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Reuters
FREDERICTON, New Brunswick
Four people, including two police officers, were killed in a shooting in eastern Canada on Friday in the latest eruption of gun violence across the country that has led to calls for weapons bans in cities.
Police in Fredericton, a city of about 56,000 that is the capital of the province of New Brunswick, said a suspect was taken into custody and was being treated for serious injuries.
Witnesses said the shooting occurred at an apartment complex, and local media images showed emergency vehicles converging on a tree-lined residential street. Nearby facilities were closed and authorities imposed a lockdown for residents before issuing an all-clear message.
"It was scary,"said Marlene Weaver, who was in bed on Friday morning when she heard shots ring out in her neighborhood."It takes you back to the shooting in Moncton."
She was referring to an incident in 2014, when three Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers were killed and two wounded in Moncton, New Brunswick, about 195 km (121 miles) from Fredericton, in one of the worst incidents of its kind in Canada.
The latest incident occurred just three weeks after a gunman walked down a busy Toronto street, killing two people and wounding 13 others before taking his own life.
Canadian Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale told reporters he could not discuss details of the latest shooting. He said the RCMP were assisting Fredericton authorities in the investigation.
"We'll see where this investigation leads in terms of what exactly happened, who did it, what was the motivation for doing it and the instruments of destruction that were used,"he said.
"But broadly speaking, the government of Canada is obviously taking the issue of gun violence very seriously."
Gun laws in Canada are stricter than in the United States but a proliferation of weapons has led to an increase in gun-related crimes in recent years.
New Brunswick had three homicide shootings in the entire year of 2016, according to Statistics Canada.
"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."
