A remote ​northern Quebec community is reeling after a fatal police shooting brought an end to a series of stabbings that left three residents dead and critically injured two others.

Kativik Regional Police responded to a call Saturday morning in Akulivik, a village of fewer than 1,000 people located on the shores of the Hudson Bay, 1,700 kilometres from Montreal.

A 19-year-old man — who local officials identified as Illutak Anautak — has been shot and killed.

The tragedy began with three break-ins in the community during which five people were stabbed. Among the fatalities is a child believed to be around 10 years old.

Quebec's independent investigations bureau (BEI), which investigates police-involved shootings, said local officers located a suspect as he was trying to break into a fourth home in the small village.

Investigators arrived in Akulivik Saturday evening. (Google)

Police shot the suspect first in an effort to neutralize him. They shot again, this time fatally, when the suspect moved towards the officers, according to a news release issued by the BEI.

Anautak's brother, who lives several hours away, told CBC News that he learned of the events from a friend over Facebook.

"My reaction? I started crying this morning because I lost my brother, for a second time," said 16-year-old Moses Chamberland Inukpuk.

Inukpuk had another brother who died before he was born. He added that their mother was murdered.

Though they lived several hundred kilometres apart, the two brothers kept in regular contact over Facebook.

Illutak Anautak, 19, was shot and killed by police Saturday morning. (Illutak Anautak/Facebook)

"I was really close to him," said Inukpuk.

Inukpuk shared with CBC Montreal two Facebook posts that Anautak wrote around the time of the incident.

In the first post Anautak writes "I just don't care if I killed someone else," and in a later post he says that he stabbed more than five people.

Timothy Aliqu, a village councillor, described Anautak as being "like every other teenager" in the small Inuit community.

"Our town is devastated," said Aliqu. "Some people saw what was going on."

A team of investigators has been dispatched to Akulivik by the BEI. They are expected to arrive Saturday evening.

Quebec provincial police will take over the investigation into the stabbings.</s>AKULIVIK, Que. – A woman who saw police fatally shoot a man suspected of killing three people in this northern Quebec village says she hasn’t been able to sleep since Saturday’s incident.

Meeko Aliqu said she ran outside of her home after her 17-year-old son told her there had been a stabbing, and witnessed the confrontation between the police officers and the 19-year-old suspect.

“The police officer said ‘Drop it! Drop it!’ in Inuktitut,” she told The Canadian Press in a phone interview.

She said officers fired when the suspect did not drop his knife.

READ MORE: Police fatally shoot 19-year-old in northern Quebec after stabbings leave 3 dead

“The police officer he shot him — maybe eight shots, I don’t know,” she said. She said the suspect got up and tried to enter a residence before being shot again.

“He’s going inside the house but the police officer, he shot again one more time inside the house,” said Aliqu.

Quebec’s police watchdog the independent investigations unit said it’s alleged the suspect broke into three homes and stabbed five people. Three of the victims, including a 10-year-old boy, died. Two others suffered serious injuries and were taken to hospital Saturday.

Residents say the tragedy has shaken Akulivik, a remote village located on a peninsula jutting into Hudson Bay, some 1,700 km north of Montreal.

“The whole region is in shock and is devastated. We’re receiving messages from all over the world sending us support,” said David Qaqutuk, a manager with the regional landholding corporation.

He says everyone knows everyone in the close-knit town, where residents are known to share food and take care of each other.

“All of the victims were the quiet kind. I never noticed the suspect being angry or anything,” he said.

READ MORE: Toddler, 3, found unconscious in swimming pool in Drummondville, Quebec

While he won’t speculate on the causes of the tragedy, he said the small towns lacks resources to help people who are struggling.

“We don’t have any AA meetings or healing facilities,” he said. “The only thing that can help is in Kuujjuaq (600 km away), when not everyone wants to be there.”

In a statement released Saturday, the investigations unit said police intercepted the suspect as he was preparing to enter a fourth residence while armed with a knife.

READ MORE: Armed man shot and killed by Montreal police

According to preliminary information, police fired to stop the suspect from entering, then fired a second fatal shot when he began to move toward the officers.

The investigations unit sent a team to the village to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

Quebec provincial police, who are investigating the stabbings, said their officers were at the scene but did not provide any other updates as of early Sunday afternoon.</s>MONTREAL -- A 19-year-old man was shot and killed by police in northern Quebec early Saturday morning after a series of stabbings that left three people dead and two injured, Quebec's police watchdog said.

The independent investigations unit said its information suggests the suspect broke into three homes in the remote village of Akulivik during the night and stabbed five people, including a child around 10 years old who is among the fatalities.

The two surviving victims were in critical condition as of Saturday afternoon.

In a statement, the investigations unit said police intercepted the man as he was preparing to enter a fourth residence while armed with a knife.

They said it appears police fired once to stop the suspect from entering, then fired a second fatal shot when he began to move toward the officers.

"The police officers fired to prevent (the entry). The individual reportedly fell to the ground and rose to advance towards the police who fired again, hitting him mortally," the unit said in a statement.

A spokesman for the Kativik Regional Police force confirmed that its officers were the ones who responded to the incident.

"The KRPF officers neutralized the suspect at their arrival on the scene," Jean-Philippe Dubois said in an email, adding the force wouldn't comment further since the event is under investigation.

The investigations unit sent a team to the village to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting and confirm the accuracy of the account.

They were expected to arrive Saturday evening.

Quebec provincial police, who said they weren't involved in the incident, will investigate the stabbings.

Timothy Aliqu, a member of the village council, said he didn't have much information about what led the man to go "on a rampage," saying community leaders were likely to meet soon to talk about how to help their village cope with the tragedy.

