Yellowknife (Apr 19/04) - Police have taken three people into custody in connection with what officials are calling a "suspicious" death early Friday morning about 30km outside of Yellowknife.

The RCMP are not releasing the victim's name or the circumstances surrounding the death, saying only that a firearm was involved.

"We're still in the process of investigating the incident and we don't have a lot of information at this time," RCMP Sgt. Daryl Key said Friday afternoon.

At around 2 a.m. Friday morning, police responded to a call of a death at a small, wooden shack about 10km east of Boundary Creek, about a half hour outside of Yellowknife.

The 'G' division Emergency Response Team was deployed to secure the scene, but contrary to media reports, there was no armed standoff with police, said RCMP Insp. Paul Richards.

Three people -- two men and one woman -- were taken into custody for questioning, but, as of Friday afternoon, no charges had been laid, said Key.

While police would not comment on the specific circumstances surrounding the death, a neighbour, who declined to be identified, said one of the men taken into custody walked into his house early Friday morning and said "I killed him."

"He woke me up. I didn't get any sleep. It's been a really bad day for me," the neighbour said.

Key could not say if the victim had been shot or if police were in the midst of a murder investigation.

"For now, all we can say is the death has been described as suspicious," he said.

The neighbour, who lives about a kilometre away from the shack where the body was found, said he knew at least one of the men taken into custody.

Key said the investigation was ongoing and the victim's name would be released once police notified his next of kin.

"We're still in the process of questioning those in custody and examining the scene," he said.

Highway 3 was closed for about five hours while police conducted their investigation. As of Friday morning the only sign of police activity at the scene was a lone police cruiser blocking the driveway that leads to the wooden shack.