Four killed in shooting in Canadian town: Police

A suspect has been arrested after four people were killed on Friday in a shooting in the eastern Canadian city of Fredericton, police said.

Authorities urged people in the Brookside neighborhood, where residents reported waking to the sounds of dozens of shots, to remain in their homes, describing it as an "active incident" on Twitter.

Around an hour after giving first word of the killings, a second message from police said: "At this time, we can confirm that we have one suspect in custody."

"Police continue to have the Brookside area contained for the foreseeable future as the investigation is ongoing," police added.

The circumstances of the shooting in the capital of New Brunswick province, home to about 60,000 people, were not immediately known.

Canadian public broadcaster CBC said that the shooting happened in a residential area of the city north of downtown, and that heavily armed police, paramedics and firefighters were on the scene.

Some residents could be seen being escorted by police out of their homes, while a nearby daycare, coffee shop and other businesses were on lockdown.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation quoted Robert DiDiodato, who lives in the area, as saying he heard a series of "firecracker" sounds around 7 am.

"With the tempo, it might've been a gunshot," he said. "It was sort of like a pop, pop, pop, pop."

He said that about five minutes later he could hear similar sounds near his home.

"Doors are locked and everybody's inside," he said, according to CBC. 

"On behalf of all New Brunswickers, I offer my condolences, thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families. During this difficult time, our thoughts are also with the courageous women and men on the front lines working to keep us safe," New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant said.

On July 22, a man opened fire in a bustling nightlife district of Toronto, killing an 18 year old woman and a 10 year old girl and wounding 13 other people.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility but Canadian police said they had no evidence the group was behind the shooting.