A man has died and three people have been injured in a series of incidents on Skye and in Dornie on the west Highland mainland.
Police were initially called to a report of a 32-year-old woman being injured a property in Tarskavaig, on Skye, shortly before 09:00.
Officers were then called to an incident about eight miles away (13km) in Teangue at about 09:30.
Police said a gun was fired and a 47-year-old man died at the scene.
Police were later called to an incident in Dornie, near Kyle of Lochalsh on the Scottish mainland, where a gun was also fired.
A man was seriously injured and taken to hospital in Inverness, while a woman was taken to hospital on Skye.
Police said the incidents were linked and a 39-year-old man had been arrested. He has also been taken to hospital.
Ch Supt Conrad Trickett said: "Incidents such as this are thankfully extremely rare but I understand that this will have a significant effect on the local community in these rural areas.
"I would like to reassure people that we are treating these incidents as contained with no wider threat to the public.
"There will a significant police presence in the area over the coming days and we will be working with partners to provide support to the local community."
The Scottish Ambulance Service said multiple ambulances, air ambulances, a special operations response team and an emergency medical retrieval service team attended the scenes.
In a tweet, Ian Blackford, SNP MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber, said it was very concerning news and that his thoughts were with all those affected.
He said: "As more details come to light, the response of the emergency services seems to have stopped this incident spreading even further than it did.
"Thank you for the work that you do."
"Shock and horror" after Skye and Lochalsh shootings - Ian Blackford
Local MSP Kate Forbes and Highland Council convener Bill Lobban have also praised the work of the emergency services.
Mr Lobban said: "We are thankful to our emergency services colleagues for bringing this very serious and shocking incident to a close.
"We will be providing support to the communities and our partners in every way possible.
"The communities of Skye and Dornie will be shocked and saddened by these incidents and our thoughts are with the individuals affected."
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from Via PakapNews