Final report into 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting to be released today

Sandra McCulloch, a lawyer with Patterson Law, representing many of the families of victims and others, addresses the Mass Casualty Commission inquiry into the mass murders in rural Nova Scotia on April 18/19, 2020, in Truro, N.S. on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

TRURO, N.S. -

The public inquiry that investigated the April 2020 mass murder of 22 people in Nova Scotia is releasing its final report today.

The federal-provincial inquiry examined the events surrounding the 13-hour rampage that began in the community of Portapique and ended when the RCMP gunned down the 51-year-old killer at a gas station about 55 kilometres south.

Its report will be released today in Truro, N.S., and will include recommendations to improve community safety across Canada.

The inquiry's mandate included examinations of the police response, the killer's access to firearms, gender-based violence, the assistance offered to those most affected and the steps taken to inform the public as the murders unfolded.

On April 18, 2020, the killer assaulted his spouse, loaded his illegal firearms into a replica RCMP vehicle and shot 13 people.

He managed to escape police capture and on April 19 murdered nine more people, including RCMP Const. Heidi Stevenson -- whose car the killer rammed as she responded to a call for help from a fellow officer.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 30, 2023.