Hundreds of people were evacuated from the Interior Health Building in downtown Kelowna Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019 after a report of a suspicious package.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Shilo Ashbury
Republished February 20, 2019 - 11:42 AM
Original Publication Date February 20, 2019 - 11:04 AM
KELOWNA - Orlando Russo was sitting beside the suspicious bag that triggered the evacuation of the Interior Health building in downtown Kelowna this morning.
"It was kind of tense there for a bit," Russo told iNFOnews.ca shortly after the evacuation ended. "But this is Kelowna. Nothing like that happens in Kelowna."
He was waiting for his son, who was in a counselling session when an Interior Health worker noticed the bag, which Russo suspects was left behind by a client. Russo was able to see into the bag when the worker checked it.
"It looked like it was a battery," Russo said. "But it was probably a wireless speaker."
Still, that triggered the evacuation that lasted until just before 11 a.m. today, Feb. 20.
Kelowna RCMP confirmed in a news release that at 10:14 am a suspicious package was reported on the second floor of the building in the 500 block of Doyle Avenue.
Several members of the Kelowna RCMP assisted with evacuating the occupants while a police dog cleared the building. The package was determined to not be suspicious in nature and all employees and occupants were allowed back inside.
RCMP Const. Cory Hedrei carries off the police tape after the evacuation of the Interior Health building in downtown Kelowna ended.
(ROB MUNRO / iNFOnews.ca)
— This story was updated at 11:40 a.m. Wednesday Feb. 20, 2019 with new information from the scene and RCMP.
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