RCMP are searching for a suspect in what they described as a “mass shooting incident” that injured three people early Saturday in Fort Smith, N.W.T.
In a noon update, police said they were alerted at approximately 2:12 a.m. MT to shots fired outside a local business in the community of just over 2,000 people situated on the Slave River next to the Alberta border.
The shooting took place outside Dirty O'Fergies bar, witnesses said, as the opening event of Fireweed Festival, a community music festival was drawing to a close.
The three injured people are receiving medical care, police said, without providing information about their identities.
The community was ordered to shelter-in-place just before 3 a.m. Members of emergency response teams from the N.W.T. and the Yukon are assisting RCMP, alongside police dogs, remote piloted aircraft, and the major crimes unit.
Residents should lock their doors and remain inside, not open the door for anyone, and refrain from posting photos of responding officers on social media, police said.
Police described the suspect as male with a heavy build, medium complexion, black hair and facial hair, wearing a gray sweater. He is believed to be armed and the public is urged to not approach him and call the RCMP immediately if spotted.
While the RCMP shared photos of the suspect, they also warned that images generated by artificial intelligence have circulated on social media.
“We are advising the public that these images do not match the descriptors of the subject,” the RCMP said. “We are requesting the public to not share it any further as it is inaccurate."
Police have opened a community portal for the public to collect digital evidence from witnesses.
Fort Smith Mayor Dana Fergusson asked the community to remain calm.
“Just hang in there and be strong because we know what a beautiful, great and amazing community we are,” she said. “This isn’t us and this isn't what represents us.”
Fergusson was in the parking lot with her son outside Dirty O'Fergies when the incident took place. The bar, located in the Pelican Rapids Inn, is owned by her family.
“We were escorting people off the property like, you know, 'Hey, time to go, night's over,' that kind of thing. And it happened right in front of us,” said Fergusson. “It just happened very quickly.”
What started as an altercation between a group of men resulted in multiple shots being fired, witnesses said.
