Police are responding to a suspected mass shooting in a town in Canada.
Multiple fatalities have been reported in a mass shooting in the Canadian city of Fredericton, the capital of the eastern province of New Brunswick.
Local police said the incident—which occurred at around 8:20 a.m. local time—is still ongoing and asked residents to avoid the residential Brookside West area in the north of the city. A tweet posted on the local police force’s Twitter page said at least four people had been killed.
CTV Atlantic reporter Nick Moore said he had heard what sounded like four gunshots in the area, which has now been cordoned off by emergency services. Moore also said local residents had been asked to remain inside and lock their doors. The Fredericton fire service requested that residents refrain from using social media to report on police locations.
Please continue to avoid the area of Brookside Drive between Main and Ring Road. An incident has resulted in at least four people killed. More information will be available when we can confirm.
— Fredericton Police (@CityFredPolice) August 10, 2018
Video footage from the scene showed fire trucks and ambulances rushing to the location of the shooting. Nathalie Sturgeon, a reporter for CBC, said police had deployed an armored vehicle to the scene.
Stradling the St. John’s River, Fredericton has a population of just over 58,000 people. Though it is the capital of New Brunswick, it is only the third largest city in the province, behind Moncton and Saint John.
Canada is still recovering from a mass shooting last month in Toronto. In this incident, guman Faisal Hussain killed two people and wounded another 13. Hussain died in a shootout with police. Though the ISIS terrorist group claimed responsibility, the gunman’s family said he had been depressed and psychotic for many years. Hussain was not on any watchlists and was not considered a national security threat.
BREAKING: From Fredericton Police: “Re: Shooting. At this time, we can confirm multiple fatalities. The incident is ongoing. More information will be available when we can. Please continue to avoid the area of Brookside Drive between Main and Ring Road.” @CTVAtlantic pic.twitter.com/CS0zdbcKxJ
— Nick Moore (@CTVMoore) August 10, 2018
