Partner’s Memoir Sheds Light on Nova Scotia Mass Shooting

Lisa Banfield, the former common‑law partner of Gabriel Wortman, reveals 19 years of physical and psychological abuse that culminated in the April 18‑19, 2020 rampage that killed 22 people across a 200‑kilometre stretch of rural Nova Scotia. The book, released Tuesday, details how Banfield was strangled, beaten and later forced into hiding while Wortman dressed as an RCMP officer, loaded a replica cruiser with guns, and moved from village to village. Banfield’s story also exposes earlier domestic violence and the broader epidemic of gender‑based violence in the province. Critics from victims’ families question the timing and profit motive of the memoir, while experts call for trauma‑informed policing and early intervention programs.