A South Okanagan man was arrested for firing a rifle inside his apartment suite this week, nearly injuring a resident on the floor above him.
According to Oliver RCMP, Daniel Khafizov, 30, was arrested for repeatedly firing his .22 calibre rifle inside his suite on Monday, January 7th. Police say a tenant contacted them, stating that he was sitting on a couch in his apartment when he heard a loud bang. The tenant added that a cushion beside him now had a hole in it and stuffing was coming out of it.
The tenant said he lived on the second floor of a three-floor building that was divided into three units. The building is located south of Oliver, near Road 11.
Police said the tenant believed the loud bang came from the unit below him, which was occupied by Khafizov.
Police added that when they arrived, a third-floor tenant had exited the building. That tenant said he heard several loud bangs and saw pieces of metal on his floor.
Police say they got Khafizov to exit his bottom-floor unit and arrested him. A reported search of his apartment found spent .22 calibre shells, a .22 calibre rifle and several small bullet holes in his ceiling and walls.
Police say small bullet holes were also found in the floors and ceilings of the middle- and top-floor units.
Khafizov has reportedly been charged with several firearms offences.
RCMP said there was no reason to believe Khafizov was targeting his upstairs tenants; rather, he was carelessly firing the rifle indiscriminately into his ceiling and walls.