Ns Shooter S Partner Says She Understands Families Anger But He Did This And I Didn T

Lisa Banfield testified Friday before the Mass Accident Commission that led a public inquiry into the rampage on April 18 and 19, 2020, when her common-law husband Gabriel Wortman killed 22 people while driving a fake RCMP cruiser in the province. Banfield, who was questioned only by Commission counsel, spoke with two of her sisters at her side. She previously told police and the commission that the gunman ran her over in his fake RCMP cruiser, but she managed to escape and hide in the woods during the night. When asked about victims Greg and Jamie Blair, who lived near the gunman’s property, Banfield said she had no idea why he would go to their home. “I feel like he was targeting me and my family and if I hadn’t gotten out of that car, I often think, ‘Would any of these people have died?’ Banfield said through tears. “That’s something that haunts me all the time, because I feel like they weren’t targeted — that he was looking for me in the first place.” Lisa Banfield, common-law wife of Gabriel Wortman, is flanked by her sisters Janice Banfield (left) and Maureen Banfield (right) as she testifies at the Mass Casualty Commission inquiry into the mass killings in rural Nova Scotia on April 18-19, 2020 , in Halifax on Friday, July 15, 2022. Wortman, dressed as an RCMP officer and driving a replica police cruiser, murdered 22 people. (The Canadian Press/Andrew Vaughan) The gunman killed 13 people in the small community of Portapique on April 18 and burned several houses, before fleeing the community in the replica cruiser. He would kill nine more people the next day, including a pregnant woman and an RCMP officer, as he drove south through the province. Banfield was also asked about the various firearms the gunman had. Although she said she knew he didn’t have a gun permit, Banfield said she never thought to report him to the police. “If we were fighting, he would put the gun to my head to scare me and he said he could blow my head off,” Banfield said through tears. “So I was scared. I’m not going to say anything.” Banfield said she knew other men knew Wortman had these weapons and were afraid to say anything, “so what am I going to do?”

He wanted to protect the police from gunmen

He was also asked about what happened when two Halifax Regional Police officers arrived at the Dartmouth home he shared with the gunman in June 2010, investigating reports he had threatened to kill his parents. At the time, Banfield told officers there were no weapons in the home. He testified Friday that it wasn’t true, but said he lied to protect the officers. “[Wortman] he had the gun next to the nightstand and said if any police come, ‘I’m going to shoot,’ Banfield said. Immediately after that, Banfield said RCMP Const. Greg Wiley stopped by the Portapique cottage to see if Wortman had any firearms.

