Police drama in Kelowna as pipe bomb seen in car

UPDATE: 1 p.m.

Kelowna RCMP have confirmed a front-line officer saw what appeared to be a home-made pipe bomb inside a vehicle he had stopped on Highway 97 early Tuesday morning.

Cpl. Meghan Foster says the officer stopped a red Toyota Echo about 3:15 a.m. on the highway near Ambrosi Street.

The driver, who was prohibited from operating a motor vehicle, was taken into custody.

“During his interaction with the driver, the officer spotted what appeared to be a home-made pipe bomb,” said Foster.

“As a precaution vehicular and pedestrian traffic in the area was diverted away from the man’s vehicle, until police could appropriately consult with the RCMP Explosive Disposal Unit in Vancouver.”

The vehicle was towed to the vacant field on Springfield Road, where members of the bomb squad safely removed, and disposed of the item.

The driver of the vehicle, a 38-year-old man out of Surrey, is expected to appear in court today.

UPDATE: 12:15 p.m.

RCMP have cleared the scene off Springfield Road, where the bomb squad had a robot focused on an older Toyota Echo in the middle of a field.

Police have yet to issue an official statement on the incident.

UPDATE: 11:45 a.m.

Events ongoing at an empty field on Springfield Road apparently began several hours earlier on Highway 97.

One witness told Castanet News the red vehicle was parked on the highway just north of Spall about 4 a.m.

The northbound lanes of Highway 97 were shut down until about 6 a.m., when the vehicle was towed to the empty lot, as police awaited the arrival of the bomb squad.

RCMP have not indicated why the vehicle had been initially stopped.

Castanet will have more information as it becomes available.

The RCMP bomb squad has detonated a package underneath a red compact vehicle that is parked in a field across from Springfield Funeral Home on Springfield Rd.

RCMP have been on the scene since just after 10 a.m. Tuesday morning.

Photo: Miriam Halpenny