Killer’s violent past explored by inquiry investigation Nova Scotia mass shooting
Global News
Documents revealed the killer was fined and ordered to receive counselling for anger management after pleading guilty to assaulting a 15-year-old outside his clinic in 2001.
The Nova Scotia denture maker who killed 22 people in April 2020 was long known to be a violent man, especially among disadvantaged people who owed him money, newly released documents show.
In a summary of evidence released Tuesday, the inquiry investigating the mass shooting shared details about Gabriel Wortman’s practice of providing discount denture work for poor people and then attacking those who failed to pay their bills on time.
One witness, identified only as BK, told inquiry investigators he was assaulted by Wortman in December 1999 when he failed to submit a monthly payment before the Christmas holidays.
“He grabbed me by the shoulders and tackled me to the ground in the snow and the slush,” BK said. “He put his knee on my chest and he ripped my dentures straight out of my face … and he grabbed a handful of snow and shoved it in my mouth.”
BK did not report the attack to police. “I didn’t want to deal with that man anymore,” he said. “He scared the hell out of me.”
The 60-page document, which focuses on Wortman’s violent behaviour before he carried out the worst mass shooting in modern Canadian history, refers to several similar incidents.
“There were times (when patients) didn’t have any more to pay for their teeth or were complaining about their teeth,” said Renee Karsten, a denture maker who worked with Wortman between 2000 and 2007 in the Halifax area.
“I’ve witnessed him take teeth out of their mouth and break them in half and smash them on the floor.”