Two police officers are among four people who have been killed in a shooting in eastern Canada.

Police arrested a suspect after the attack in Fredericton, the capital of province New Brunswick.

Officials identified the officers who were killed as Sara May Burns, 43, and Lawrence Robb Costello, 45.

They did not release the names of the two civilian victims.

Earlier, police urged residents in the city to "stay in their homes with doors locked at this time for their safety" and to avoid the area near the shooting.


A New Brunswick journalist has reported that four shots were heard at around 8.20am local time (12.20pm GMT).

She also reported that people were being escorted out of the area by police.

Chris Collins, speaker of the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, tweeted: "In light of the horrible news coming out of Fredericton, I have ordered all flags to half mast on legislative grounds."

A number of emergency service vehicles were seen on the residential road when the shooting occurred.

The Fredericton Firefighters Association warned social media users not to report on police locations during the incident, writing: "Police, fire and ANB responding to an active incident. Please avoid the area of Brookside Dr between Ring and Main.

"Stay in your house and businesses. Lock the doors and do not use social media to report on police locations. Please help keep everyone safe."

The City of Frederiction Twitter account announced that public transport was being re-routed to avoid the Brookside Drive "until further notice".