RCMP said in a news release that officers from their regional emergency response team attempted to arrest the man and woman around 7:45 a.m. on Tuesday for outstanding warrants in the 4100 block of Highway 3, about 100 kilometers south of Kelowna. Police said the man allegedly produced a gun and was then shot by police. The woman was then shot as the situation continued. The man died at the scene and the woman was taken to hospital in serious condition, police said. The RCMP’s explosive ordnance disposal unit was dispatched to the scene, which has been cordoned off and secured, due to what police called “potential hazards.”
Neighbors say they heard gunshots
Ron and Carol Schiebel live at Sunkatchers RV Park about 10 miles northwest of Keremeos. The couple say they overheard the entire police interaction and that it took place in a forest camp not far from their mobile home. “Around seven o’clock I was out having coffee in the back yard and I heard a loud siren,” said Ron. “And after [someone on] a loudspeaker saying: “Get out, get out. We have a warrant for your arrest.” Schiebel says he heard police yelling and several loud bangs — what he believes may have been smoke bombs — over the next 60 minutes. “It took a good hour,” he said. “And suddenly after the last bang, I heard four shots.” The couple say they didn’t see the police operation, but heard it play out – including several instances where it sounded like police shouting: “Put down the gun”. They say the two people involved in the police interaction lived in a school bus that was hidden in the woods near the Similkameen River. “There’s been people there for two years,” Carol said, referring to the forest encampment. “That particular bus was there for over a year and the locals went to the police … to try to move people.”
IIO investigating
British Columbia’s Independent Investigations Office (IIO) is now investigating. The office is required to investigate any case where police action or inaction may have contributed to serious harm or death. The IIO is asking anyone with information, dash cam or other video of the incident to call 1-855-446-8477 or fill out the online form at iiobc.ca.
