Several injured as man fires pellet gun near Burnaby school

Police have arrested a young man after as many as six people were injured Monday afternoon when someone hiding in bushes near a Burnaby, B.C., school fired a pellet gun at people standing at a bus stop, police said.

An 18-year-old former student of the school was taken into custody shortly before 6 p.m. PT, Burnaby RCMP said.

A bus driver saw a man in the bushes at about 3 p.m. near Burnaby Mountain Secondary School, at 8800 Eastlake Dr., and went to confront him, police said.

"Upon doing so, the male suspect pulled out a canister of bear spray and sprayed the bus driver," Cpl. Alexandra Mulvihill said in a news release.

"The suspect male then [started] running from the area, still firing from the pellet gun."

As many as six people suffered minor injuries after being hit by pellets and were treated by paramedics at the scene, police said.

There was no word on the condition of the bus driver.

Officers with police dogs searched the area for the young man.

Investigators were still trying to find out the motive for the attack, which they believe was random.

The day's classes at the school were already finished when the incident took place, but the school was briefly locked down as a precaution, Mulvihill said.