HALIFAX –
The latest victim of the mass shooting in Nova Scotia knew the killer and told her daughter that she was afraid she might head to her home about an hour before arriving in her driveway on April 19, 2020.
A summary document released by a public inquiry Wednesday said Gina Gulet was shot dead at about 11 a.m. at her home in the Shubenakadie area, about 60 kilometers north of Halifax, about 10 minutes after the final text to her daughter Amelia Butler. .
The massacre of 22 people began the night before in the rural community of Portapique, 70 kilometers northwest, but the killer escaped from police, spent the night in an industrial park and continued his rampage.
According to an exchange of text messages also released by the investigation, Gulet heard and read warnings that Gabriel Wortman, a fellow dentist, had killed people.
“Gabriel, the dentist who wanted me to work for him, ran away with a gun,” Gule wrote to his daughter.
Around 9:59 a.m., Gule wrote, “He knows where I live …. I hope they catch him.”
The two initially discussed how they thought the killer was unlikely to reach Shubenakadie without being caught, but then an exchange of messages noted that he was still at large.
“My anxiety just got worse,” the mother wrote at 10:10 a.m., adding that another dentist had just texted her to keep her doors locked.
The daughter replied at 10:12 a.m.: “I can understand why. She also assured her that “it’s a long way from there (Portapik) to your house and he will have to cross the bay (Kobekid) unnoticed.”
Gule’s reactions seem to demonstrate how quickly people recognize any information that police provide.
At 10:27 a.m., Gulet sent a message to his daughter: “He’s driving an RCMP-like car. This is wild. Wow, just 10 minutes after a police tweet revealed that Wartman was driving a replica of a patrol car.
“Do me a favor to give me peace of mind, keep your phone close so I know I can contact you,” the mother wrote at 10:23 a.m.
As text messages moved back and forth, Butler noted that there had been warnings that the killer was in Wentworth, north of Truro, and at 10:43 a.m., the daughter said the killer may have been seen in the Debert and Onslow areas.
Gulet wrote that he planned to shop for groceries, but the daughter suggested it was safer to stay home and wait for police to catch the killer.
Gulet’s latest lyrics are chilling as she tells her daughter, “I’m nervous. I hope they start blocking the roads.” Then she continued: “As I said, he is a smart man. Almost too smart “, referring to Wortman’s ability to create a replica of an RCMP car.
According to the summary, Gulet tried to call her daughter at 10:58 a.m., but when Butler responded, she did not hear her mother’s voice from the other end. She called feverishly several times.
Minutes earlier, the killer had left the scene of the RCMP Const killings. Heidi Stevenson and Joey Weber, a young man who stopped to help. He was driving down Highway 224 to the main highway to Halifax, driving Weber’s jeep.
A witness told the public investigation that Wortman passed Gulet’s house, but “made a U-turn shortly afterwards and returned to his residence.”
The summary of the investigation says that the killer parked the jeep in his backyard, out of sight of passing vehicles. Minutes later, RCMP officers went in pursuit, looking up the alleys, but from the road they could not see the silver vehicle behind Gulet’s house.
The perpetrator is believed to have been in the house for five to 10 minutes, committing the murder before continuing to the main highway, now driving Gule’s Mazda.
Amelia Butler and her husband David Butler left home at 10:58 a.m., worried about Gule. They encountered a police blockade and had to go around before arriving at 11:55 a.m., where the summary of the inquiry said that “Butler found Gulet dead in his home while Amelia Butler called 911.”
According to the family’s statement to the Mass Victims Commission last August, they felt neglected by the RCMP after the murder.
“In the days that followed, no police officer approached Amelia and Dave to confirm that Gina had died. No one approached them to confirm anything. It was obvious to Amelia and Dave that this had happened, but no one confirmed it, “the statement said.
It says it happened even though Amelia and Dave Butler provided at least four officers with their information and phone numbers and asked police to contact them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on April 13, 2022.
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