Eye-witness accounts of the La Loche school shooting

The small community of La Loche, Sask., is in shock after a shooting at a school and a local residence left four people dead and several others injured.

Saturday morning, police had one male in custody. Chief Supt. Maureen Levy offered little details at a news conference Friday night, saying she wanted “to ensure the integrity of the information,” but confirmed there was no more danger to the public.

It’s been confirmed that the shooter came to the high school at La Loche Community School around 1 p.m. Friday and opened fire.

READ MORE: ‘They were good students’: community mourns La Loche victims at vigil

Global News spoke to Tanya Herman, who said her nephew was one of the first people shot.

“Some kids yelled out that they’re loading the gun,” she recounted. “But they thought the kid was lying…

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Some kids yelled out that they're loading the gun," she recounted. "But they thought the kid was lying…

“And then the shooting started… Everybody was shocked.”

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Noel Desjarlais-Thomas was just returning from lunch at the junior and senior high school in La Loche, Sask., when the shooter opened fire. In a flash, his friends were running past him, urging him to get out.

“Run, bro, run!” the 16-year-old said his friends shouted.

“There’s a shotgun! There’s a shotgun! They were just yelling to me. And then I was hearing those shots, too, so of course I started running.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "There's a shotgun! There's a shotgun! They were just yelling to me. And then I was hearing those shots, too, so of course I started running."

The teen said it was a blur of partial sights and sounds. He thought he saw one of his friends fall to the ground after being shot, but wasn’t sure.

“You know how it is – something happens, you’ve got to go for your life. I ended up running and I didn’t want to look back.”

READ MORE: Saskatchewan school shooting: What we know about La Loche

Geordie Janvier, 16, was walking in the halls when the shots rang out.

“We were going back to gym class, that’s when I heard the first shot,” he explained. “I looked back. He didn’t see me, that’s why I ran to the gym class, closed the door, and I ran in the dressing room. We stayed there for, like, three hours.”

FULL COVERAGE: La Loche school shooting

Desjarlais-Thomas forwarded to The Canadian Press a screenshot of a chilling exchange that had taken place on social media a short time before the school shooting between a young man and his friends.

“Just killed 2 ppl,” wrote the young man. “Bout to shoot ip the school.”

“Why?” asked a friend. “Why?”

READ MORE: A history of school shootings in Canada

RCMP said they are also investigating a home in the 300-block of Dene Crescent in the community.

Sources say the alleged gunman shot and killed two people there, before he went to the school to open fire on students and staff.