Warning: This story contains graphic depictions of child abuse and domestic violence.
Gabriel Wortman, who shot and killed 22 people during a 13 Hour Stampede in Nova ScotiaExperienced extreme childhood abuse and neglect, according to a new report from the public investigation into the April 2020 murder spree.
The report is based on police interviews with the gunman’s family, friends and acquaintances. it echoes Previous reporting by Global News It details a legacy of alleged violence in the Wortman family spanning at least four generations.
Several people who knew the gunman, including her common-law husband and an uncle, told police that her father, Paul Wortman, forced her to commit violence when she was a “little boy”.
“Paul didn’t think he was taking care of the dog as he should. So he (Gabriel) shot his dog,” the gunman’s uncle, Neil Wortman, said during an interview with police. “What does this do for a child?”
Photograph of young Gabriel Wortman. date unknown.
Glyn Wortman / Facebook
Neal and another uncle, Glynn Wortman, told police that their brother Paul pointed a gun at his wife, Evelyn Wortman, and threatened to kill her if she ever left.
“My understanding was when (Gabriel) was a little boy, (Paul) held a gun to (his) head and then to Evelyn,” Glynn said. “But then Paul denied that story.”
The report was completed as part of the investigation’s mandate to investigate the role of gender-based and intimate partner violence in the killing spree.
It has been widely reported that the gunman had a History of abusing your common law spouse, Lisa Banfield. This includes a violent attack on the night that the shooting spree began, in which Banfield was seriously injured.
He also had a history of violence toward others: threatening to kill his parents, threatening to kill a police officer, and pleading guilty to assaulting a 15-year-old boy in 2001.
Another report to be released by the investigation later this week will detail the gunman’s violent past.
But allegations of abuse within the Wortman family, including against the gunman as a child, have largely gone unreported.
Criminologist, psychologist and sociologist who has previously spoken with Global News for an investigative podcast 13 Hours: Inside the Nova Scotia MassacreSaid that it is important to understand this history of abuse – not as a means of forgiving a gunman’s crimes, but as a way to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
“It’s really important not to blame everything on childhood trauma,” said Ardth Wynacht, a sociologist at Mount Allison University, during an interview with Global News in March 2021.
“Most people who experience family violence and sexual abuse do not grow up to go on a shooting spree.
“What we’re talking about is unraveling the layers of complexity that make a human capable of engaging in this type of violence. Understanding the causes doesn’t mean we’re condoning violence.”
The report of the investigation claimed that generations of Wortman men abused their families violently.
In a 2010 letter cited in the report, Neil described his grandfather, George Wortman, as “a tyrant who brutalized his family.”
During several interviews with Global News in late 2020 and early 2021, Neil and Glynn said that their father, Stanley Wortman, beat them and their mother.
“He would punch her, slam her on the floor. I was a little boy,” Glynn told Global News. “I remember he dropped her in the kitchen in front of Paul and I.”
Photo of Glynn Wortman (left) and Paul Wortman (right). Taken circa 1953.
Glyn Wortman / Facebook
During these interviews, the brothers said that the abuse they experienced was so extreme that they were contemplating killing their father.
“My uncle Arnold gave me a .22-rifle as a gift when I was 12 years old,” Neil said. “I used to lie in my bed at night and think, ‘I really should have shot that guy.’ But I never dared.”
Glynn stabbed his father one night when his parents were arguing. He said he had had enough after decades of abuse.
“I thought, you old bastard,” said Glynn. “He got up and started shouting ‘Get out of my room!’ And so I ran up to him and stabbed him in the chest.”
Neal said that Glynn spent nine months in prison for the assault.
Stanley died of heart disease in 1977.
Brothers claim abuse continues
Neil and Glynn allege that their father’s abuse did not end there.
Both men said that Paul physically assaulted his wife and emotionally tortured their son.
“The Wortman family has a history; from my grandfather, who was cruel, to my father, who was cruel, to Paul, who was cruel,” Neil said.
Similar allegations are included in the new report of the investigation.
Alan Wortman, one of Paul’s other brothers, told police that Paul attacked Evelyn at a family Christmas party.
“He hit her, slammed her on the floor and kicked her and kicked and kicked her,” Allen said.
The report also described an incident when the gunman, who was then an adult, violently attacked his father during a family vacation in Cuba.
Banfield told police that the attack occurred during an argument about abuse he had allegedly experienced as a child by the gunman.
“(Gabriel) was banging his head against the concrete,” he said. “They started talking about[Gabriel’s]childhood and whatever Paul did, he denied it.”
Global News tried to reach Paul and Evelyn for interviews by sending letters to their home in the months following the shooting spree.
A letter was also delivered to his home, but Evelyn refused to receive it, saying: “I am not going to accept it. Just go away.”
The Inquisition, which has the power to compel witness testimony, also hasn’t spoken to Paul or Evelyn.
“The commission has not interviewed members of the Wortman family,” the report said. “The Commission’s efforts to speak to some members of the Wortman family were not successful.”
About three weeks after the shooting, Paul spoke to the police.
He said that he never physically abused his son.
“I never killed Gabriel, but I was screaming, which is probably just as bad as hitting,” he said. “I had one hell of a rage.”
Paul also said that he “grew up in a violent family where there was more than screaming.”
Police did not ask if he ever physically or emotionally abused his wife. They didn’t even ask him to elaborate on the violence he was experiencing growing up.
Paul said that he and his wife would have done anything to stop the killing spree.
Evelyn did not speak to the police.
–With files from Global News’ Alex Kress and Sarah Ritchie, formerly with Global News.
If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs help, there are resources available. In an emergency, please call 911 for immediate assistance.
- Mental Health and Addiction Provincial Crisis Line: 1-888-429-8167
- Visit the Department of Justice Victims Service Directory For a list of support services for people facing abuse in your area.
- Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868 (toll-free) available 24/7 or text connect 686868
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.