Police in Canada have updated the death toll of the country’s worst mass shooting to 22, as more victims from the Nova Scotia gun rampage last weekend were publicly identified, The Guardian reports. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) had previously warned the death toll would increase as investigators combed through several homes intentionally set ablaze by the gunman in a 12-hour rampage that started late on Saturday in the town of Portapique. On Tuesday, 16 separate crime scenes were being examined across the province. The total number of deaths from the attack reached 23, including the gunman. The newly identified victims included a woman out for a walk, a care aide on duty, and a volunteer firefighter.
The remains of Elizabeth Joanne Thomas and her husband, John Zahl, are believed to be still inside the burned-out two-story log cabin that was next to that of the gunman, Gabriel Wortman, 51, and is thought to have been among the first properties to be attacked. Authorities have not identified a motive for the killings but said there was clear premeditation: Wortman wore a fake police uniform and decorated his car to look like an RCMP cruiser. Many people were already at home because of the coronavirus lockdown, but Lillian Hyslop had ventured out for a walk when she was shot dead. A neighbor said her encounter with the gunman appeared “100% random.” Authorities believe Wortman may have targeted his first victims but before attacking anyone on his path as he drove around. RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki said police were still trying to determine what weapons had been used.