"I have no idea what to do next," Aliqu told The Canadian Press.</s>The small Inuit community of Akulivik in Northern Quebec is reeling after a 19-year-old man was shot and killed by police early Saturday morning after a series of stabbings that left three people dead and two injured.</s>MONTREAL - Quebec's police watchdog says a 19-year-old man was shot and killed by police in northern Quebec early Saturday morning after a series of stabbings that left three people dead and two injured.

The independent investigations unit says it appears the suspect broke into three homes in the remote village of Akulivik during the night and stabbed five people, including a child around 10 years old who is among the fatalities.

The surviving two victims are in critical condition.

A statement from the investigation unit did not say which police force was involved.

The investigations unit says police intercepted the man as he was preparing to enter a fourth residence while armed with a knife.

Their information suggests police fired once to stop the man from entering, then fired a second fatal shot when he began to move toward the officers.

The unit has sent a team to the village to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

Quebec provincial police, who say they weren't involved in the incident, will investigate the stabbings.</s>Quebec’s police watchdog says a 19-year-old man was shot and killed by police in northern Quebec early Saturday morning after a series of stabbings that left three people dead and two injured.</s>MONTREAL—Quebec’s police watchdog says a 19-year-old man was shot and killed by police in northern Quebec early Saturday morning after a series of stabbings that left three people dead and two injured.

The independent investigations unit says it appears the suspect broke into three homes in the remote village of Akulivik during the night and stabbed five people, including a child around 10 years old who is among the fatalities.

The surviving two victims are in critical condition.

A statement from the investigation unit did not say which police force was involved.

The investigations unit says police intercepted the man as he was preparing to enter a fourth residence while armed with a knife.</s>MONTREAL — A 19-year-old man was shot and killed by police in northern Quebec early Saturday morning after a series of stabbings that left three people dead and two injured, Quebec's police watchdog said.

The independent investigations unit said its information suggests the suspect broke into three homes in the remote village of Akulivik during the night and stabbed five people, including a child around 10 years old who is among the fatalities.

The two surviving victims were in critical condition as of Saturday afternoon.

In a statement, the investigations unit said police intercepted the man as he was preparing to enter a fourth residence while armed with a knife.

Police fired to stop the 19-year-old from entering another home

 

 They said it appears police fired once to stop the suspect from entering, then fired a second fatal shot when he began to move toward the officers.

"The police officers fired to prevent (the entry). The individual reportedly fell to the ground and rose to advance towards the police who fired again, hitting him mortally,'' the unit said in a statement.

A spokesman for the Kativik Regional Police force confirmed that its officers were the ones who responded to the incident.

"The KRPF officers neutralized the suspect at their arrival on the scene,'' Jean-Philippe Dubois said in an email, adding the force wouldn't comment further since the event is under investigation.

The investigations unit sent a team to the village to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting and confirm the accuracy of the account.

They were expected to arrive Saturday evening.

Quebec provincial police, who said they weren't involved in the incident, will investigate the stabbings.</s>A man was shot and killed by police in the northern community of Akulivik after a stabbing spree left three family members dead and two others injured.

Among the dead is a child believed to be 10 years old.

A former community leader confirmed to CTV Montreal that the perpetrator was 19-year-old Illutak Anautak.

First reports indicate that the victims were Anautak's uncle Lucassie Anautak, a 10-year-old cousin, Patulik Anautak, and Eli Qinuajuak, who is married to an aunt.

Quebec’s bureau of independent investigations (BEI) is taking over the investigation with technical support from the Surete du Quebec. The BEI is involved in all cases in the province where someone is shot by a police officer.

According to the BEI, the suspect broke into three homes in the remote community early Saturday morning. Police intercepted Anautak as he was trying to break into a fourth home.

He was then allegedly shot once by police in an attempt to stop him from entering the home, and a second time when he came towards officers.

A spokesman for the Kativik Regional Police force confirmed that its officers were the ones who responded to the incident.

"The KRPF officers neutralized the suspect at their arrival on the scene," Jean-Philippe Dubois said in an email, adding the force wouldn't comment further since the event is under investigation.

There is no word on what may have motivated the spree.

Eight BEI investigators arrived on-scene in the fishing village on Saturday evening, as well as two investigators from the SQ who will investigate the stabbings.

However, the Surete du Quebec said they will not comment on the case at this time.

Akulivik, located approximately 1,700 km from Montreal, is home to just over 600 people.

Niali Aliqu, a 69-year-old woman from the community, said she heard screaming coming from her neighbour's home and she later learned he was one of the stabbing victims.

"Everything went so fast," Aliqu told CTV Montreal. "I was shaken up."

Soon after, a few houses down, Aliqu said she witnessed the confrontation between police and the perpetrator.

Another man, estimated to be in his 30's, was put on a four-wheeler and transported to the local health center.

Locals in the area are shaken, not knowing what drove the 19-year-old on his rampage. Aliqu believes that only a deep-rooted anger could drive someone in this type of attack.

"All I know is [the victims] were just like us-- just quiet," Aliqu said.

"We didn't know this was going to happen."</s>A 19-year-old was shot and killed by police in the northern Quebec village of Akulivik, after stabbings that killed three people and injured two others, provincial authorities said Saturday.

Among the fatalities is a child believed to be around 10 years old.

The 19-year-old suspect broke into three homes in the remote Nunavik community of 500 residents early Saturday morning, said Quebec’s independent investigations bureau (BEI), which investigates police-involved shootings.

They said police there located the man as he was trying to break into a fourth home in the small village, located about 1,700 kilometres north of Montreal.
Quebec police shoot and kill a 19-year-old suspect following a stabbing spree in the village of Akulivik which left three people dead and two others critically injured.