Neighbours shocked by homicide in Rutland

UPDATE: RCMP confirms a 35-year-old man is dead and they are currently searching for a suspect. No arrests have been made and police are calling the death a homicide. A report of shots being fired was received by police around 6:07 a.m. Police do not believe this was a random attack. No other details have been released.

Original Story:

“I can’t go back into my home because my neighbour is dead.”

Neighbours were gathered on Hein Road in Rutland before 8 a.m. on Friday for the possible death of a resident. According to neighbours who spoke with KelownaNow, the man who lived in the home in the 400 block of Hein Road was shot and killed, yet no one heard the gunshot. He reportedly has a 15-year-old daughter but it is unknown if she was at home at the time of the incident.

This is the same fourplex that was targeted in a drive-by shooting in 2013. Several rounds were fired at the home and vehicle, but it’s unclear if that incident is related to this latest investigation.

When media arrived on the scene, Hein Road was flooded with police cars, officers and tape, but officers quickly honed in on a single structure. A police dog was called to the area but was called off as the investigation focused on one of the homes in the fourplex.

The woman living next door to the victim told KelownaNow that she was told to get out of her house and she fled in socked feet while officers entered her home and her neighbour's place. She was eventually given shoes and her dog and was taken in by others on the street.

Shortly after the news broke about the incident, the victim's brother arrived in a panic. When neighbours told him his brother was dead he broke down on the street screaming and crying. Neighbours from all over rushed to comfort him as he was visibly shocked by the news.

RCMP have yet to confirm the details of the incident and say they will update the public later today with information. KelownaNow will update readers once more information becomes available.