NS shooter had been reported to police for domestic abuse and illegal firearms years earlier

A former neighbor of the gunman behind April's mass shooting in Nova Scotia says she reported his domestic violence and inventory of firearms to the RCMP years ago, and in fact left the neighborhood due to fear of his violence.

Brenda Forbes said that in the summer of 2013, she told police about reports that the man in question had held down and beaten his common-law spouse behind one of his properties he owned in Portapique, a coastal community west of Truro.

The domestic violence allegations are being examined as a key aspect of the mass shooting. Police noted that the rampage began on the evening of April 18 after the shooter argued with his common-law spouse. He restrained and beat her before she managed to free herself and escape into the woods.

He killed a total of 22 people and burned a number of homes before police shot and killed him outside a gas station in Enfield, NS.

Forbes said she learned about the eventual shooter's domestic violence shortly after she moved to Portapique in the early 2000s, when his partner came to her door and asked for help.

"She ran to my house and said Gabriel was beating on her and she had to get away. She was afraid," said the 62-year-old veteran of the Canadian Forces.

Forbes said she encouraged her neighbor to seek help but recalled that the neighbor was afraid of retaliation by the man if she were to go to the police, mentioning that he had made threats against her family.

Forbes said that in 2013, she discovered that the man had been beating his partner behind one of his properties.

"He had her on the ground, was strangling her ... He was beating on her," she said of the account she heard, adding that there were three male witnesses.

"On that incident, I called the RCMP and I told them what happened, and I said he has a bunch of illegal weapons, and I know because he showed them to us," said Forbes, who has since moved outside the province.

Forbes said the RCMP interviewed her while she was working at a cadet camp in Debert, NS, and she retold the story. She said she encouraged one of the three male witnesses to give his account to the police, but the man refused, fearing violence from the man.

Forbes first shared her story with the Halifax Examiner, saying it upset her that the police seemed unable to take firmer action on her complaint.

"From what I got from the RCMP, because (the partner) would not put in a complaint, as she was scared to death, they basically said, 'There's not much we can do. We can monitor him but there's not much else we can do,'" she recounted.

The Canadian Press emailed the RCMP about the previous report of domestic abuse, but a spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

RCMP Supt. Darren Campbell said during a news conference last month that investigators "have spoken to witnesses who have provided information to us about prior assaults; those are all things that we are dealing with right now."

He added that investigators are speaking for the former common-law spouse to gain a better understanding of previous incidents.

Forbes insisted that the incident should have been more thoroughly investigated.

"If you tell them that he may have illegal weapons, should you not go and check it out?" She asked.

Forbes' husband, who also served in the Canadian Forces, recalled being shown their neighbor's weapons cache.

"He knew I had weapons, being in the military, so he was always one of those guys who had to show others that whatever they had, he had something better," George Forbes said. He added that his then neighbor showed him pistols and a rifle he kept in the garage.

"We reported that to the police also," he said. And the police said he did not have a licence to own those weapons.

Forbes said that when she reported the abuse incident to the RCMP's Truro detachment, her neighbor became more aggressive toward her.

Forbes' husband recalled him coming to the front door and openly threatening his wife. Forbes said the would drive around their house and attempted to intimidate them by parking outside their home and sitting in the car.

"I was scared. ... Even though I'm military and I know how to use a weapon, that man scared the crap out of me," he said.

Forbes and her husband left the area in 2014 out of fear and discomfort over this man's behavior.

Linda MacDonald, a founder of Persons Against Non-State Torture, said in an interview that advocates trying to reduce violence against women have long drawn a connection between hatred of women and mass shootings.

The Truro-based nurse is among the signatories of a statement that called for a deeper look into the role of misogyny played in the April 18-19 killings.

"There's definitely an element of male violence against women in this crime," she said. "Our main request is an independent public inquiry with a feminist analysis included."

MacDonald said the criminal justice system could avoid tragedies if it took seriously male violence against women, such as the one that took place in Nova Scotia.