It is believed that the gunman was dressed as a policeman.
At least 16 people have been killed in Canada following the worst shooting of its kind in the country.
The gunman, who drove a mock-up police car and who was dressed like a policeman, is also believed to be dead.
The shootings took place over the space of 12 hours on Sunday in the rural town of Portapique in Nova Scotia.
Police have said that the gunman shot people in several locations across Nova Scotia, which means authorities are still trying to establish the final death toll.
Among those killed was Heidi Stevenson, a 23-year veteran of the Canadian police force, who died while responding to the active shooter incident.
Nova Scotia RCMP Commanding Officer, Assistant Commissioner Lee Bergerman, said of Stevenson’s death: “Two children have lost their mother and a husband his wife. Parents lost their daughter and countless others lost an incredible friend and colleague.”
Speaking of the incident, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: “My heart goes out to everyone affected in what is a terrible situation”.
The shooting appears to be the country’s worst ever, exceeding the death toll from 1989 when a gunman murdered 14 female students at Montreal’s Ecole Polytechnique.
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