Candlelight vigil being held for victims of Penticton shooting
Published Wednesday, April 17, 2019 9:47AM PDT
Last Updated Wednesday, April 17, 2019 6:59PM PDT
A candlelight vigil is being held in downtown Penticton Wednesday as the community mourns the four shooting victims whose lives were lost this week.
The event is being organized by the Penticton & Wine Country Chamber of Commerce and the Ooknakane Friendship Centre, who are inviting people to gather together at Gyro Park at 7:30 p.m.
Watch: Shooting suspect John Brittain arrives at court
"By acknowledging those whose lives were lost, offering support to anyone touched by the tragic events of this week, and thanking our first responders for their sense of duty and for protecting our city, we can be #pentictonstrong," reads a Facebook invitation for the event.
The victims were shot at three different locations in the city on Monday, including two homes that are side-by-side on Cornwall Drive.
Police have only identified them as two men and two women, all in their 60s and 70s. Heartbroken family members have named one of the deceased as Rudi Winter, who lives on Cornwall but was gunned down while doing yardwork outside a duplex near the city's downtown.
Authorities said the shootings were targeted, but have not confirmed a motive. Penticton city officials told CTV News bylaw officers had responded to several complaints between the Winters and a neighbour, but would not elaborate on the nature of the dispute.
The accused gunman, 68-year-old John Brittain, is a former civic engineer who has been described as a "quiet, unassuming person." His friend, Dave Folstad, said the accused wasn't the sort to lose his temper.
"He's a warm, respectable person," Folstad said. "I've never seen him raise his voice."
Brittain appeared calm and collected when he made a brief court appearance in connection with the killings on Tuesday. He's charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder.
Police said a suspect turned himself in shortly after the shooting by driving to the local RCMP detachment in a black Volkdswagen Jetta. The man walked inside unarmed.
Man charged in Penticton shootings a 'warm, respectable person,' friend says
John Brittain is escorted from the RCMP detachment in Penticton, B.C., on Tuesday, April 16, 2019, in this image made from video. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Amy Smart)
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