Wiley at home for 10 minutes: Banfield

The inquest heard Wylie visited the gunman’s cottage more than a dozen times in the years before the mass shooting after the officer went to him for tips about local crime. During that visit in 2010, Banfield said Wiley asked Wortman if he had any guns. The gunman showed Oros an old musket and a decorative gun over a fireplace that was filled with candles. Wiley was at the cottage for about 10 minutes and did not appear to get a formal statement from the gunman, nor did he search the house, Banfield said. He couldn’t remember if Wiley visited the armory or if it had been built by then. The Portapique, NS cottage owned by the Nova Scotia mass shooter. The building and nearby warehouse were burnt to the ground during the April 2020 flare-up. (Mass Accident Commission) The committee also asked Banfield about the gunman’s process of building one of his decommissioned Ford Taurus cars into a replica RCMP car. She said she urged him to check if he was allowed to own it and offered to call someone herself. The gunman eventually told her he had heard from some kind of authority that she could have it as long as she didn’t drive it, Banfield said. But Banfield said she knew the gunman was driving another of the decommissioned white cruisers that still had some vinyl stripes on the rear bumper and wore a neon jacket over the driver’s seat to give the impression he was an officer. Wortman told her he liked to speed along the freeway and cut off others in the passing lane until they moved. “He got a thrill thinking they think he’s a police officer,” Banfield said. The armory in Portapique, NS housed his iconic RCMP cruiser, a fireplace, a bar and a loft bedroom. The warehouse and large cottage in the surrounding area were burnt to the ground during the rampage on 18-19 April 2020. (Mass Accident Commission) Banfield reiterated what she has maintained for two years — that she had no idea Wortman was planning any kind of rampage, even as she stocked up on gas, food and talked about being ready to protect her property when the world ends during the COVID -19 pandemic. She said she never heard him threaten other Portapique neighbors and in fact was on good terms with many of the people he would kill on April 18. In the wake of the mass shooting, Banfield said she’s had a lot of support from agencies like the Red Cross, women’s advocacy groups and mental health professionals. Other strangers also came forward for support at first, until the RCMP laid charges against her “and then it stopped,” Banfield said. RCMP accused Banfield of supplying ammunition to the gunman in December 2020 and she stopped cooperating with police. Banfield also initially declined to speak to the inquest on the advice of her lawyer. That attitude changed when her charge was referred to restorative justice in March. When asked if she needed more support, Banfield said she did — and paused to catch her breath. “If it wasn’t for my family, I don’t know where I would be, what I would be doing. And it’s hard for me to say that because I know I’m here, and my family is here, and there are so many people who aren’t here,” Banfield said. “I don’t want to complain about what I don’t have.” Many of the victims’ families attended Banfield’s testimony Friday, including Ryan Farrington. His parents, Dawn and Frank Gulenchyn, were killed on April 18 in Portapique. Ryan Farrington, whose parents Dawn and Frank Gulenchyn were killed April 18 in Portapique, speaks to reporters outside the Mass Casualty Commission in Halifax on July 15, 2022. (CBC) Farrington, who lives in Ontario, said he came to the inquest in Halifax to learn more about any relationship the gunman had with his parents and to get “some closure.” Banfield said she knew of no connection between Wortman and the Gulentsins beyond seeing Frank in the neighborhood, and that there was no conflict the gunman had with them. “The rest is just a show to me,” Farrington said, adding that the committee was only asking Banfield about things that had been heard before. Farrington also said he wanted to hear Banfield talk about everything she saw the night of April 18 because he didn’t believe the account she gave police through a video she conducted months later, calling it “fake.” As of Friday, Banfield has completed four interviews with police after the massacre, the released video, and five recent interviews with the commission itself. Banfield said Friday that it’s hard to know that some people believe she or her family had anything to do with this massacre and feel for those who lost loved ones. “We’re not angry that they’re angry, because if it was my family I’d feel the same way. But it’s just angry because he did this and I didn’t. And I would never contribute to something like that.” Banfield said. “It’s scary to think that people are angry and then someone might come after me or my family.” The idea that Banfield was lying about what happened on April 18 is a “conspiracy theory,” her attorney, James Lockyer, said Thursday. James Lockyer is the lawyer for Lisa Banfield, the partner of the shooter who killed 22 people in April 2020 in Nova Scotia. (CBC) He said the committee’s decision not to allow participating attorneys to ask Banfield direct questions was “wise” to avoid this issue “taking us south of the border. “You know, these shootings are happening south of the border and the next thing we hear from the Alex Joneses of this world is that the shooting never actually happened, it’s completely fake and made up,” Lockyer said. “We don’t need this kind of nonsense in Canada or Nova Scotia.” The gunman began his rampage on April 18 after attacking Banfield during a celebration of their 19th anniversary. The gunman’s long history of violence, emotional abuse and other controlling behavior toward Banfield was detailed in a landmark document released earlier this week. According to a Commission statement, the decision not to allow questions from other participating attorneys is based on the amount of information Banfield has already provided and her status as a “survivor of perpetrator violence.” Many of the victims’ families walked out of Banfield’s testimony early Friday in protest of the committee’s handling of her testimony. Michael Scott of Patterson Law, the firm representing the families of most of the victims, said they had not heard answers to questions they had about the events of April 2020 and there was no reason to wait until the end of the day. “We don’t know how we can make it any clearer – but Ms. Banfield has critical evidence and we were denied the opportunity to get that information from her,” Scott said. Michael Scott of Patterson’s legal team, which represents the majority of the victims’ families, announces that it is…