On Wednesday (Sep 30) just after 4:00 p.m., Kelowna RCMP responded to multiple 911 calls at Orchard Park Mall in Kelowna following reports of multiple victims of an assault with a weapon inside the shopping centre.
Frontline officers immediately attended and located multiple victims being treated by Emergency Health Services. The investigation determined that one of the victims had been assaulted by a group of men with a weapon inside the mall. The intended victim and the group of men who were not known to each other prior to the interaction. The group of men fled the area prior to police arriving on scene. With the assistance of an Orchard Park Mall security guard, one of the men was located in the vicinity of the mall and arrested without incident.
A large group of people, including families with children as young as 2 years old, were unintended victims of the assault and luckily suffered only what are believed to have been non life-threatening injuries. Some of victims affected were transported to hospital for further medical treatment.
“The mall was very busy at the time of the incident and we are looking for any witnesses or cellphone videos that may have been taken before, during or after the alleged assault,” says Cst. Solana Paré, Media Relations Officer for the Kelowna Regional RCMP. “We are asking anyone who witnessed something, or who might have cellphone video footage of the alleged assault to contact us.”
The suspect, a 21-year-old man from Surrey, was released on strict conditions to appear in court at a later date. The investigation is ongoing to identify the other persons involved.
Anyone with information regarding this crime is asked to call the Kelowna RCMP at (250) 762-3300. If you wish to remain completely anonymous you can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or by leave a tip online at www.crimestoppers.net.