Madison Erhardt
UPDATE: 4:50 pm
Brian Anderson had a front row seat along Prior Road North and Mugford Road in Rutland on Sunday.
Anderson says RCMP ERT members had been drawing snipers on Prior for most of the afternoon.
“One of the cops down here, there were three police cars, and he held up his gun and said come back inside, please, sir. So that’s how it started. Then they came here and talked to us and asked if they could basically use our house as a staging, “he said.
Anderson says he and his wife were told to stay in the basement or in their back yard.
“He was actually in our bedroom facing the house and two guys were under our trees, so we pretty much saw everything that was going on.”
Anderson says the house in question is an apartment building and many families come and go.
“The police show up in this house more often than in most houses.”
Shortly after 2 p.m. Anderson said the heavily armed emergency team had left the area.
“The guy here says I’m sorry I messed up your house, but what we have to do here is over now. I said ‘Well, did you get him?’ and he said, ‘I am not free to discuss it.’ “
Kelowna RCMP has confirmed the incident that occurred early Sunday morning along Prior Road North and Mugford Road.
“I can confirm that the Kelowna RCMP has received a complaint about a potential crime. Due to the nature of the complaint, additional resources were deployed at the crime scene to ensure the safety of the public and officials, ”the email read.
A local witness reported that Castanet RCMP cruisers are still in the Prior Road North area and Mugford Road in Rutland.
UPDATE: 3:15 pm
Several RCMP cruisers remain in a house near Prior Road North and Mugford Road in Rutland.
The police have had a strong presence near the apartment building since around 10 a.m., but the nature of the incident remains unclear.
A witness told Castanet News that police cruisers have been cruising the neighborhood for at least half an hour.
A local reporter said the area still appears to be very active. Both Prior Road North and Mugford Road will remain closed to traffic.
UPDATE: 1:50 PM
Two adults and a young child reportedly left a house that was the target of dozens of RCMP officers on Sunday, but it is unclear whether the police incident remains active.
Police have been closing Prior Road North and Mugford Road in Rutland since about 10 a.m., focusing their attention on a single house on Prior.
At around 1 p.m., a local witness said two adults and a baby were being escorted out of the house.
“Lots [officers] went in to take them out, “said Todd Devries.
“At the moment there are still some people in the house, they leave the sirens and everything just to try to get them out of the house.”
While the RCMP Emergency Response Team arrived on site on Sunday, Devries said it began to leave the area around 1:40 p.m.
What led to the serious police incident is still unclear. Castanet reached out to the Kelowna RCMP for details.
Devries says he heard police officers tell the neighbors of the house in question to stay in their basements.
UPDATE: 12:10 PM
The RCMP Emergency Response Team arrived at the police incident in Rutland on Sunday.
While the nature of the incident remains unclear, the police presence on the corner of Prior Road North and Mugford Road has increased significantly in the past two hours.
There are now at least a dozen police vehicles in the area, along with several ERT vehicles, according to Todd Devries. He says the police seem to be concentrating on a house on Prior Road North and sometime before noon he heard police shouting, “Down, down.”
The ERT consists of specially trained officers who “use tactics, special weapons and equipment to resolve high-risk situations”.
ORIGINAL: 11 a.m.
Police officers drew their guns in front of a house in Rutland on Sunday morning.
Just after 10 a.m., police cordoned off the corner of Prior Road North and Mugford Road, and officers have been on site for about 45 minutes.
A witness at the scene says officers appear to be focused on a house on Prior Road North and a strip of barbs has been laid across the residential street.
“They’re all just standing on the corner with their rifles drawn,” said Alanna Kasper.
It is currently unclear what the police brought into the area. Castanet will update this story as more information becomes available.
