Gunman in Canadian city of Edmonton kills two police, himself

OTTAWA, March 16 (Reuters) - A man shot dead two police officers in the western Canadian city of Edmonton early on Thursday before taking his own life, officials said, in a rare instance of police in Canada being killed on duty.

Edmonton Police Service Chief Dale McFee said the officers, aged 30 and 35, were responding to a call from a woman about a family dispute at an apartment block.

"(They) went inside the building, approached the suite, and were shot by a young male suspect," he told reporters, saying the officers had not had a chance to return fire.

"The young male suspect died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A female complainant from the suite was also taken to hospital with serious injuries," McPhee said.

Edmonton, with a population of just over 1 million, is the second largest city in the province of Alberta.

Killings of police officers when on duty in Canada are relatively uncommon. In 2022, the total was five, according to data compiled by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

The bloodiest single incident in recent decades occurred in March 2005, when a man shot four members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in central Alberta.

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