A suspect is in custody after five people were killed and two seriously injured in a school shooting at a remote village in the northern province of Saskatchewan, according to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
CBC News reports:
“Obviously this is every parent’s worst nightmare,” Trudeau said Friday in a brief statement from Davos, Switzerland.
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A suspect is in custody, he said, and the situation was under control.
Trudeau also thanked first responders who reacted “quickly and bravely” in what he called a “tragic and terrible day.”
La Loche is a community of about 3,000. The school is for grades 7 to 12.
“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.”
“Myself I’m fine,” he said. “I ended up running and telling people get out the doors.”
Saskatchewan’s air ambulance system has also tweeted it has been dispatched to La Loche, which is about 500 kilometres northwest of Prince Albert, Sask.
An official from STARS said the service was dispatched from Saskatoon to La Loche at 1:35 p.m. CST.
Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall also issued a statement, about the situation.
“Words cannot express my shock and sorrow at the horrific events today in La Loche,” Wall said. “My thoughts and prayers are with all the victims, their families and friends and all the people of the community. 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.”
NDP MP Georgina Jolibois also issued a statement Friday.
“As the former mayor of La Loche, I am shocked and saddened by the shooting in the Dene Building at the La Loche Community School in my riding,” her statement said. “The shooting hits close to home for me as my family members attend the school.”
She added that the community “has faced adversity in the past and we will persevere,” adding that her thoughts and prayers were with everyone affected by the shooting.
RCMP just sending out this release about “serious incident” in La Loche. Active and ongoing incident. @CBCSask pic.twitter.com/h5gkXfI2X7
— Devin Heroux (@Devin_Heroux) January 22, 2016
Desjarlais says there was a lot of screaming.. he heard six of seven shots before he got out of the school. Shooting at La Loche. @CBCAlerts
— Devin Heroux (@Devin_Heroux) January 22, 2016
