A man in his 20s could be charged with robbery and assault with a weapon after he allegedly drove an off-road vehicle into a crowd at Princeton, BC's Curiosity Music Festival last weekend.
As festival organizers explained in a statement, the incident took place around 2:30 a.m. Sunday (June 30) at the event, which was held at Snug Lake Amphitheatre along Pike Mountain Forest Service Road in Princeton.
The festival's statement reads: "While responding to a medical call, our on site medical staff was assaulted. During the assault, the medical vehicle was hijacked. The hijacked UTV was then driven through fencing and down an embankment into an out of bounds area. With security in pursuit, the hijacked vehicle then proceeded at high speed towards our stage. The individual drove through the crowd and crashed into the stage injuring 7 people."
Four people were taken to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. Princeton RCMP told CBC News that festival security apprehended the man before he was arrested by police. Alcohol and substances use is believed to have been a factor in the incident.
Festival organizers called the hijacking "an isolated incident with unknown factors," and noted that counselling was offered to those involved. "This incident was unpredictable and all staff acted in the best possible way to respond and contain any further injury or threat," organizers wrote in a statement.
Anyone with further information on the incident is asked to contact the Princeton RCMP or Crime Stoppers. Find the festival's complete statement below.
As festival organizers explained in a statement, the incident took place around 2:30 a.m. Sunday (June 30) at the event, which was held at Snug Lake Amphitheatre along Pike Mountain Forest Service Road in Princeton.
The festival's statement reads: "While responding to a medical call, our on site medical staff was assaulted. During the assault, the medical vehicle was hijacked. The hijacked UTV was then driven through fencing and down an embankment into an out of bounds area. With security in pursuit, the hijacked vehicle then proceeded at high speed towards our stage. The individual drove through the crowd and crashed into the stage injuring 7 people."
Four people were taken to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. Princeton RCMP told CBC News that festival security apprehended the man before he was arrested by police. Alcohol and substances use is believed to have been a factor in the incident.
Festival organizers called the hijacking "an isolated incident with unknown factors," and noted that counselling was offered to those involved. "This incident was unpredictable and all staff acted in the best possible way to respond and contain any further injury or threat," organizers wrote in a statement.
Anyone with further information on the incident is asked to contact the Princeton RCMP or Crime Stoppers. Find the festival's complete statement below.
