Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Halloween ‘bomb’ suspects found

10 Pemberton youths to take part in restorative justice process

By Clare Ogilvie

Police have identified 10 suspects in the two pipe bomb explosions that rocked Pemberton last week.

In two separate incidents organized by the same group of youths Halloween fireworks were bundled together into PVC pipe, capped and then detonated. On Monday night, Oct. 23, one was placed inside a port-a-poti and on Tuesday night, Oct. 24, another was placed in a metal garbage bin.

“I heard the explosion from my home,” said RCMP Cpl. Paul Vadik who has identified 10 suspects in the bombings.

“Bombs go off in Iraq, they don’t go off in Pemberton.

“Just imagine you are driving along the highway in Pemberton and all of a sudden you hear this huge bang and these metal objects hit your car and you jerk the wheel and are in a head on collision, that’s the what if’s we are talking about here.”

The explosions were so violent, said Vadik, that metal from the garbage can flew out onto the highway. Debris was located 65 feet away.

“People jog there, they walk their babies,” said Vadik.

The 10 suspects will take part in a restorative justice process rather than go through the court system. They will have to pay restitution, apologize to Pemberton’s mayor, council and other community members. They will also have to do community service.

“They are all good kids but they exercised very poor judgment and now they are going to pay,” said Vadik, adding that he was surprised to learn of youths taking these kind of risks with Halloween fireworks.

“It is not like the message isn’t delivered every year, but kids say ‘well it won’t happen to me,’ or ‘let’s try it’ or ‘we can get away with it.’”