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Issuing alert about N.S. gunman would have led to more dead police: RCMP official

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HALIFAX — A senior Nova Scotia RCMP official says she has no regrets that an emergency alert was not sent during a killer’s 13-hour rampage in 2020, saying doing so would have led to more dead police officers.

Lia Scanlan, director of strategic communications for the Nova Scotia RCMP, told investigators for the public inquiry into the mass shooting she was “glad” there was no provincewide alert warning about a gunman driving a replica police cruiser.

A transcript of her February interview was released Tuesday at public hearings into the April 2020 killings of 22 people, including RCMP Const. Heidi Stevenson.

If there had been an Alert Ready message broadcast on radio, television and smartphones, Scanlan speculated, “My gut? You would have more dead police officers, because this is rural policing.”

Scanlan said that in a small town like Portapique, where the killing started, people take things into their own hands. Had the public known the shooter was impersonating an RCMP officer, that information would have put RCMP members in harm’s way, she said.

“I had a (RCMP) member call me and they were petrified to be on the road,” she continued. “They thought they were going to get killed because of it being public.”

Truro, N.S., police Chief Dave MacNeil, however, told the inquiry on Monday that an Alert Ready warning would have saved lives.

The RCMP instead used social media to provide updates to Nova Scotians, a decision that has been criticized by family of some victims.

Scanlan said in her interview that Twitter and Facebook are effective. “We’ve always communicated on social media. It’s been a best practice … and show me a better practice in policing? There isn’t one,” she told inquiry interviewers.

Almost 10 hours after the gunman killed his first victim, the Mounties issued the first tweet indicating there was an “active shooter situation” in Portapique at 8:02 a.m. But the tweet did not mention the suspect’s name or anything about his getaway car. As well, it did not make it clear that he was on the move.

Relatives of some of the victims have argued that had the RCMP provided earlier public warnings with that key information, several lives could have been saved.

At 8:04 a.m., the RCMP issued an internal alert to its members stating the suspect was potentially using a fully marked Ford Taurus police cruiser and could be anywhere in the province. The same message was then sent to all police departments in the province. At 8:54 a.m., the RCMP sent a tweet that included a photo identifying 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman as the suspect, but there was still no mention of his car.

This was followed by another tweet at 10:04 a.m., which was after RCMP communications got approval to share details about the replica cruiser. This tweet warned people to avoid Highway 4 in Glenholme, N.S., but did not mention the vehicle.

Asked why this piece of information was omitted from the tweet, Scanlan said it was written by one of her communications staff, who she thinks was unaware of the replica cruiser.

Working from home, the communications staff were “not on a conference call where everyone has the same information,” Scanlan said, because they were busy making calls and answering calls from officers. She said the five members of her communications team were each permitted to tweet independently, and at least three of her staff were tasked with posting on social media on the morning of April 19.

It wasn’t until 10:17 a.m. that the RCMP tweeted a photo of the vehicle.

Scanlan also faced questions about why an 11:06 a.m. RCMP tweet misidentified the type of vehicle the gunman was driving after abandoning his replica cruiser. Scanlan said that she did not write the tweet but suggested that there wasn’t time to check for absolute accuracy.

If no lives were at risk, time could be taken to verify information about the vehicle, she said. But in a situation such as the mass shooting, “they could have said purple airplane and it would have gone out.”

Scanlan is scheduled to testify before the public inquiry on Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2022.

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

 

Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press

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Allen nets shutout as Devils burn Oilers 3-0

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EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.

Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.

The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.

Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.

TAKEAWAYS

Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.

Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.

KEY MOMENT

New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.

KEY RETURN?

Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.

OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN

The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.

The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.

UP NEXT

Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Mahomes throws 3 TD passes, unbeaten Chiefs beat Buccaneers 30-24 in OT

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.

DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.

Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.

Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.

Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.

It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.

The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.

Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.

Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.

The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”

Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.

The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.

Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.

UP NEXT

Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

Chiefs: Host the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

AP NFL:

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NHL roundup: Kuemper helps visiting Kings shut out Predators 3-0

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Darcy Kuemper made 16 saves for his first shutout of the season and 32nd overall, helping the Los Angeles Kings beat the Nashville Predators 3-0 on Monday night.

Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist and Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala also scored. The Kings have won two of their last three.

Juuse Saros made 24 saves for the Predators. They are 1-2-1 in their last four.

Kopitar opened the scoring with 6:36 remaining in the opening period. Saros denied the Kings captain’s first shot, but Kopitar collected the rebound below the goal line and banked it off the netminder’s skate.

Fiala, a former Predator, made it 2-0 35 seconds into the third.

The Kings held Nashville to just three third-period shots on goal, the first coming with 3:55 remaining and Saros pulled for an extra attacker.

Elsewhere in the NHL on Monday:

DEVILS 3 OILERS 0

EDMONTON, Alta. (AP) — Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his NHL career, helping the New Jersey Devils close their western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.

Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored. The Devils improved to 8-5-2. They have won three of their last four after a four-game skid.

Calvin Pickard made 13 saves for Edmonton. The Oilers had won two straight.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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