The shotgun seems to be the firearm of choice for Winnipeg criminals, judging by the sheer number of them police pull off the street.
According to Det. Rob Duttchen, a Winnipeg police officer who's a member of the National Weapons Enforcement Support Team (NWEST), the shotgun's status as a non-restricted weapon means they are easy to get, and therefore widely used in crime.
"That's the easiest firearm to obtain lawfully. Ergo, it's the largest percentage of guns available in the general population," Duttchen said.
On April 22, police seized five shotguns, a submachine-gun and ammunition that were left lying around at a house party on Burrows Avenue. In total, 138 criminal charges were laid against the five people police say were involved in that home.
But Duttchen said it really doesn't matter what kind of gun it is -- criminals will use any type.
Guns find their way into criminal hands in three ways, Duttchen said: through break-and-enters where lawful owners have their guns stolen, through lawful owners or gun businesses that "loan" their weapons to criminals, or from organized crime networks that smuggle guns into the country.
The largest-ever gun seizure in Winnipeg was in November 2002 when hundreds of firearms were taken from a city gun collector during an investigation into a murder suspect who escaped jail. The 62-year-old military gun collector was charged with 85 firearms offences after officers seized 350 guns.
Some criminals will pay a premium for "status guns" like automatic handguns, which are prohibited weapons in Canada, Duttchen said.
Asked if Manitoba's proximity to the U.S. border has an impact on the number of guns found on city streets as a result of smuggling, Duttchen said it definitely is an issue.
"The reality is that there are firearms smuggled into Manitoba, be they directly from the States or from various criminal routes across Canada and into Winnipeg," he said.
The most recent statistics show that the 2006 rate of violent crime involving firearms across Canada remained stable for the fourth straight year.
Most concerning is that the rate of youths using guns in committing crime, primarily robberies, has risen 32 per cent since 2002.
According to Statistics Canada, Winnipeg had the second-highest rate of gun violence in the country, narrowly edged out of top spot by Vancouver.
james.turner@freepress.mb.ca
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