MONCTON, New Brunswick -- The Royal Canadian Mounted Police say they have arrested the suspect in Wednesday's New Brunswick shooting that left three Mounties dead and two others injured.

Paul Greene, a spokesman with the Mounted Police, said Justin Bourque, 24, was arrested about 12:30 a.m. today. No further details were available early today.

On Thursday, the Mounted Police combed the streets and woods of Moncton in search of Bourque.

A large number of police officers could be seen in a part of the search area with their weapons drawn, some peeking around buildings. Others were patrolling streets within the cordoned off area. Armored security trucks were also visible.

Bourque was seen in three different places around the search area Thursday morning, said Cmdr. Marlene Snowman. Bourque was wearing military camouflage and carrying two rifles in a picture released by police on Twitter.

At one point, he was seen going in and out of a woods, Snowman said.

Investigators had not determined a motive for the shooting Wednesday evening.

Three officers were killed after responding to a call about an armed man in the north end of Moncton.

Two other officers were wounded.

It was the deadliest attack on the Mounted Police since four officers were killed by a gunman on a farm in the western Canadian province of Alberta in 2005. That attack was the deadliest on Canadian police officers in 120 years.

Police officers from across the country were sent in to help arrest the suspect, Commanding Officer Roger Brown said on Thursday.

Schools and government offices were closed, and the city pulled its buses off the roads. Mail delivery was suspended. Police commandeered armored trucks and told residents to stay indoors.

Brown said the two wounded officers underwent surgery Thursday for injuries that were not life-threatening and he met with their families.

"The RCMP family is hurting. As is Moncton, New Brunswick and our country," Brown said.

The homicides were the first this year in Moncton, a city of 69,000 people about 180 miles east of the Maine border.

Constable Damien Theriault said the city had no homicides last year.

"We have been blessed until this point," Theriault said.

Police released a map of a large portion of the northwest section of the city, including a heavily wooded area, where they wanted people to remain inside with their doors locked. Families hunkered down in their basements.

Daniel St. Louis, a commercial photographer, said he came upon the scene around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday and saw two bloodstained police vehicles on separate streets.

One of the vehicles, a marked police cruiser, was surrounded by shattered glass.

The other, an unmarked sport utility vehicle with its lights still on and the driver's side door left open, had several bullet holes through its front windshield.

"I walked over and I saw two feet, facing the street, toes up," said St. Louis, 51. "I realized, 'Oh my God. There's somebody down.' As I got close, I realized it was an officer and this is not a good situation."

St. Louis said he doesn't know what to make of the tragedy.

"Our quiet little city, what is going on here?" he said. "How is this happening to us? It always happens to somebody else."

Conrad Gagnon, 53, said he was playing a video game in his living room when he spotted a man through a window.

"He was talking to himself. I saw his lips moving," he said.

Shortly afterward, Gagnon said he heard gunfire.

Danny Leblanc, 42, said he saw the shooter in the distance Wednesday evening, wearing a camouflage outfit and standing in the middle of the street with his gun pointed at police cars.

The construction worker said he believed it was a police officer until he heard a burst of gunfire coming from the man's gun.

He said he quickly retreated into his home and remained there with his family.

Leblanc said few people on his normally quiet street were sleeping as they awaited word at midnight on whether an arrest had been made.

Such violence is rare in Canada, particularly on the east coast.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in Brussels for a meeting of the Group of 7 nations, offered his condolences Thursday to the families, colleagues and friends of those affected by the shootings.

Information for this article was contributed by Rob Gillies and staff members of The Associated Press.

A Section on 06/06/2014