Police seize over 50 real, replica firearms since Sept. 1 in DTES: VPD

Police in Vancouver say they have seized more than 50 real and replica firearms from the Downtown Eastside since the beginning of September.

Sgt. Steve Addison tells 1130 NewsRadio that officers also found body armour, ammunition, dozens of knives, and other makeshift weapons.

Many of the items were seized from single-room occupancy buildings, he says, and in some cases, police were on other calls when they became aware of the weapons.

“In one case, our officers were at a building for a completely unrelated call where a staff member informed them, and said there was a stockpile of knives and guns in a vacant room,” Addison said.

“In another case, our officers responded to a call at a different building and saw weapons in plain view, which means they responded to a call when they observed the weapons in a room and were able to seize them and take custody of them.”

Addison says police are now working backward to determine whether the weapons were used in the course of any criminal activity.

“Sometimes they’re used by people who are involved in organized crime, street-level gangs that operate in the Downtown Eastside. We’re not at the point at this stage in these investigations where we can say conclusively that that’s the case, but that’s certainly something that we’re looking into,” he said.

Addison adds that Downtown Eastside makes up about three per cent of the population in Vancouver, and while it’s a small geographical area, it accounts for about 28 per cent of weapon calls and about 40 per cent of violent crimes in Vancouver.