward Halifax.

A chance encounter put him in the paths of two RCMP officers. Constables Chad Morrison and Heidi Stevenson were planning to meet on the side of the road near Shubenacadie, unaware the gunman was nearby.

The gunman shot Chad, and then collided with Heidi’s car. He shot and killed her before murdering Joey Webber, who stopped to help. Then he stole Joey’s vehicle and drove away.

In this episode, we learn about other shootings in recent years in which RCMP members have been killed. Experts say the force is slow to change, and question whether it’s time for provinces and municipalities to create their own police forces instead of contracting the RCMP.

We have much more on our website, including articles, maps, and photos:globalnews.ca/13hours

Instagram: @13hourspodcast

Email: 13hours@curiouscast.ca

Twitter: @SarahRitchieTV; @alexandrakress

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Breaking News: SIRT Report Released Mar 03, 2021

Nova Scotia’s independent police watchdog, the Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT), has concluded two RCMP officers who shot at the fire hall in Lower Onslow, N.S., during the manhunt for Gabriel Wortman should not face criminal charges.

The SIRT report said the two officers who fired their weapons did so believing the person they were shooting at was the gunman. This is because he was dressed similarly to the gunman — wearing a yellow and orange reflective vest — and standing near a marked RCMP cruiser at the time of the shooting.

In this bonus episode, producers Sarah Ritchie and Alex Kress bring you the breaking news and explain what new information is in the SIRT report.

We also hear reaction once again from the firefighters who say the police “terrorized” them on April 19, and have never apologized.

We have much more on our website, including articles, maps, and photos:globalnews.ca/13hours

Instagram: @13hourspodcast

Email: 13hours@curiouscast.ca

Twitter: @SarahRitchieTV; @alexandrakress

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Friendly Fire | 10 Mar 01, 2021

On the morning of April 19, 2020, Greg Muise and Darrell Currie were preparing the Onslow Belmont Fire Brigade to help evacuees from Portapique, N.S. Suddenly, shots rang out and bullets sprayed the building, forcing them and others to run for cover.

They thought they were going to die at the hands of the gunman.

But it was the police who were shooting.

In this episode we break down what happened, second by second, as we describe what surveillance video captured. We also hear harrowing testimony from the firefighters about what they lived through that day, and from witnesses who saw it unfold.

More than 10 months later, the firefighters say they've never gotten an explanation or an apology from police.

We have much more on our website, including articles, maps, and photos:globalnews.ca/13hours

Instagram: @13hourspodcast

Email: 13hours@curiouscast.ca

Twitter: @SarahRitchieTV; @alexandrakress

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Too Little Too Late | 9 Feb 15, 2021

At 8:02 AM, Nova Scotia RCMP Tweeted that they were responding to an “active shooter situation” in Portapique. Five minutes later, they told other police forces they were searching for Gabriel Wortman, who was wanted for homicide and considered armed and dangerous. The police bulletin said he may be driving a fully marked RCMP cruiser and “could be anywhere in the province.”

But the public did not get that information until hours later. And in the meantime, Wortman’s killing spree continued.

In this episode, we meet four more victims whose lives were taken that morning before police warned people that he was driving a mock RCMP cruiser. Some of their families say an emergency alert would have saved their lives.

We have much more on our website, including articles, maps, and photos:globalnews.ca/13hours

Instagram: @13hourspodcast

Email: 13hours@curiouscast.ca

Twitter: @SarahRitchieTV; @alexandrakress

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Daybreak | 8 Feb 01, 2021

In this episode, we hear from police on scene in Portapique for the first time through recently uncovered recordings of their radio communications. The recordings show police were having communication issues and navigation issues as they searched for the gunman in the early morning on April 19, 2020.

We also hear from Leon Joudrey, the first person to speak with the gunman’s common-law partner after she emerged from the woods. RCMP say she was a key witness, giving them crucial new information about his police disguise and his weapons.

Then our story follows the gunman as he leaves Debert and drives to Wentworth, N.S. We'll introduce you to his next victims, Sean McLeod and Alanna Jenkins.

We have much more on our website, including articles, maps, and photos:globalnews.ca/13hours

Instagram: @13hourspodcast

Email: 13hours@curiouscast.ca

Twitter: @SarahRitchieTV; @alexandrakress

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Origins | 7 Jan 18, 2021

This episode begins more than a decade before the events of April 18 and 19, 2020, when the gunman travelled to Fredericton, New Brunswick to clean out the apartment of his "dear friend," Tom Evans.

People who knew them say their business relationship had a darker side; they had been smuggling cigarettes and alcohol into Canada from the United States for years.

After settling his friend’s estate, the gunman took home more than $200,000, and a semi-automatic rifle he would use in a terrible killing spree more than a decade later. And his relationship with Evans was a link to other weapons police say he used that weekend.

We have much more on our website, including articles, maps, and photos:globalnews.ca/13hours

Instagram: @13hourspodcast

Email: 13hours@curiouscast.ca

Twitter: @SarahRitchieTV; @alexandrakress

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Communication Breakdown | 6 Jan 04, 2021

Overnight on April 18 and 19, 2020, Nova Scotia RCMP were searching for a gunman who had murdered 13 people and lit buildings on fire in Portapique.

