One man is dead and another is in custody after an early morning shooting at a hotel in Nanaimo.

Police vehicles surrounded the Howard Johnson Hotel on Terminal Avenue around 8 a.m. on Wednesday and a forensic team was also on site.

RCMP say they were called to the hotel at 3:20 a.m.

Officers found one person dead in the lobby and at least two bullet cases were seen on the floor.

Police say RCMP officers stopped a vehicle in Duncan an hour later and a man was taken into custody.

"At this time, this appears to be a targeted shooting and investigators do not believe there is any risk to the public," said Const. Gary O'Brien of the Nanaimo RCMP.

Police haven’t said if the two men knew each other or if they were known to police, but did confirm one of them lived in Nanaimo.

The name of the man who was killed is being withheld until his family is notified.

The general manager told CTV News the victim was a registered guest of the hotel.

The BC Coroners Service has been contacted and the investigation is ongoing.

Mounties say it’s the first homicide in Nanaimo since two men were gunned down at the Western Forest Products Mill in 2014.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.