Four people have died in a shooting in the northern Saskatchewan community of La Loche, RCMP say. An unspecified number of people were also injured.
“There’s no risk to public safety at this time,” Chief Supt. Maureen Levy, a senior officer for the Saskatchewan RCMP, told CBC News Friday night in Regina, adding that a suspect was in custody. “This is truly a tragedy.”
Levy said two locations were at the centre of their investigation, including the local high school and a place on the 300 block of Dene Cr. in La Loche, a Dene First Nation community, about 860 kilometres northwest of provincial capital Regina.
Earlier Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is in Davos, Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum, said he had been told five died in the shooting.
One person has been arrested, Trudeau confirmed at an emergency press conference in Davos.
“This is every parent’s worst nightmare. The community is reeling,” Trudeau said.
“We all grieve with and stand with the community of La Loche and the province of Saskatchewan on this terrible and tragic day.”
La Loche is a community of about 3,000 people. La Loche community school is a pre-kindergarten to grade 12 school with approximately 900 students
It’s unclear whether staff members or students are among the victims.
“I ran outside the school,” Noel Desjarlais, a Grade 10 student at the school, told CBC News. “There was lots of screaming. There was about six, seven shots before I got outside. I believe there was more shots by the time I did get out.”
A nearby elementary school was put under lockdown as a precaution, Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.
A STARS air ambulance from Saskatoon was dispatched to the La Loche area, according to the organization’s Twitter account.
Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall issued a statement, saying “words cannot express my shock and sorrow at the horrific events today in La Loche.”
“My thoughts and prayers are with all the victims, their families and friends and all the people of the community,” Wall said. “Thank you to the RCMP and all the emergency personnel who responded quickly to the shootings. Saskatchewan Education and Social Services will be available to provide all necessary crisis support and counselling services to the school and the community.”
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