Where was the emergency alert? RCMP face questions as Nova Scotians mourn shooting victims

HALIFAX (NEWS 1130) – As Nova Scotia begins the healing process following the deadliest mass shooting in Canadian history, some pointed questions are being asked about how the RCMP responded to the 12-hour rampage.

Reporter Chris Halef with NEWS 1130‘s sister station NEWS 95.7 says among the biggest questions is why there was no province-wide emergency alert sent out advising people to shelter in place during the attack.

One of the 18 victims, Lillian Hyslop, was out walking her dog when she was shot and killed by the suspect.

“According to the premier, Premier Stephen McNeil, he said the province did not receive a request to put out an emergency alert, and they need that in order to do it,” Halef told NEWS 1130.

Such a request would have to come from Nova Scotia RCMP, which opted instead to update people via their Facebook and Twitter accounts.

While they do have more than 90,000 Twitter followers, their social media presence can’t fully compare to the Alert Ready system, which can text everyone in the province. It even shows up on people’s televisions.

The Mounties say they’ll be looking into it.

“But from what we understand, the reason why that alert wasn’t put out was because a request simply wasn’t sent in,” Halef said. “The concern, when it comes to that, had an alert been sent out, could there have been some lives saved? That is the big, big question there, and we’re trying to figure that out.”

The only alert that was recently sent out was one asking people to stay home over the long weekend in light of the pandemic, he noted.

The other big question is just how many people were killed.

The RCMP has said of the 16 crime scenes so far, a number of them included burned buildings, where it’s possible more victims could be found.

Originally, Mounties had said there were 19 victims linked to this shooting, however, it was later clarified that figure included the gunman himself.

A province in mourning

Halef said the shooting has “shaken our province to its core.”

“Everybody is grieving, even people who weren’t necessarily connected to the victims,” he said. “We were already dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, as is every body across the world, but to have this fall on our laps — and completely out of left field — has been devastating for many people.”

Tributes honouring the lives lost over the weekend are now scattered the greater Halifax area, with many focused on RCMP Constable Heidi Stevenson, who was killed while responding to the shooting.

“There are online vigils that are scheduled for this week, and people can’t get together because of the pandemic. But if you drive around, especially towards RCMP headquarters in Dartmouth — which is just across the bridge from Halifax, here — people are leaving a plethora of flowers for the fallen officer.”

He added flags are also popping around homes, while the Westin Hotel in downtown Halifax turned on lights in the building to create the image of a heart from the outside.

The RCMP continues to try and piece together the events that led to the rampage, which began Saturday night and extended into Sunday.

The suspect, who was identified as a 51-year-old man with an obsession for policing, was at one point said to have been driving around in a vehicle that resembled an RCMP cruiser, while wearing what appeared to be an officer’s uniform.

He was shot and killed at a gas station north of Halifax on Sunday morning.

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