Eight people were injured in a mass stabbing in a rural area near Kelowna early Sunday morning, according to the RCMP.
Just before 2 a.m., RCMP officers, firefighters and paramedics were called to the Postill Lake Road area after multiple people were stabbed at a bush party.
Mounties say a group of teenagers were partying in the area when a second group arrived. The situation escalated into a violent altercation.
Paramedics rushed eight people to hospital. Two males, aged 18 and 16, remain in hospital being treated for serious stab wounds. Four adult men — three aged 19 and one 18 — and a 17-year-old male youth sustained non-life-threatening wounds and have since been released from hospital. A 25-year old woman was also treated for injuries caused by a blunt object.
The suspect, another adult male, has been released from police custody without charge pending further investigation. Mounties have identified potential suspects from both parties involved in the altercation.
“This is a large and complex investigation, and we are still in the beginning stages of gathering evidence and speaking to witnesses, victims and suspects,” says Cpl. Jocelyn Noseworthy of the Kelowna RCMP.
At least some of the victims are students of Rutland Senior Secondary (RSS) in Kelowna. School District 23 superintendent Kevin Kaardal told the Capital News the district’s critical incident response team has been coordinating counselling supports with the school’s principal to provide services to any students or staff who request help.
The RCMP is requesting that anyone with information call the West Kelowna detachment at 250-768-2880.
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