The Current

Children at daycare shielded in windowless room amid fatal Fredericton shooting

A shooting in Fredericton, N.B., has left at least four people dead. We speak to locals about how they coped during those fearful hours.

'They have no idea what's going on,' daycare operator says

Several police, firefighters and paramedics are at the scene of a shooting early Friday in the Brookside Drive area of Fredericton. (Nathalie Sturgeon)

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Rachel LeBlanc heard four gunshots as she arrived to work at the Sunny Days Children's Centre in Fredericton, N.B.

"[It was] like a crack, crack, crack, crack — like a handgun," she told The Current's guest host Laura Lynch.

LeBlanc, the director of the childcare facility, called the non-emergency number and was told to go on lockdown immediately. Almost two dozen children had already arrived.

"We had to lock all the main doors, and we did put them in a room that had no windows and we shut off the lights," she said.

At least four people were killed during the shooting in a residential area early this morning, including two police officers. Residents were told to stay inside with doors and windows locked, shortly after the incident began around 7 a.m. local time.

LeBlanc told CBC News that the kids were watching a movie and happy to all be in one big group with their siblings, rather than divided into classes by age.

"They have no idea what's going on," she said.

Fredericton police tweeted that they had one person in custody. There is no longer a threat to the public, police said, but the investigation is ongoing.


This segment was produced by The Current's Kathleen Goldhar and Danielle Carr.