Achi news desk-
As police tactical units descended on an industrial neighborhood on the outskirts of Kelowna, the fear of the unknown kicked in.
Eva Thiesen said it was around 2:30pm, Wednesday, when police rolled into the area and focused their attention on the Adams Road building that houses Adventure Trucks.
He sits just behind Bonanza Meats, where he works.
“They told us all to stay inside and they were all outside, guarding our whole back area,” Thiesen said, recalling how the police told them to stay inside and how those tactical units closed out.
“There were quite a few rifles … (we were) terrified. We didn’t know what was happening and we still don’t know what is happening. They are very tight-lipped about it.”
A day later, the police were still silent about the incident which prompted them to take heavy weapons to the area, bringing traffic along Highway 97 to a standstill.
There were also no explanations as to how the building caught fire, or whether unconfirmed reports of deaths are true.
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“We are not confirming anything at the moment. We can’t provide details until the officers go in and start to figure out what happened,” Cpl. said Michael Gauthier Thursday afternoon.
“At this point, it’s just speculation. So until they go in and start taking the evidence, we can’t confirm or provide anything.”
Gaulthier said the issue at hand is protecting evidence and ensuring that statements still being collected by officers at the scene are not tainted by information released to the public.
What the police will admit, however, was that whatever happened raised enough concern that they took action to protect public safety.
“That’s why we closed the highway down, evacuated some businesses around there, told others to shelter in place and told the public to stay out of the area,” said Gauthier.
“It’s over now. So what is happening is that there are some vehicles at the scene that our officers are working to clear for people who were not involved in the incident, or who have just had their vehicles parked there .”
And, he said, the police are “working from the outside in” at the moment.
They are still waiting for a search warrant that will allow them to enter legally and begin gathering evidence.
Gauthier said that everything must be done “correctly and methodically” and not expect immediate answers.
& copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
