Update 3:44 p.m.
Kelowna RCMP says the man believed to be holding a firearm near Kerry Park Monday afternoon was an item altered to look like a firearm.
Just after 2 p.m., several police vehicles raced down Mill Street to the corner of Bernard Avenue after receiving multiple calls from the public reporting a man with a sawed-off long-barreled firearm wrapped in fabric, with a handkerchief over his face.
“Concerned for public and police safety, multiple front line officers descended on Kerry Park where they took multiple individuals into custody, without incident, during a dynamic high-risk arrest,” states Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey of the Kelowna RCMP.
One individual remains in police custody, pending further investigation. The other individuals also taken into police custody were released unconditionally, without charge.
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Police swarmed a downtown street in Kelowna by Kerry Park this afternoon.
So this is happening in #Kelowna downtown right now pic.twitter.com/foYhK36mCM
— sandi mustard (@gal_smiley) July 22, 2019
The corner of Bernard Ave. and Mill St. saw 10 RCMP cruisers descend on what looked to be a group of young homeless men.
The officers had the men crawl one by one towards them to handcuff them.
A witness said she was sitting down at a patio for lunch on Bernard Ave. when a man dressed fully in black walked by with what looked to be a gun wrapped in cloth.
She said by the time she left the restaurant, RCMP had several people apprehended in Kerry Park and there were helicopters, armoured vehicles and several RCMP cruisers on the scene.
It is not yet known what elicited the police response today in one of Kelowna’s busiest areas.
More to come.
@michaelrdrguezmichael.rodriguez@kelownacapnews.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
