Three RCMP officers have been killed and another two have suffered non-life-threatening injuries in Moncton, N.B., where a manhunt was still underway for the shooter late Wednesday evening.

Officers from Codiac RCMP, the local detachment, are searching for 24-year-old Justin Bourque of Moncton. The RCMP says he is considered armed and dangerous.

Will Njoku was emptying the dishwasher just before 8 p.m. local time when he heard the first shots. He thought they were firecrackers, set off by teenagers celebrating the nice weather.

“I’m not very familiar with guns or gunshots,” said the 42-year-old, who lives on Rennick Rd. in west Moncton with his wife, four-year-old son and two-year-old twin boys.

Then Njoku heard the sirens, and five more shots.

“It seemed like we were in danger,” said Njoku, who works as a motivational speaker. “That’s the real moment to think that.”

Outside his house, Njoku said there were kids and families everywhere, as police descended on the area and closed down streets. Njoku said he headed outside to try and direct drivers away from where the area.

“This whole night’s been horrible for me, my family, the entire city,” Njoku said.

Three blocks away and a street over, Danielle Hache was woken up by the sound of the blasts.

“I heard the shotgun around eight. I was sleeping on my couch and it woke me up,” said Danielle Hache, who lives on Isington St., an area near one of the reported shootings.

“I heard a good five, six, seven shots, for sure. It was close to here because I could hear it very well,” Hache said.

Shortly after 10 p.m., more shots were heard behind Angie’s Show Palace, a bar and grill in Dieppe, which is adjacent to Moncton, according to a man who works at the restaurant but did not want to be identified.

The man said he believed someone had been shot, and quite a few police were in the area.

A photo of a man believed to be Bourque, taken by a photographer for the Times & Transcript newspaper, shows a man dressed in green camouflage clothing carrying two rifles.

Carolyn McCormack, a spokesperson for the Moncton Hospital, said at least two victims with gunshot wounds have been admitted to the facility. No details are known about their condition at press time.

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“Terrible sad news for Moncton. Stay indoors and allow police to do their job. Prayers for the families,” tweeted George LeBlanc, the mayor of Moncton.

Tracy Bell, spokesperson for Ambulance New Brunswick, said paramedics responded to a multi-person shooting in the north end of Moncton around 7 p.m.

“We have three additional paramedic crews as well as operational leadership staging at the scene to respond at a moments notice,” she said.

Const. Damien Theriault says police are urging people in the area to stay inside.