Professional bullfighter Cody Kahl said there was “shock, confusion” and “initial panic” when a stampede in Williams Lake, British Columbia, ended in a shooting that injured two people Sunday afternoon.
Thousands of people were evacuated from the arena on the final day of the Williams Lake Stampede, held for the first time since the pandemic began.
“You don’t expect something like this in small-town British Columbia,” Kahl told CBC News.
RCMP said they have arrested one suspect in the shooting, which they believe was “targeted.”
Two people were taken to hospital with gunshot wounds around 3:30 p.m. Sunday, an RCMP spokesman said in a phone interview.
Safe evacuation
Cal, 24, was one of three bullfighters who helped protect the bull riders on the run from the cattle during the event.
When they heard about the shooting, they sprung into action to help with the evacuation.
He estimated that there were about 3,000 spectators in the stands.
“You could definitely see everybody in the crowd stand up and look right at the top right corner of the bleachers,” said Cal, who lives in 150 Mile House, east of Williams Lake.
“And then suddenly someone yelled, ‘Gun!
“People in that corner kind of started panicking a little bit. There was a lot of movement directly down the stands… We all started unbuckling things and opened every door we could so everyone could get out as quickly and easily as possible.”
Those efforts — and calm instructions from the event announcer — helped ensure no one was hurt when they left the stands, said Cort Smith, president of the Williams Lake Association.
“Thousands of our patrons were safely evacuated,” Smith said in a post on the association’s Facebook page. “Our announcer did a fantastic job of getting people out of the facility.”
“We’re waiting for updates from the RCMP to see where things go from here,” Smith said.
Police said investigators suspect the shooting was targeted and do not believe there is any additional risk to members of the public, RCMP spokesman Chris Clark said in an interview Sunday evening.
“We believe the individuals were familiar,” Clark said.
He asked anyone with video of the incident to contact the Williams Lake RCMP.
The four-day standoff in the 800 block of Mackenzie Avenue South began on June 30.
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