Fredericton police are asking residents to avoid the area and stay in their homes. The circumstances of the shooting are unclear, but police said on Twitter that the "incident is ongoing."
They were also asking people on Facebook not to use social media to report on police locations.
David MacCoubrey, who lives in Fredericton, said he has heard about 20 shots including two in the last few minutes. He was hiding on his kitchen floor.
He awoke in his apartment on Brookside Drive around 7 a.m. local time to the sound of three gunshots 33 feet (10 meters) from his bed.
MacCoubrey said his apartment complex has four buildings in a square, and it sounded like the shots were coming from the middle of the complex.
He said police have been searching the complex, and he's been sitting away from windows.
He said the police searched his apartment.