A veteran police officer, a teacher and two health care workers were among the victims of the worst mass shooting in Canadian history as the death toll rose to 22, not including the gunman. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said Tuesday new human remains were discovered in homes and vehicles set ablaze by the suspect during the weekend killing spree in Nova Scotia.
The RCMP said in a statement that a 17-year-old girl was among the victims, and the other victims were both men and women.
"We have recovered remains from some of the locations of the fires," the RCMP said.
The gunman, identified as 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman, launched his rampage late Saturday in the seaside village of Portapique. He died roughly 14 hours later after being shot by police at a gas station outside Halifax, 60 miles away.
Authorities said Wortman wore a police uniform and made his car look like a RCMP cruiser allowing him to travel easily within a 30-mile area around Portapique. A police officer was among those killed.
The dead officer was identified as Constable Heidi Stevenson, a 23-year veteran of the force and mother of two. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recounted how members of his RCMP security detail knew and remembered fondly Stevenson.
"It really goes to show just how tightly knit not just the RCMP is as a force, but how close we are as a country," Trudeau said.
Two health care workers at local nursing homes were also among those killed, according to VON Canada, a long term health care company, which identified them as Kristen Beaton, a continuing care assistant, and Heather O'Brien, a licensed practical nurse.
VON President Jo-Anne Poirier told the BBC: "All of our frontline care providers are heroes. Yesterday, two of those heroes, Heather O'Brien and Kristen Beaton, were taken from their families, and from VON. We mourn their loss, and we mourn for their families."
O'Brien's daughter, Darcy Dobson, wrote in a Facebook post that, "A Monster murdered my Mother."
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