UPDATE: Kelowna man arrested after suspicious package prompts bomb squad call

KELOWNA – A man has been arrested after an RCMP bomb squad was called in to remove a suspicious package from an alleyway in Kelowna last night.

RCMP secured the area around the 400-block of Wardlaw Avenue after an abandoned backpack was found in an alley around noon yesterday, April 17.

“Given some of the contents of the observed in the bag, RCMP have called out our Explosives Disposal Unit from the Lower Mainland,” Const. Jesse O’Donaghey said in a media release.

Residents of six houses were evacuated but were allowed back home around 10 p.m., shortly after the explosive disposal unit squad disposed of the package.

A 25-year-old Kelowna man has since been arrested by RCMP in Merritt. He remains in custody and is facing potential charges of mischief and unlawful possession of explosive materials.

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— This story was updated at 9:30 a.m., Monday, April 18, 2016, to include new information from RCMP.

— This story was updated at 10:08 a.m., Monday, April 18, 2016, to include information about the arrest.

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