A gunman may have injured up to 10 people in Novia Scotia, including at least one Mountie, in a shooting rampage before he was taken into custody after a manhunt, according to a Canadian law enforcement official.
Details about the shooting spree, which spanned several dozen miles, were still sketchy Sunday. The official did not indicate how many of the 8 to 10 suspected victims had been killed.
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The Canadian law enforcement official and another law enforcement source both said at least one Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer was among the victims. The law enforcement source said the officer was deceased, along with the suspect.
Authorities were searching half dozen crime scenes, beginning in Portapique and stretching to Enfield, where the suspect was taken into custody, that source said.
Authorities identified the suspected shooter as 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police had warned the public on Twitter that Wortman may have been wearing a RCMP uniform and driving a silver Chevrolet Tracker that appeared to be a police vehicle. But they clarified that he was not employed by the RCMP.
Earlier the RCMP had warned residents about a shooting in Portapique -- where the rampage is believe to have started late Saturday -- and said the shooting incident involving "several victims."
As they chased the gunman, police told residents to stay inside and lock their doors, warning that he was considered "armed and dangerous."
Stephen McNeil, the Premier of Nova Scotia, called the shooting spree "one of the most senseless acts of violence in our province's history."
At a media conference on Covid-19, he told reporters: "I never imagined when I went to bed last night that I would wake up to the horrific news that an active shooter was on the loose in Nova Scotia."
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted, “Our hearts go out to everyone affected by the shooting,” adding “we’re keeping all of you in our thoughts.”