Straight Talk

Downtown Penticton shooting leaves four dead, one man arrested

by Craig Takeuchi on April 15th, 2019 at 2:15 PM
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      B.C. RCMP warned the public to stay away from downtown Penticton due to an unspecified situation that they only identified as a “serious and unfolding incident”. 

      Penticton RCMP issued an advisory at 11:22 a.m. today (April 15) asking the public to avoid the downtown area of Penticton and to remain indoors, whether in a residence or at a workplace until further notice.  

      The area that RCMP asked people to avoid was bordered by Eckhardt Avenue, Lakeshore Drive, Main Street, and Power Street.

      At 12:52 p.m., Southeast RCMP added that in addition to the previous defined area, the area around Skaha Lake Road and Yorkton Avenue should also be avoided.

       

      According to a B.C. RCMP news release issued at 3:22 p.m., Penticton South Okanagan Similkameen (PSOS) Regional Police officers responded to a report received just after 10:30 a.m. today about a man shot in the area of Westminster Avenue and Haynes Street.

      As officers were en route to search the area to locate the suspect, a second report came in about another person being shot.

      Around 11:30 a.m., a man turned himself into Penticton RCMP. The man, a 60-year-old resident of Penticton, remains in custody and the investigation is continuing on.

      Police confirmed that four people were killed at three locations within a five-kilometre radius.

      According to B.C. RCMP have stated that it appears to be a targeted incident; the accused and the four victims (two men and two women) were known to each other. The identities of the victims have not been released.

      Restrictions on the area have been lifted.

      Penticton MLA and former Penticton mayor Dan Ashton tweeted his condolences and prayers to all those affected by the incident.

      The Penticton incident took place one day after a separate shooting occurred on April 14 in Salmon Arm, in which two men were shot at the Church of Christ. Gordon Parmenter sustained fatal injuries while the other man is in hospital in stable condition and is expected to survive his injuries.  

      RCMP arrested 25-year-old Matrix Savage Gathergood and charged him with first-degree murder, aggravated assault, and intent to commit an indictable offence.

      You can follow Craig Takeuchi on Twitter at @cinecraig or on Facebook. 
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      Craig Takeuchi

      @Cinecraig

      The urban beastie otherwise known as Craig Takeuchi is a UBC BA (art history/film studies) and MFA (Creative Writing program, with a screenplay thesis) graduate who has had his fiction and non-fiction work published in numerous local and national publications. He's covered a wide range of topics...

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