Four people are dead and a 68-year-old Penticton man is in custody after a shooting spree in Penticton on Monday.
The incident prompted a massive police response, in which officers asked people to stay out of a large area of downtown Penticton.
UPDATE: Penticton RCMP release details of the days tragic events
“I understand that this is a deeply troubling incident that has taken place in our community,” said RCMP Supt. Ted De Jager.
“But I would like to once again confirm that we do have one individual in custody and we have been able to determine that this was a targeted incident. Determining why this occurred is a part of the priorities of our ongoing investigation.”
De Jager said the victims were two men and two women, and that the shootings took place in three locations.
He said the victims and the shooter knew one another. Police have not identified any of the victims, but family members have identified one of them as Penticton resident Rudi Winter.
WATCH: RCMP statement on Penticton shooting spree
He said the alleged shooter began at the the north side of the city around Heales Avenue, where one person was fatally shot.
Renee Myers, who lives near Heales Avenue and Lakeview Street in downtown Penticton, told Global News she heard shots fired.
“I didn’t see anything, I just heard really loud bangs that I thought were from the construction three doors down,” she said.
“A little while later I came out and saw the commotion here with the police cars, and a deceased person lying under the tree. He had been pruning the trees in that yard for the last couple of days. It’s pretty disturbing.”
The shooter then allegedly moved to a second scene near Cornwall Drive, where three people were fatally shot, police said.
Police said the suspect then drove to the Penticton RCMP detachment, where he turned himself in.
The coroner was seen arriving at the RCMP detachment at around 1 p.m.
A section of the detachment was behind yellow police tape, and police were seen photographing a black Volkswagen Jetta in the parking lot, which was towed away a short time later.
Residents were told to stay out of an area bordered by Eckhardt Avenue, Power Street, Lakeshore Drive and Main Street around 10:30 a.m. on Monday morning due to a “serious unfolding incident.”
RCMP initially sent the Emergency Response Team (ERT) to an additional location in the area of Skaha Lake Rd. and Yorkton Ave., but later determined the events were unrelated.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story quoted police saying that alleged shooter John Brittain was 60 years old. Police have corrected that information to state that he is in fact 68 years old.
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