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A new report finds it was a “mere coincidence” that Mounties found the Nova Scotia gunman at a gas station, where his hours-long April shooting rampage came to an end.
Nova Scotia’s Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) released its report Thursday into the fatal police-involved shooting of the suspect.
SIRT said two RCMP officers stopped to refuel their vehicle at the Enfield Irving Big Stop on the morning of April 19 and pulled up next to a Mazda3.
“[The officers] were travelling together and unaware that the [suspect] was no longer driving the Chevrolet vehicle when they pulled in to refuel at the same Irving Big Stop,” said the report.
As the first officer exited the police vehicle to begin re-fueling, he saw a man at the adjoining pump who had blood on his forehead and recognized him as the shooting suspect.
The first officer alerted the second officer — a member of the Emergency Response Team — who left the vehicle and moved to the front of it.
According to the report, the suspect raised his firearm when he saw the officers, who fired multiple shots at him.
“It was a mere coincidence when the [officers] stopped to refuel their vehicle that unbeknown to them the [suspect] was at an adjacent pump sitting in a vehicle that the [officers] were not on the lookout for,” said the report.
The independent police watchdog found the actions of the two officers were “lawfully justified” and no charges will be laid.
“The investigation found it was reasonable for the officers to conclude their lives were in danger and the use of their firearms to shoot the suspect was justified in these circumstances,” said a news release.
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