merelygifted:

As Canada reels from mass shooting that killed at least 22 people, residents in Nova Scotia have asked why authorities failed to send an emergency alert as a gunman posing as a police officer drove around the province for more than 12 hours.

A week before Canada’s worst-ever mass shooting, all residents of the province received a mobile phone alert asking them to remain at home due to the coronavirus pandemic. Many argue that a similar warning during the shooting spree could have saved lives.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said on Wednesday that the active shooter situation over the weekend was “dynamic” and “fluid” as officers scrambled to locate the gunman, delaying an emergency message broadcast to the public.

“We were in the process of preparing an alert when the gunman was shot and killed by the RCMP,” Chief Superintendent Chris Leather told reporters.

The first reports of gunfire came late on Saturday, and police officers were dispatched to a home in the town of Portapique. At 11.32pm, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police sent out a tweet asking residents to “stay in their homes with doors locked at this time”.  …