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HALIFAX — Police say the man who went on a murderous rampage through five Nova Scotia communities was likely using firearms for which he didn’t have a licence, and investigators are trying find out how he obtained weapons illegally.

That probe into firearms is occurring alongside a hunt for anyone who helped the killer obtain an RCMP uniform and a replica vehicle he used to deceive his pursuers and the public as he went about killing 22 people and setting fire to homes on the weekend.

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Chief Supt. Chris Leather said Wednesday that “we have a fairly good idea that, in Canada at least, he didn’t have a firearms acquisition certificate.”

It is illegal to own a gun without the proper licence, which federal legislation formally refers to as a possession and acquisition licence.

Leather later said that it’s now a key part of the investigation to understand how Gabriel Wortman obtained his weapons, as well as an “authentic” police uniform and a Ford Taurus that was painted in a fashion identical to a regular RCMP patrol car.