This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/22/la-loche-canada-school-shooting-lockdown-saskatchewan

The article has changed 13 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Canada grade school on lockdown after shooting, says Saskatchewan premier Canada school on lockdown after shooting, says Saskatchewan premier
(35 minutes later)
The premier of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan said there has been a shooting at a grade 7 through 12 school in an aboriginal community in remote La Loche. A school in northern Saskatchewan is on lockdown Friday amid reports there were multiple people wounded and potential fatalities in a daytime shooting in La Loche, a community about 600km from Saskatoon.
Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall says there are victims but did not say how many or release any other details about the Friday shooting. Clearwater River Dene Nation chief Teddy Clark told the Saskatoon Star Phoenix that at least two people were killed during the shooting at La Loche community school, though these fatalities have not yet been confirmed by local police.
“Words cannot express my shock and sorrow at the horrific events today in La Loche. My thoughts and prayers are with all the victims, their families and friends and all the people of the community,” Wall’s statement said. Clark also said police had a suspect in custody.
Canadian police declined to confirm to Reuters that there was a shooting, but said they were on scene for a serious incident. “The community usually pulls together really strong in times like this. Right now, La Loche is devastated,” he told the newspaper.
At least two people were killed in the shooting at La Loche community school and a suspect is in custody, the Star Phoenix newspaper reported, citing a local aboriginal chief. “Both Clearwater and La Loche, a lot of people are in shock. This is something that you only see on TV most of the time.”
Clearwater River Dene Nation chief Teddy Clark told the Star Phoenix newspaper that the community is “devastated”. Grade 10 student Noel Desjarlais described the chaos at the La Loche community school in an interview with CBC News.
The school said Friday on its Facebook page that it will remain on lockdown until the Royal Canadian police resolve the matter. It is asking the public to stay away. “I ran outside the school,” he said. “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.”
The school is a pre-kindergarten to grade 12 school, which houses about 900 students in two buildings. La Loche is a remote aboriginal community of about 3,000 people in the central Canadian province of Saskatchewan. On its Facebook page, the school urged the public to stay away while the incident was handled by the Royal Canadian police and confirmed one of the school buildings was on lockdown.
Associated Press in La Loche, Saskatchewan and Reuters in Toronto. “We will not be allowing anyone in or out until we have a clear idea of what is going on,” says a post on the page.
The school houses about 900 students in two buildings, in ages ranging from a pre-kindergarten to grade 12.
While details of the incident remain scarce, Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall said in a statement that “words cannot express my shock and sorrow at the horrific events today”.
Federal New Democrat MP Georgina Jolibois, a former mayor of the community, also said in a statement she was “shocked and saddened by the shooting”.
“The community of La Loche is close-knit. We have faced adversity in the past and we will persevere,” she said.
A medical transport helicopter was dispatched from Saskatoon to the community to deal with the emergency, according to the Stars ambulance Twitter account.