It turns out that police had been warned about the gunman nearly a decade earlier, when an officer from a nearby police force was told that he had a collection of guns and wanted to "kill a cop."

Police now say they had no record of that warning on the weekend of the shooting because it was purged from their records management system.

In this episode, ex-Mounties question what was done with the warnings about the gunman, and why local police forces close to Portapique were not called in to help with the manhunt that night.

We have much more on our website, including articles, maps, and photos:globalnews.ca/13hours

Instagram: @13hourspodcast

Email: 13hours@curiouscast.ca

Twitter: @SarahRitchieTV; @alexandrakress

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Injustice Collector | 5 Dec 21, 2020

On June 4, 2020, Nova Scotia RCMP said that a psychological autopsy of Gabriel Wortman found that he was an injustice collector, "one who held onto conflict or differences with others, turning them inward until they boiled over in rage."

Police say they believe revenge was a motivating factor in the killing spree on April 18 and 19, 2020, but they also say some of the gunman's victims were targeted at random.

In this episode, we learn what an injustice collector is, and we hear from people who knew the gunman about his history of violence and disputes with others.

Experts say these events are part of a pattern of behaviour that should serve as a warning sign for authorities.

We have much more on our website, including articles, maps, and photos:globalnews.ca/13hours

Instagram: @13hourspodcast

Email: 13hours@curiouscast.ca

Twitter: @SarahRitchieTV; @alexandrakress

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Red Flags | 4 Dec 07, 2020

Overnight on April 18, 2020, Gabriel Wortman was hiding out in an industrial area in the town of Debert, N.S.

According to surveillance footage, he arrived at 11:12 p.m., 27 minutes after police said he left Portapique.

But this is the point where the timeline of events becomes less clear; we don't know what he was doing in those overnight hours.

In this episode, we dig into aspects of Wortman's behaviour and personality that experts say were red flags: his vehicle that the RCMP said looked “identical in every way” to a real police car; his extensive police memorabilia collection; and, how he was reacting to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We have much more on our website, including articles, maps, and photos:globalnews.ca/13hours

Instagram: @13hourspodcast

Email: 13hours@curiouscast.ca

Twitter: @SarahRitchieTV; @alexandrakress

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emergency Response | 3 Nov 23, 2020

On April 18, 2020, police respond to several 911 calls from Portapique, N.S.

Gabriel Wortman has killed several of his neighbours and set some of their homes on fire.

The first police officers who arrive find several people dead and a massive response gets underway. Officers start setting up perimeters and call in specialized resources to find the gunman, but he gets away.

How and when does this happen?

And why don't police realize he's gone for hours?

As you’ll hear in this episode, the police theory of the gunman's escape has changed since the shootings.

We have much more on our website, including articles, maps, and photos:globalnews.ca/13hours

Instagram: @13hourspodcast

Email: 13hours@curiouscast.ca

Twitter: @SarahRitchieTV; @alexandrakress

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Stolen Dreams |2 Nov 09, 2020

The first sign from the outside that something was horribly wrong in Portapique, Nova Scotia, was rush of 911 calls around 10 p.m.

Saturday, April 18, 2020 was an otherwise quiet night across the province. Much of the world was deep into the COVID-19 pandemic, sheltering in place to stop the spread of the virus. But the tiny community of Portapique on the Bay of Fundy became a waking nightmare as 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman began shooting his neighbours, and lighting homes on fire.

When officers arrived on scene they were met by a car speeding out of the area. Inside, was a victim who would become a key witness.

But within an hour of the start of the rampage, Wortman had killed 13 people.

He had also escaped.

And police had no idea where he was.

We have much more on our website, including articles, maps, and photos:globalnews.ca/13hours

Instagram: @13hourspodcast

Email: 13hours@curiouscast.ca

Twitter: @SarahRitchieTV; @alexandrakress

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Shattered Quiet |1 Nov 09, 2020

On Saturday, April 18, 2020 communities everywhere were on lock down to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the quiet, coastal town of Portapique, Nova Scotia, Canada.

But a 51-year-old denturist with a violent past named Gabriel Wortman was about to shatter that peace. On that night, he began a 13-hour shooting spree that would leave 22 innocent people dead at 16 different crime scenes across the province.

What started with an argument between Wortman and his long-time partner escalated quickly. Unimaginable devastation followed. When police arrived, several homes were burning and gunshots were ringing out.

Some police officers have described what they found when they arrived as “a war zone.”

But the terror and the true impact of his crimes were only just beginning.

We have much more on our website, including articles, maps, and photos:globalnews.ca/13hours

Instagram: @13hourspodcast

Email: 13hours@curiouscast.ca

Twitter: @SarahRitchieTV; @alexandrakress

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Introducing 13 Hours Inside the Nova Scotia Massacre Oct 14, 2020

The deadliest shooting spree in Canada’s modern history left us with far more questions than answers. Join Sarah Ritchie, a reporter for Global News in Halifax, as she tries to unravel how something like this could happen there.

Sarah will take you through every hour, as it unfolded and together you’ll try and piece together what happened, what could or should’ve been done to prevent it and what we can learn to make sure a tragedy of this magnitude never happens again.

13 Hours: inside the Nova Scotia Massacre coming soon

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