美国国家公共电台 NPR 加拿大遭遇史上最严重枪击案

This weekend brought the worst shooting in Canada's history. A gunman killed at least 16 people in Nova Scotia. Police say the suspect, who disguised himself as an officer, is now dead. Reporter Emma Jacobs is on the line from Montreal. Thanks for being here, Emma.

EMMA JACOBS: Thanks for having me.

GREENE: So how did this all unfold?

JACOBS: So police first responded to several 911 calls about a shooting on Saturday night, sometime after 11. They found multiple victims when they arrived. This is Chief Superintendent¹ Chris Leather speaking at a press conference on Sunday.

(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)

CHRIS LEATHER: When police arrived at the scene, members located several casualties inside and outside of the home. This was a very quickly evolving situation and a chaotic² scene.

JACOBS: The initial search for the suspect led to multiple sites in the area, including structures that were on fire. By the morning, they had publicly identified who they were looking for. They said he was Gabriel Wortman, and police shared that he was dressed like an RCMP officer. And at least part of the time that they were pursuing him, he was in a car that looked like a police vehicle. The RCMP, I should say, is the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

And this manhunt ended in a confrontation³ near a rest stop outside of Halifax in the community of Enfield. There was an exchange of fire with police. And it was shared later in the day that Wortman had died as well as a policewoman who was also killed. Her name was Constable⁴ Heidi Stevenson, and she had been with the RCMP for 23 years. She had two kids.

GREENE: Wow. Well, I just — I mean, for this guy, as police say, to go around disguising himself as an officer in a car that looked like a police vehicle — I mean anything we know about him that might suggest why he did this?

JACOBS: So the police really haven't shared what they think may have been his motive⁵ except to say that at least some of the victims, they don't appear to have been known to him; they do seem random⁶. He was 51. He apparently⁷ worked as a denturist; that means he made dentures. And the CBC has reported that he lived part time in Halifax and part time in this very, very small town where this all began called Portapique.

GREENE: What are Canadian officials saying in this moment?

JACOBS: So again, police officials are saying, you know, they're going to continue with this investigation⁸; they'll know more once they're able to process all these crime scenes. On Sunday, Nova Scotia Premier⁹ Stephen McNeil called this, quote, "one of the most senseless acts of violence in our province's history."

GREENE: Well — and shootings like this are rare in Canada, right? I mean, can you just remind us about the gun laws there?

JACOBS: So the gun laws are tighter. Canada overhauled¹⁰ its gun laws after a shooting that took place in 1989. We just observed the 20th anniversary a couple months ago in Montreal. A man named Marc Lepine killed 14 women and himself. And it is now illegal in Canada to have an unregistered handgun or what's called a rapid-fire weapon in Canada. And there are a lot more checks to go through before you can can purchase a weapon.

GREENE: All right. Reporter Emma Jacobs talking to us from Montreal about the worst shooting in Canada's history. Emma, thank you very much.

JACOBS: Thank you.

1 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

2 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

3 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

4 constable   

n.(英国)警察，警官

参考例句：

• The constable conducted the suspect to the police station.警官把嫌疑犯带到派出所。
• The constable kept his temper,and would not be provoked.那警察压制着自己的怒气，不肯冒起火来。

5 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

6 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

7 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

10 overhauled   

v.彻底检查( overhaul的过去式和过去分词 )；大修；赶上；超越

参考例句：

• Within a year the party had drastically overhauled its structure. 一年内这个政党已大刀阔斧地整顿了结构。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A mechanic overhauled the car's motor with some new parts. 一个修理工对那辆汽车的发动机进行了彻底的检修，换了一些新部件。 来自《简明英汉词典》