By Don Urquhart, Times Chronicle
Reports of gunshots near the Sonora Community Centre in Osoyoos earlier today were a false alarm, according to Sgt. Jason Bayda, Commander of the Osoyoos RCMP detachment.
Responding to Times Chronicle queries, Bayda said: “It was a false alarm. There was no gun and no shots fired.”
Bayda said Osoyoos RCMP received a call from the Sonora Centre at 3:52 p.m. this afternoon (Nov. 28) reporting that two children had run in saying they saw a man with a gun at the bottom of the bus loop. While running away they heard what they thought were gunshots, and this prompted a significant police response said Bayda.
“While we flooded the area with police, we had an officer interview the children,” he said. In speaking with the children the police were able to gain a clearer picture of the situation.
“What they saw was a man with something pointy in his hand. They thought it could have been a gun and ran.” Bayda said that while running away, one child heard a “swooshing noise” which he noted is inconsistent with the sound of a firearm.
“They had no interaction with the man and he did not engage them,” Bayda noted. Despite this clearer picture the police nonetheless conducted a thorough search of the area including speaking to people in the neighbourhood as well as others who had been outside at the time of the occurrence.
“No one else saw the man and no one heard any gunshots. We also viewed CCTV in the area and found nothing to indicate anything of such had occurred,” Bayda said. “We are confident there was no firearm and no shots.”
Bayda added that a man arrested at Sonora Centre was detained for an “unrelated matter”.
