N.S. RCMP holds exercise in community with ties to mass shooting as anniversary approaches

This photo showing an area the gunman travelled in a replica RCMP vehicle in the Debert, N.S. area is displayed at a media briefing RCMP headquarters in Dartmouth, N.S., Tuesday, April 28, 2020. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan)

Just days before the sixth anniversary of Canada’s worst mass shooting, the RCMP is holding a training exercise in Debert, N.S. – a community that holds a significant place in the chronology of events that unfolded in the hours after the deadly rampage began.

In a post on Facebook Monday, the RCMP said residents may notice an “increased police presence and noise” in the community this week.

“This, and all RCMP training, is carefully planned and controlled, and is essential to maintaining both public and officer safety,” said police in the post. “There is no risk to the public as a result of this training.

“We appreciate the community’s understanding as officers train to remain prepared to protect Nova Scotians, now and in the future.”

The post said the training would wrap up Friday morning – just one day before the anniversary of the mass shooting, which started the night of April 18, 2020.

Gabriel Wortman, dressed as a Mountie and driving a car that looked like an RCMP vehicle, killed 13 people in the community of Portapique, N.S., and set fire to several homes that night.

Despite a police search, he left the Portapique area, located along the Bay of Fundy.

In the early-morning hours of April 19, 2020, Wortman parked his mock RCMP cruiser behind a welding shop in Debert, dumping some items there before taking off again.

He killed two women -- Kristen Beaton, who was pregnant, and Heather O’Brien -- in their cars in the Debert area that morning.

As the hours passed, he murdered another seven people across northern and central Nova Scotia before he was shot dead by two police officers at the Big Stop located along Highway 102 in Enfield, N.S.

He killed 22 people in total.

When asked why the RCMP chose this week to hold the training exercise, a spokesperson told CTV News Atlantic the force appreciates the “concern and angst” their training and presence in Debert this week has caused.

“The hospitality centre in Debert accommodates the space and operational requirements for this mandatory tactical support group training, which prepares officers to protect Nova Scotians,” Cindy Bayers, the Nova Scotia RCMP’s director of strategic communications, said in an email.

“The training must be held in spring and fall annually.”

Bayers added the RCMP is grateful the hospitality centre has been available to them, however, “in consideration of the concerns raised, we’re committed to doing our best to find an alternate time or location for this training moving forward.”

This year’s training exercise will continue in Debert this week as planned, she said.

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