Several people were injured and one man was arrested after shootings at at least three locations outside Vancouver, British Columbia, on Monday morning, police said.
It was not immediately clear how many people were injured or if anyone had died in the shooting, prompting authorities to send emergency alerts to cell phones in the area. They said a homicide squad was sent to the area.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they were responding to reports that shots had been fired “at several places in the town and the hamlet of Langley,” about 30 miles south-east of downtown Vancouver.
“As a matter of great caution, an emergency warning has been issued until investigators can confirm that the suspect acted alone,” Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sergeant Rebecca Parslow said in a statement.
A warning said one of the shootings involved “transient casualties.” That warning described the suspect as a white man with dark hair wearing Carhartt overalls and a T-shirt with a blue and green camouflage pattern.
At 7:20 a.m. local time, police said, they took into custody a man they believed to be the only suspect. His name was not immediately released.
The motive for the shooting was unclear. Police asked the public to avoid downtown Langley.
“The public is being asked to stay out of the area until further notice,” authorities said.