At least four people, including two police officers have been killed in a shooting in the eastern Canadian city of Fredericton, with one person having taken into custody.
Police in Fredericton, a city of about 56,000 that is the capital of the province of New Brunswick, said in a post on Twitter that the incident was under investigation and warned people to stay in their homes.
Another police tweet said two of the four people killed were police officers but gave no details and did not release the names of the victims. Local media images showed emergency vehicles converged on a tree-lined residential street.
"Awful news coming out of Fredericton," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Twitter. "My heart goes out to everyone affected by this morning's shooting. We're following the situation closely."
Three Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers were killed and two more were wounded in 2014 in Moncton, New Brunswick, about 195 km (121 miles) from Fredericton, in one of the worst incidents of its kind in Canada.
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Mayor of Fredericton Mike O'Brien confirmed on Twitter, the other two victims from this morning's shootings were civilians. Police continue to investigate the shooting from early this morning in the Brookside Drive area of Fredericton in New Brunswick, Canada. Four people died - including two police officers - and an unknown number of people have been injured. Local health authorities have confirmed multiple people are being treated at the Dr Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital. Resident Marlene Weaver was in bed this morning when she heard the shots ring out in her neighbourhood. "It was scary," she told Reuters, adding that it reminded her of the 2014 shooting when three Royal Canadian Mounted Police constables were shot and killed in Moncton, New Brunswick, approximately 121 miles (195 km) from Fredricton. Canadian Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) were assisting Fredericton authorities in the investigation. There has been no word yet on the suspected shooter's possible motive. No other details about the suspect or police officers killed have been released as yet. The lockdown has been removed for the area surrounding Brookside Drive, but the investigation into the incident continues according to a police update. The suspect's name and details have not yet been released. Police have confirmed the suspect was injured either during the shooting or in the process of taking them into custody. New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant tweeted his condolences to the victims and their families. Bill Henwood, a funeral director at York Funeral Home, whose business is located inside the cordoned off area on Brookside Drive in Fredericton, said the lockdown occurred before anybody got to work.
Mr Henwood told the Associated Press people are sitting in their cars or just standing near the blockade of police and fire vehicles "hanging tight and waiting for word" on what comes next.
"All the businesses even on the outside of the lockdown area have their lobbies and their business areas closed. They aren't letting customers in at the moment," he said. Mr Henwood said the situation is a shock.
"It's not something that we expect in Fredericton to wake up and hear about. To see that there's actually fatalities is pretty extraordinary for this area. It doesn't normally happen." Police have not yet released the names of the slain police officers who were killed during a shooting earlier this morning in an apartment complex in the Brookside area of Fredricton, New Brunswick in eastern Canada. Back in 2014, three Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers were shot dead and two others seriously injured by 24-year-old shooter Justin Bourque in Moncton, also located in the maritime province of New Brunswick. It was the first homicide in Moncton in four years, but not the deadliest incident for the RCMP. In 2005, James Roszko of Mayerthorpe in the Alberta province, shot and killed four RCMP constables as they were carrying out a property seizure on his farm. It stands as the deadliest incident for the RCMP in Canadian history. Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau responded to the incident via Twitter. It is the second mass shooting to take place in Canada in just the last few weeks. The last one resulted in two deaths and 13 people injured in the Greektown section of Toronto, prompting the city council to vote overwhelmingly in favour of asking Mr Trudeau's government to ban all sales of handguns and handgun ammunition in the city. Canadian police say two of the four killed in Fredericton shooting are police officers. As police are investigating the shooting, they report the area of Brookside is contained and have cautioned people to "please continue to avoid the area," Fredericton police said. The city has approximately 60,000 people in the province of New Brunswick. Important to note that the police are still warning people to stay out of the area, despite having one suspect in custody. But they are also referring to the incident as an "active investigation". Further details of the incident are arriving from residents, via Press Association: David MacCoubrey, who lives in Fredericton, said he woke up in his apartment on Brookside Drive at around 7am local time to the sound of three gunshots 10 metres from his bed. Mr MacCoubrey said more than 15 other gunshots were subsequently fired between that time and around 8.30am. He says his apartment complex has four buildings in a square, and it sounded like the shots were coming from the middle of the complex. Mr MacCoubrey said police have been searching the complex and he has been sitting on the floor of his home away from windows. Police wrote on Twitter: "At this time we can confirm that we have one suspect in custody. Police continue to have the Brookside area contained for the foreseeable future as the investigation is ongoing. Please continue to avoid the area and follow us for the facts." Police have one suspect in custody, they have reported on Twitter. Here's where Fredericton is in the context of Canada. The incident comes just a couple of weeks after another deadly shooting in Toronto. You can read more about that incident here Next
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Image copyright Kev Bourque/via Reuters Image caption Emergency vehicles pictured near the scene in Fredericton, New Brunswick
Canadian police say a suspect is in custody after at least four people - two of them police officers - were killed in a shooting in the eastern city of Fredericton, New Brunswick.
The city police confirmed the officers' deaths on Twitter.
The pair have not been named, and the circumstances around the incident remain unclear.
