Police link spree of firearm crime to meth trade

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This article was published 16/08/2018 (2077 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Drugs — especially methamphetamine — were behind the trigger of five firearm incidents in 24 hours in Winnipeg this week.

“I think what’s critical here is to point out in that in each and every one of these incidents, we believe that drugs were somehow underlying, or the basis, of the incident,” Winnipeg Police spokesman Const. Rob Carver said on Friday.

“And in every incident, what started with drugs ended up with firearms. We have people who were robbed, people who were shot, guns were pointed at people.”

Crimes in Winnipeg in a 24-hour period included:

● 1:15 a.m. on Aug. 14, two women with a rifle robbed a grocery store in a West Alexander neighbourhood;

● 11:20 p.m. on Aug. 14, a woman robbed a grocery store in Weston armed with a handgun;

● 10:20 p.m. on Aug. 15, a man high on meth walked into a Centennial neighbourhood restaurant with a loaded sawed-off shotgun;

● 10:50 p.m. on Aug. 15, a woman armed with a handgun robbed the same Weston grocery store listed above;

● 11:25 p.m. on Aug. 15, a 16-year-old boy was robbed by two suspects, one armed with a firearm and the other with a knife.

Carver said meth was likely the drug of choice for these criminals: “This is just a 24-hours snapshot and this is what we are facing on a daily basis.”

Dr. Ginette Poulin, medical director of the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba (AFM), backs up Carver’s concerns.

Poulin said when someone is addicted to crystal methamphetamine, “it kind of puts different chemicals in the brain into overdrive.”

“It’s like food, clothes, normal pleasures for eating pizza, have no comparison. The brain needs to continue feeding it and it unfortunately can lead to violence and theft to get that substance to keep that brain going.”

Poulin said the fact that meth is cheaper than opioids or cocaine makes it a pressing problem for police and the public. “It’s very highly addictive and persons have a lot of access to it right now.”

But Poulin said currently more people are coming to AFM for alcohol problems if they are an adult, and cannabis if they are a youth.

Meanwhile, Jeremy Davis, a spokesman for Mayor Brian Bowman, said the mayor is “very concerned about the recent gun-related crimes in Winnipeg.

“He supports the federal government’s commitment to review regulations around the purchase and possession of firearms.”

But Davis said while Bowman knows Toronto’s city council has recently passed a motion to ask the federal government to ban handgun sales in the city and for the province to stop the sale of handgun ammunition there, he believes it’s best to leave the matter with the federal government “to ensure one set of rules applies equally across the country.

“To legally own a handgun, in particular, is already very heavily regulated and restricted and what’s required is a thoughtful review and consideration of how existing regulations can be strengthened.”

Davis also noted Bowman has previously called for an urgent need to put more resources into mental health and addictions treatment.

Carver also said there was a sixth shooting incident, in which a man was taken to hospital in critical condition after being shot early on Aug. 16, but he had no other details and this one was just outside the 24-hour window.

For each of these incidents, Carver said, extra police resources are tied up with each call, as at least one other unit comes to serve as backup and help out.

None of the incidents has been linked by police yet, but three people have been arrested, while four others are being sought.

Carver said he wanted to make sure the public knows what police are facing every day now.

“The message is this city is facing a lot of crime fuelled by drugs and methamphetamine,” Carver said.

“Those drugs, and the meth, lead to people bringing guns and a level of violence we haven’t seen. And that the draw on police resources is enormous.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca