A Surrey man was arrested Wednesday following an incident at a Kelowna mall that left more than a dozen people, including children, suffering in its wake.
Just after 4 p.m., Sept. 29, Kelowna Mounties were called to the guest services area at Orchard Park Mall in Kelowna, B.C., after multiple people reported they were suffering the effects of bear spray being set off at the opening at the mall.
RCMP said in a press release that officers determined that one of the victims had been assaulted by a group of men “with a weapon” inside the mall.
“The intended victim and the group of men who were not known to each other prior to the interaction. The group of men fled the area prior to police arriving on scene,” RCMP said in a press release.
“With the assistance of an Orchard Park Mall security guard, one of the men was located in the vicinity of the mall and arrested without incident.”
A large group of people, including families with children as young as two years old, were unintended victims of the assault and luckily suffered only what are believed to have been non-life-threatening injuries.
Some of the victims affected were transported to hospital for further medical treatment.
“The mall was very busy at the time of the incident and we are looking for any witnesses or cellphone videos that may have been taken before, during or after the alleged assault,” Const. Solana Paré, media relations officer for the Kelowna Regional RCMP, said.
“We are asking anyone who witnessed something, or who might have cellphone video footage of the alleged assault to contact us.”
The suspect, a 21-year-old man from Surrey, was released on strict conditions to appear in court at a later date. The investigation is ongoing to identify the other persons involved.
Anyone with information regarding this crime is asked to call the Kelowna RCMP at 250-762-3300. If you wish to remain completely anonymous you can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or by leaving a tip online at www.crimestoppers.net.