Police Confirm Four Dead in Canada Shooting, School Lockdown Lifted

Four people were killed in the shootings in La Loche, a village in Canada's northwestern province of Saskatchewan, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) confirmed, saying that an investigation is underway at two locations.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Earlier, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that five people were killed as a result of the shootings, which occurred at a local residence and at La Loche Community School (LLCS) on Friday.

An RCMP spokeswoman said at a news briefing that, according to the latest information, there are only four deceased and several injured. The injured have reportedly been airlifted to a hospital in Saskatoon, which is located about 600 kilometers (375 miles) from La Loche.

"The lockdown [at the La Loche school] has been lifted and the children have been moved to a safe location," the spokeswoman said.

According to RCMP, a male has been taken into custody and his firearm was ceased.

The investigations underway at LLCS and at the 300 block of Dene Crescent in La Loche are in the early stages, according to police.

RCMP said they were alerted of an active shooter situation in La Loche at around 01:00 p. m. local time (19:00 GMT) on Friday. La Loche Community School was put on lockdown.

LLCS said in a Facebook post that an emergency was occurring at its Dene Building and that the Ducharme elementary school was on lockdown as well.

LLCS is a pre-kindergarten to grade 12 school, which houses approximately 900 students in two buildings, according its Facebook page.