In Nova Scotia

What could fuel this?:

RCMP say at least 18 people, including one of their veteran officers, are the victims of a mass killing in Nova Scotia.

Facing the complicated task of unravelling the suspect's violent path across the province Saturday night and into Sunday, investigators warn the death toll could rise.

The suspect, who at one point in his rampage wore a police uniform and drove a car made to look like an RCMP cruiser, is also dead, bringing the death count to 19.

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At least 19 people are dead, including an RCMP officer, after 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman — who at one point wore a police uniform and drove a mock-up cruiser — went on a rampage across northern Nova Scotia over the weekend. ...

Wortman, according to social media reports, originally hailed from Riverview, outside Moncton, New Brunswick. He attended Riverview High School, before heading on to Fredericton, and the University of New Brunswick.

After university, Wortman had moved into a career as a denturist, and ran the Atlantic Denture Clinic in Dartmouth, N.S., as well as one in the Halifax area. He is reported to have divided his time between the two.

Some Portapique residents who spoke with the the Canadian Press said they knew Wortman in passing as a part-time resident who owned properties in their community. ...

“There was some underlying issues that I think he had with his relationship. It was a red flag …. (What happened on the weekend) wasn’t a surprise to some degree, but not to this extreme.”

Hudson mentioned being at a bonfire with Wortman, his girlfriend and some other neighbours around 2004 when there was some kind of altercation that left most at the gathering stunned. Hudson declined to offer details.

“He had an obsession with his girlfriend,” she said. “Just being jealous about things with her. I think that’s where things got in the way …. She was a beautiful girl.” ...

In a 2014 CTV story that featured Wortman, he was seen giving free dentures to a cancer survivor who had lost all her teeth and couldn’t afford them.

“My heart went out to her,” Wortman told CTV at the time. “There’s so many ways for people to get dentures, but it seems like the people who really need them are the people who are getting left behind.” ...

Wortman’s 1986 entry in the Riverview High School Yearbook, which has been posted by many users to social media, said he was most likely to be seen performing wheelies on his dirtbike and skiing with his friends. He didn’t like the cold weather, the entry read, or English.

“Gabe’s future may include being an RCMP officer,” the entry reads.

Indeed.