Quebec police search for 'armed and dangerous' man in St-Elzéar-de-Bonaventure

Quebec provincial police police are telling people to avoid Saint-Elzéar-de-Bonaventure on the Gaspé peninsula, or stay inside if they are in the area already as they search for a man considered armed and dangerous.

The town is about 640 kilometres northeast of Quebec City.

In an alert sent to cell phones Friday afternoon, the Sûreté du Québec said an "armed and dangerous suspect" is in the affected area. People should shelter indoors, lock the doors and stay away from windows, the alert said.

People should follow instructions of local authorities, check local media for details or visit a provincial emergency alert website.

Calling him an imminent threat to Saint-Elzéar on Twitter, the SQ describes the suspect as 5-10 and 138 pounds with brown hair and green eyes.

He is wearing jeans, a black top with a Jack Daniels logo and motorcycle boots. If they see him, witnesses should call 911, police say.

The suspect is not named on Twitter, though the SQ did publish a photo.

A spokesperson with the SQ told CBC News that the man was in a state of mental crisis when he left his home at 2 a.m. in Saint-Elzéar-de-Bonaventure and he is armed. Police are looking for him around the intersection of Central Road and Route de l'Est.

While people throughout southern Quebec received the emergency alert on their phone, the SQ later clarified on Twitter that the emergency is specific to Saint-Elzéar-de-Bonaventure in the Gaspé region.

However, some in the Gaspé region said they didn't get an alert.

The emergency alert was issued by Quebec Alert Ready and ordered by the Ministry of Public Security. Quebec Alert Ready says the alert was sent out to the entire province at 3:24 p.m. Friday with the severity level set to "extreme."

"We are aware that the alert triggered in the Saint-Elzéar-de-Bonaventure sector, in Gaspésie, was heard across the province," the SQ said on Twitter, not two hours after the first alert.

"We are also aware of the inconvenience this may have caused to some. Verifications are underway to determine what caused this issue."

Still the alert remains in effect for residents of the Saint-Elzéar-de-Bonaventure area, the SQ says. Saint-Elzéar-de-Bonaventure has a population of about 2,600 residents.