1 man dead, woman injured after police shooting in Keremeos, BC

A man is dead and a woman is seriously injured after they were both shot by police in Keremeos, BC

RCMP said in a news release that officers from their regional emergency response team attempted to arrest the man and woman around 7:45 a.m. Tuesday for outstanding warrants in the 4100 block of Highway 3, about 100 kilometers south of Kelowna.

Police said the man allegedly produced a weapon and was then shot by police. The woman was then shot as the situation continued.

The man died on the spot, and the woman was taken to hospital in a serious condition, the police said.

The RCMP’s explosive ordnance disposal unit was dispatched to the scene, which has been cordoned off and secured due to what police called “potential hazards.”

Neighbors say they heard gunshots

Ron and Carol Schiebel live at Sunkatchers RV Park about 10 miles northwest of Keremeos. The couple say they heard the entire police interaction and that it took place in a forest camp not far from their mobile home.

“About seven o’clock I was out drinking coffee in the back garden and I heard a loud siren,” said Ron. “Also [someone on] a speaker saying, ‘Get out, get out. We have a warrant for your arrest.”

Schiebel says he heard officers yelling and several loud bangs — what he believes may have been smoke bombs — over the next 60 minutes.

“It took a good hour,” he said. “And then all of a sudden after the last bang I heard four shots.”

The couple say they didn’t see the police action but heard it unfold — including several instances of what sounded like police yelling, “Put the gun down.”

They say the two people involved in the police interaction lived in a school bus tucked into the woods near the Similkameen River.

“There’s been people there for two years,” Carol said, referring to the forest camp. “This bus has been there for over a year and the locals have gone to the police … to try to get the people moved.”

The IIO is investigating

The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) in British Columbia is now investigating the matter. The office is called upon to investigate any case where police action or inaction may have contributed to serious injury or death.

The IIO is asking anyone with relevant information, dashcam or other video footage of the incident to call its number at 1-855-446-8477 or fill out the online form on the iiobc.ca website.