HALIFAX –
The investigation into the mass shooting in Nova Scotia has released new details about the climbing of Mounties to find a plane to track the killer on the night of April 18, 2020.
Documents released on Thursday show that RCMP commanders were overwhelmed by bureaucratic obstacles and confused advice before finally finding a helicopter. But the mission the next day was marred by technical problems that left the crew one step behind the killer’s progress.
At the beginning of their 13-hour search for the shooter, Mounties requested the use of an RCMP helicopter. But it was grounded for maintenance, the inquiry said. Meanwhile, the RCMP’s fixed-wing aircraft for the Atlantic region was also unavailable. Staff shortages stemming from COVID-19 restrictions extend annual maintenance in Moncton, NB
This bad news was confirmed by RCMP commanders at 11:16 p.m., just over an hour after a man disguised as Mountie and driving a RCMP replica cruiser began killing neighbors and strangers in Portapic, NS, about 130 kilometers north of Halifax.
In total, the killer fatally shot 13 people and set fire to several homes in the unit. He later escaped on a little-used back road. Early the next day, he resumed his rampage, killing nine more people before being shot by two Mounties at a gas station.
The investigation has heard that Mounties wants an aircraft with an infrared sensor that can capture the heat signal of a human body, because the suspect may have been hiding in one of the dark, wooded plots of the unit.
Their first call was to the Joint Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC) in Halifax, which handles military and search and rescue operations. But they stumbled upon the Mounties when they were told that the JRCC plane could not be deployed to search for an active shooter.
However, on a subsequent call, the mountains learned that the military could provide an aircraft, but the request had to go through official channels.
“This request must go from the RCMP through the province to the federal government,” an unidentified official was quoted as saying that evening. “I know it sounds confusing, but that’s the only way to do it.”
The process was started but not completed.
Meanwhile, the mountains have also considered renting a civilian plane or renting one from Canada’s Federal Ministry of Fisheries or Transportation. And there was talk of getting an RCMP plane from Montreal or Ontario. Again, these options did not work.
At 3:15 a.m., the RCMP asked the Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forests if one of the department’s four helicopters was available, although none of them were equipped with forward-looking infrared (FLIR) radar.
Although he had a helicopter, he was restricted from flying during the day and could not take off before 6 a.m. With no other options, the mountains made arrangements.
With pilot Ken Korkum at the helm, the Airbus H125 helicopter arrived over Portapique at 8:47 a.m., according to a summary of the evidence known as the founding document. There was also an RCMP observer on board.
Although the weather was clear, the mission did not go smoothly.
There was confusion about the use of radio channels. The mountains wanted Korkum to use encrypted channels to ensure the killer could not monitor their messages. But Korkum didn’t know at first that his radio had that capability. And when he found out that these channels were available, they didn’t seem to work for him.
At 9:48 a.m., the RCMP received a 911 call from a couple in Glenholm, NS, where the killer had just approached their home with a rifle in hand. After knocking on the door and ringing the doorbell, he left just two minutes later at 9:50 p.m.
Less than two minutes later, Korkum was told about the surveillance, but the RCMP officer who warned him, the staff sergeant. Kevin Surrett had trouble transmitting coordinates when the pilot did not respond. At 9:55 a.m., the helicopter was still 2.8 kilometers south of the home and the killer had disappeared.
Further confusing was Suret’s warning that the armed suspect was still in the second-floor house.
“This information was incorrect,” the document said. “This was the occupant of the property, Adam Fisher, who was armed and present at the residence.”
When more shootings were reported in nearby Debert, NS, the helicopter arrived minutes later. But there were a number of problems with the radio, no observations, and then it was time to stop refueling.
During this shutdown RCMP Const. Chad Morrison was wounded by a gunman in Shubenakadi, NS
When the helicopter arrived overhead at 11:13 a.m., the attacker fatally shot Const. Heidi Stevenson ran away with the stolen car.
Corkum was told to fly south to Milford, North Carolina, but he had to land in a farmer’s field because an RCMP officer on board had air sickness.
The helicopter later arrived over a gas station in Anfield, NS, a minute after the killer was shot dead at 11:26 p.m.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 9, 2022.
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