UPDATED 1.12pm: A man shot and killed eight people in western Canada, including two children, before taking his own life.

The incident unfolded in three different locations in Edmonton, in the western province of Alberta.

Seven of those killed - three women, two men and the two children - were found in the same house, Edmonton police Cchief Rod Knecht said. The eighth victim was a woman.

"It's a tragic day for Edmonton ... with this multiple murder of eight people," Knecht said on Tuesday.

The events began late on Monday in the southern part of the city where a man was found to have "discharged his weapon" at a female victim and fled the scene, Knecht explained.

The suspected killer, whose relatives said was suicidal, then headed to a residence in the north of the city, where he killed another seven people.

After a first unsuccessful patrol, police returned to that house.

After forcing the door open, they discovered the bodies of the seven victims.

Working off of evidence and testimony, detectives quickly identified the suspected killer, who was not identified publicly.

He was found early on Tuesday in Fort Saskatchewan, a northeastern suburb of Edmonton, after committing suicide.