Police have ended a lockdown in the area but continue their investigation.
A local TV reporter said he had heard four gunshots just after 07:00 (11:00 GMT).
Nick Moore, a journalist from CTV Atlantic, posted video footage of the scene on Twitter, showing emergency vehicles outside a house.
Skip Twitter post by @NickMooreCTV I just spoke with a woman and her small child who’ve been escorted from their home in the cordoned-off area. The woman says she heard what sounded to be multiple gunshots a little after 7am @CTVAtlantic — Nick Moore (@NickMooreCTV) August 10, 2018 Report
"Awful news coming out of Fredericton," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted. "My heart goes out to everyone affected by this morning's shooting. We're following the situation closely."
Fredericton is the capital of New Brunswick province and home to around 56,000 people.
It is rare in Canada for police officers to be killed in the line of duty. Between 1961 and 2009, a total of 133 police were killed, and just five in the province of New Brunswick.
The province mourned in 2014 when 24-year-old Justin Bourque shot five RCMP officers, killing three. The shooting spree led to a 28-hour manhunt, and shocked the nation. In the aftermath, the RCMP was charged with labour-code violations alleging police officers had not been adequately armed and protected for the situation.
Gun laws are more stringent in Canada than in the US, but the number of shootings has nonetheless risen in recent years.
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Police in the far eastern Canadian city of Fredericton lost two of their own in a shooting incident on Friday morning. Fredericton police confirmed in a tweet that there were "at least four people killed" earlier in the day, and later said two of the dead were officers.
The police said they had one suspect in custody but advised residents that the area would remain "contained for the foreseeable future" amid the ongoing investigation. About three hours after first indicating an ongoing incident in Fredericton, the police appeared to have the situation under control, saying in a tweet that there was "no further threat to the public, and lockdowns are not required at this time."
Of the four people killed in this morning's shootings on Brookside Drive, two were Fredericton Police officers. No names are being released at this time. Please appreciate this is a difficult time for their families and our colleagues. We will provide more info when we can. — Fredericton Police (@CityFredPolice) August 10, 2018
Fredericton is in New Brunswick province, about 50 miles northeast of the U.S. border with Maine.
The police said the suspect in custody sustained "serious injuries related to this morning's shooting incident." They did not provide further detail on the individual's condition or the nature of his or her injuries.
Residents were warned to "stay in their homes with doors locked at this time for their safety" in an earlier tweet by police. Video from the scene broadcast by Canadian network CBC showed emergency vehicles on Brookside Drive, a residential road.
Rachel LeBlanc, who sheltered at a daycare center in the lockdown area on Brookside Drive, told CBC she heard gunshots shortly after arriving there for work on Friday. She said she heard a "crack, crack, crack, four in a row" in rapid succession. LeBlanc told CBC that the 23 kids in her care were unaware of the security incident, but that she was nervous as the person in charge of their care.
IMPORTANT: Please do not post information about the position or activities of police or first responders. We are still working an active incident. We will release confirmed information as soon as we can. — Fredericton Police (@CityFredPolice) August 10, 2018
There was no immediate information on any suspected motive in the shooting, and no information provided on the identities of the suspect in custody or the victims.
David MacCoubrey, who lives in Fredericton, said he heard about 20 shots fired. He was hiding on his kitchen floor. He awoke in his apartment on Brookside Drive around 7 a.m. local time to the sound of three gunshots about 30 feet from his bed.
MacCoubrey said his apartment complex has four buildings in a square, and it sounded like the shots were coming from the middle of the complex. He said police searched the complex, including his own apartment.
Four people, including two police officers, have been killed in a shooting in the eastern Canadian city of Fredericton.
While the circumstances of the shooting remain unclear, police said on Friday morning that they had taken one suspect into custody and that the investigation was ongoing.
The suspect is being treated for serious injuries stemming from the incident, police said on Twitter.
The shooting has rocked the city of 58,000 people, who were initially told by police on Friday morning to avoid the area and stay in their homes.
Police also asked social media users to refrain from giving details online of the the position or activities of police or first responders.
Resident David MacCoubrey told the Canadian Press he was woken at 7am by three gunshots, which sounded as if they were fired 10 metres from his bed. Over the next 90 minutes or so, he heard more than 15 other gunshots.
The gunfire appeared to be coming from the middle of his apartment complex, which consisted of four buildings in the shape of a square, he said.
“Awful news coming out of Fredericton,” the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, said on Twitter. “My heart goes out to everyone affected by this morning’s shooting. We’re following the situation closely.”
While gun laws in Canada are far more strict than in neighbouring United States, a a proliferation of weapons has led to an increase in gun crimes in recent years.
In 2014, three Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers were killed and two others wounded in a mass shooting in the east coast city of Moncton, New Brunswick.
Last month, a gunman opened fire on a busy Toronto street, killing two people and wounding 13 others before turning his weapon on himself.
In the wake of the shooting, federal officials said they were considering a ban on handguns.
Toronto, Canada’s largest city, has had 241 shooting incidents so far this year, resulting in 30 deaths, a 30% increase in fatalities over the same period as last year.
