Nova Scotia Shooting: Multiple Victims and Gunman in Custody, Police Say

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Nova Scotia took into custody on Sunday a man they said shot multiple people on Saturday night.

The authorities responded to reports of a shooting about 10:30 p.m. on Saturday in the area of Portapique Beach Road, Bay Shore Road and Five Houses Road in the small rural community Portapique, which is about 35 miles from Truro, Nova Scotia.

A police spokeswoman, Cpl. Lisa Croteau, said on Sunday that there were multiple victims, but she did not specify how many and whether they were injured or killed.

The authorities identified the gunman as Gabriel Wortman, 51, who was taken into custody just before 11 a.m. on Sunday. It was not immediately clear what was the motive for the shooting and how he was apprehended.

During the manhunt, the authorities warned residents about Mr. Wortman and counseled them to stay inside, and to lock themselves indoors.

“He is considered armed and dangerous,” Corporal Croteau said. “We are asking the public if you see him, not to approach.”

Both Canadians and residents of Nova Scotia — a province on the Atlantic coast known for its fishing industry — and its capital Halifax, a port city, were shocked by the violence in a small sleepy, rural area.

During a news media briefing on Sunday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada briefly touched on the tragedy and thanked the police for their work.

“My heart goes out to everyone affected in what is a terrible situation,” he said.

Tom Taggart, a council member in Colchester, which includes Portapique, lives two miles from the rural community.

“It’s really cottage country,” he said on Sunday, adding that the community is home to about 50 to 60 residents and as many as 200 during the summer.

Like other residents, he said he had heard the updates from the police on Sunday morning to stay indoors because a gunman was on the loose.

“It just escalated from there,” he said. “People live here because it is safe and secure, we think. This stuff is not supposed to happen here.”

He added: “These are real people that just went to bed last night thinking that everything is another day and now things, are just, I can’t imagine. It’s tragic.”

Darcy Sack, a resident of Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia, told the CBC, the Canadian national broadcaster, that she and a friend had seen the gunman’s silver vehicle as well as two police cars on fire on Sunday morning.

She said that they then heard two gunshots and saw a police officer running toward the vehicles.

Mr. Wortman led the authorities on an extended search.

At first, the police believed he might have been driving what appeared to be an R.C.M.P. vehicle and wearing an R.C.M.P. uniform, the authorities said on Twitter.

The authorities said that one difference between his car and official police vehicles was the car’s number, which was 28B11, on the rear passenger window.

“If you see 28B11 call 911 immediately,” the police said on Twitter. The authorities emphasized that Mr. Wortman was not an employee of the R.C.M.P.

The authorities then said that he switched vehicles and was seen driving a silver Chevrolet Tracker in the Milford area.

Krista Wood, a spokeswoman for Colchester East Hants Health Centre in Truro, said the hospital went into lockdown on Saturday night. She said the hospital was cooperating with the authorities but would not confirm whether it was treating victims from the shooting.

Dan Bilefsky contributed reporting.