‘It’s almost like an arms race’: kids making machetes weapon of choice on city streets

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This article was published 15/03/2024 (569 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Community activist Mitch Bourbonniere wasn’t surprised when Winnipeg’s police chief revealed a recent string of attacks carried out by machete-wielding kids.

The social worker, who has confiscated “many” machetes from children, said the incidents reflect what he is encountering on the streets.

“I’m seeing lots of machetes out there,” he told the Free Press Friday. “For a while, it was bear spray. Now, it’s machetes.”

The attacks renewed discussions about how to keep children out of crime and how to keep machetes and weapons out of the wrong hands.

“Whatever anyone wants to try, please try it,” said Bourbonniere, noting at-risk kids need more supervision, support and guidance from responsible adults.

Retail sales of machetes — which have legitimate and legal uses, such as brush-clearing — are permitted in Manitoba. Some stores take steps to prevent sales to minors. The blades can be ordered online from major and smaller retailers.

Police and activists said kids acquire machetes through a variety of means. Bourbonniere said a black market includes examples of adults selling machetes to “disillusioned” children.

“It’s a form of exploitation,” he said.

There are also examples of children taking a legitimately-owned machete from their home or stealing one during a break-in.

Bourbonniere said some kids follow the lead of others when they arm themselves.

“It’s almost like an arms race, where, ‘I need it for protection,’ or ‘I need it for power’ — ‘if everybody’s getting them, now I need to get one,’” he said.

On Thursday, Winnipeg Police Service Chief Danny Smyth said it’s “pretty easy” to acquire a machete, while discussing the attacks allegedly carried out by kids in foster care in the child-welfare system.

“You can get anything off the internet, just about,” he said. “They’re not necessarily buying it from a store. They could, probably, but it’s not that hard to get knives and machetes.”

One of the incidents involved a machete attack on a woman waiting at a bus stop near St. Mary’s Road and Riel Avenue.

“The violence that we’re seeing is remarkable. They’re wielding machetes and using them almost what appears to be indiscriminately,” said Smyth.

Last year, the Progressive Conservative government brought in regulatory changes to make it more difficult to obtain bear spray, following a spike in attacks involving the repellent.

“I’m seeing lots of machetes out there. For a while, it was bear spray. Now, it’s machetes.”–Social worker

Retailers have to obtain a customer’s photo identification, validate the buyer’s information and register serial numbers when more than two cans are sold.

Bourbonniere said it’s possible some kids have opted to carry a machete because it’s harder to find a can of bear spray now.

The notion of governments placing restrictions on machete sales has been suggested before.

“They should move immediately to put pressure on stores to restrict the sales of machetes,” said activist Sel Burrows. “Everything we can do to make it more difficult for kids to get a weapon, including machetes, should be done immediately.”

Burrows previously called for machetes to be classified as a prohibited weapon in Canada.

Some retailers have set up hurdles for in-store or online sales.

At Bianca Amor’s Liquidation Supercentre on St. James Street, machetes priced from $19 were hanging on a wall behind a staffed counter Friday.

Signs indicated customers must be 18 or older to buy a machete or sword, and employees could ask for photo identification before approving a purchase.

Some stores keep machetes or certain types of non-kitchen knives locked in a display cabinet.

“Things need to be locked up and controlled,” said an employee of a chain store that sells knives and machetes.

The man, who asked not to be named, works in a store that verifies buyers’ identities and logs information.

He said most people who buy machetes for legitimate reasons won’t be bothered if they have to provide photo ID.

“Anyone with nefarious intentions will not let you copy their ID,” he said.

“Things need to be locked up and controlled.”–Employee

Some websites reviewed by the Free Press do not appear to request proof of age or restrict home shipping for online machete purchases.

An Amazon spokesperson said all products on its website, including machetes, must comply with applicable laws, regulation and company policies.

The company said automated checks are in place to prevent “unsafe” products from being listed, and Amazon’s conditions of use state minors cannot use an account without a parent or guardian.

Machetes listed on Canadian Tire’s website were not eligible for home shipping.

Christopher Gamby, an attorney and spokesman for the Criminal Defence Lawyers Association of Manitoba, said a machete is “not on its own a weapon,” but becomes one when it meets the Criminal Code’s definition.

The Code defines a weapon as “any thing used, designed to be used or intended for use” to cause death or injury to a person, or for the purpose of threatening or intimidating someone.

Last year, 1,637 violent crimes reported to Winnipeg police were committed with a knife — a 22 per cent increase over 2022 and 28 per cent higher than the five-year average, a spokeswoman said.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

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Chris Kitching
Reporter

Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.

Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.