Dramatic arrest of man with knife in Kelowna mall

KELOWNA – About 20 RCMP officers swarmed the Orchard Park Mall in Kelowna last night, arresting a man with a knife inside one of the stores.

Police say at about 6:05 pm., Jan. 29, they responded to reports of a man wielding a knife at European Goldsmith in the mall.

"Our officers effectively cleared the immediate area inside the mall of civilian shoppers for their safety," Const. Jesse O'Donaghey says in a media release. “While several police officers, some armed with carbine rifles, made verbal contact with the suspect who was still inside the store and still in possession of a steak knife."

O’Donaghey says the emotionally disturbed man was yelling incoherently and had been in several stores brandishing his knife at employees and demanding they call 911.

When he refused to put down the knife, police tasered the suspect, but with no effect because of his thick clothing.

Officers eventually convinced the suspect, who was likely under the influence of drugs, to put down the knife and he was arrested.

"The mall remained open during the entire incident, however two of its stores were temporarily closed while investigators interviewed staff," O'Donaghey says in the release. "Thankfully no one was injured during this incident."

A 28-year-old man from Anaheim Lake was wanted on several unrelated warrants for his arrest out of Vernon and Dawson Creek.

He remains in custody and faces several charges including assault with a weapon and failure to comply with a probation order.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Howard Alexander at halexander@infonews.ca. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.