By James Peters

Police Incident

RAW VIDEO: Shots fired on Columbia Street

Oct 16, 2020 | 8:03 AM

KAMLOOPS — NOTE: This story has been updated here.

UPDATE — 10:20 a.m.: Scores of RCMP members have their sights trained on the Hospitality Inn in Lower Sahali after the report of shots fired Friday morning (Oct. 16).

Columbia Street West is blocked to traffic between Sahali Terrace and McGill Road, and three nearby schools are under ‘hold-and-secure’ protocol – Beattie Elementary, Sa-Hali Secondary and St. Ann’s Academy.

Rob Chrystall is staying at Hospitality Inn with his 18-year-old son while Chrystall attends Thompson Rivers University.

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He says the sound of shotgun blasts interrupted their morning routine.

“Just getting ready for school, cooking breakfast for my son and then the shots started happening. He was in the shower and had no idea what was going on until he came out,” Chrystall told CFJC Today. “I phoned 911 and told him just to stay in the [unit]. I went out to look if the cops were coming yet. They were already there and they told me to put my hands up and walk toward them, just for precautionary purposes.”

“Two, probably, shotgun blasts, I would say, and three shots that were small arms – .22 or nine-millimetre, I would say. Something small,” Chrystall continued. “There was yelling and screaming and the F-bomb, and then somebody said, ‘Drop the gun’ a couple of times and then the shots started.”

While Chrystall was ushered away from the scene, his son remained in their rental unit.

“He’s old enough to take care of himself, but a little freaked out,” said Chrystall. “We’re from the country, from Clearwater, so we’re not used to this kind of stuff. There was an incident here last week, too, when the cops came, canine units, et cetera.”

There is no word if anyone was injured in the shooting.

Reports on social media suggest RCMP Emergency Response Team (ERT) members are rushing toward Kamloops from Kelowna.

RCMP have not said how long they expect their response to take.

WATCH: (Video Credit: CFJC Today / Dave Barry)