A small explosion in a room at the Glenwood Inn and Suites in Trail early Sunday morning was cause for alarm for both the Inn and its occupants.
The Greater Trail RCMP attended the scene and said in a release that the explosion started a fire in an adjacent room.
“A search of the room where the explosion occurred uncovered firearms and ammunition,” said RCMP Cpl. James Grandy.
Officers located and arrested a 48-year-old man nearby, suspected to be associated to the room.
According to RCMP, the man faces numerous firearms offences.
A spokesperson from the Glenwood Inn confirmed that everyone was safe and all the guests evacuated and relocated to alternative accommodations.
The spokesperson said that they did not know the cause, and were also awaiting information from the RCMP.
“It’s hard to tell what actually happened, there is a lot of rumours, but I can’t really confirm that. We had an issue with one of the rooms, broken glass, and called the RCMP.
“Everybody responded quite quickly, there were no injuries, everybody was safe. But we took it quite seriously, and the RCMP took it very seriously.”
The Inn was also hosting several guests and a visiting U18 hockey team from Williams Lake. But the spokesperson said that staff were able to attend the scene, and move some of their affected guests to the Crown Columbia and Best Western hotels for the remainder of the night.
“We are very glad none of the guests got hurt, and happy and very proud of the team coming in and taking care of business for the safety of everyone.”
The RCMP said they are looking for another Caucasian male suspect in his 30s with dark hair and brown eyes that may have burns on his body.
The Glenwood also wanted to thank Selkirk Security officer Joya McIntyre for her diligence and professionalism during the incident, as well as the quick response from Kootenay Boundary Regional Fire Rescue and the RCMP.
The cause of the explosion remains under investigation. Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to contact the RCMP at 250-364-2566.