Four people were shot dead and several others critically injured when a gunman opened fire at a high school in Canada's western plains province of Saskatchewanan on Friday. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that a suspect was in custody. "This is every parent's worst nightmare. The [La Loche] community is reeling," he added. The school shooting is the deadliest in 26 years in Canada, reported AFP.

Students told public broadcaster CBC that they heard six or seven gunshots at around 1 pm local time on Friday. Several patients were being treated for gunshot wounds in the remote town's hospital, the broadcaster added. Several witnesses reported seeing a "boy", who was either a student or formerly attended the school, opening fire inside the building.

La Loche is a community of 2,500 people, who are mostly aboriginal. The town's acting mayor, Kevin Janvier, told AP that his 23-year-old daughter Marie, a teacher, was shot to death. He also said police told him that the gunman first shot two of his siblings at home and then made his way to the school.