Halifax police chief says it's 'inconceivable' they wouldn't have considered alert in mass shooting

The head of Halifax Regional Police says he knew the emergency alert system was a tool police could have used during the Nova Scotia mass shooting in 2020 — and if the gunman had gotten closer to the city it's "inconceivable" they wouldn't have considered using it. 

Chief Dan Kinsella took the stand Thursday afternoon before the Mass Casualty Commission leading the inquiry into the April 2020 massacre where a gunman killed 22 people across the province. 

The webcast of the proceedings can be seen here.

Commission counsel Rachel Young asked Kinsella to expand on the lengthy list of questions they had sent the Halifax police force last month, including the topic of the Alert Ready system.

When asked if Halifax police would have sent an alert about the gunman had he crossed over into their jurisdiction, Kinsella said the best time to be contemplating a public alert would have been "much earlier" in the 13-hour shooting.

"There was various points in time where I believe it could have been used," Kinsella said. "It's really inconceivable that we wouldn't have considered it."

Kinsella added that HRP would have still weighed the situation and the impact an alert would have on the public and officers, but it would have been an option "particularly had we gotten a call from EMO," he said.

At the time of the massacre, all Nova Scotia police agencies had to send a request for an alert and the accompanying text to the provincial Emergency Management Office.

The provincial EMO executive director, Paul Mason, has told the commission that one of their staff tried to speak with the Mounties the morning of April 19 to check if they wanted an alert sent out, but couldn't reach anyone. Eventually the staff member called an officer he knew and got through that way.

At 11:20 a.m. AT, RCMP called EMO to request use of the alert system, but Mason said they did not suggest any message. Shortly after, the gunman was killed.

Instead of requesting an alert, the RCMP tweeted late on April 18 about a firearms complaint in Portapique. They turned to Twitter again the next day around 8 a.m. AT to report that it was an active shooter incident. The RCMP did not release the fact that the gunman was driving a mock police car until 10:17 a.m. on April 19. An image of the vehicle was posted to Twitter.

Although an alert had never been used for policing in Nova Scotia before the shooting, Kinsella said he knew it could be used for active shooter situations.

Multiple RCMP staff and officers have said they had no idea the national Alert Ready system that is used for major weather events or Amber Alerts could also be used for policing.

Nova Scotians immediately began asking why the Mounties chose to release information on Twitter rather than using the alert system, which would have sent information to people's cellphones. Many have pointed out that internet service is spotty in central and northern Nova Scotia, and Twitter use is not widespread.