Police seize loaded firearm, ammunition from suite in hotel housing homeless

Police seize loaded firearm, ammunition from suite in hotel housing homeless
Victoria Police Department
The Victoria Police Department has seized a loaded firearm, along with hundreds of bullets from a suite inside a hotel currently being used as a shelter for the homeless population amid COVID-19.

The Victoria Police Department has seized a loaded firearm, along with hundreds of bullets from a suite inside a hotel currently being used as a shelter for the homeless population amid COVID-19.

Officers with VicPD’s Community Services Division (CSD) said they managed to seize the weapon and ammunition around 6 p.m. on Tuesday from a unit in the 3000-block of Blanshard at the former Comfort Inn hotel.

Along with the help of the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team (GVERT), Victoria police executed a search warrant of one of the units in the hotel, which has been converted into temporary housing for the homeless, and located a “loaded AR-15 style firearm.”

Police said that there has been an increase in both “violent crime and property crime” in the Burnside-Gorge area.

The increase in crime triggered VicPD to launch the “Project Burnside Gorge Connect” back in March, an initiative aimed at increasing police visibility and engagement within the Burnside-Gorge neighbourhood.

Part of the heightened visibility, police said, includes more patrols, community consultation, participation in virtual town hall meetings and intelligence-driven enforcement.

Resources are being put towards promoting VicPD’s Block Watch program as well.

After seizing the AR-15 style rifle, authorities feel that there is presently no further risk to the public.

An investigation into the matter is ongoing.

 

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