The return of the much-loved Canada Day fireworks in Osoyoos was a huge hit, with many calling the pyrotechnics display the best in B.C., comparable or even better than the Celebrations of Lights in Vancouver.
But some boaters eager to get a closer view, got a little more bang for their buck than they expected, said Osoyoos RCMP.
“A few boats snuck into the drop zone and the results surprised them. Luckily there were no reports of injuries,” said Osoyoos RCMP Sgt. Jason Bayda.
The fireworks are set off from the water so there could have been injuries, said police.
Normally the RCMP are there to patrol the waters so boaters don’t get too close but they were tied up dealing with a shooting that happened a couple of hours earlier at White Sands, a popular party beach on Osoyoos Indian Band land.
As for the comments on social media that something went wrong with the fireworks in the beginning, that isn’t true, said Bayda.
The fireworks went off the way they are supposed to, said Bayda.
Steven Marlo Gallagher, 29, has now been charged with aggravated assault, pointing a firearm and unlawfully discharging a firearm in relation to a 22-year-old Maple Ridge man being shot at White Sands on Canada Day.
Gallagher, who is well known to police, was wanted since July 1 but turned himself in Wednesday at the Penticton RCMP.