Vancouver police seize guns found in Downtown Eastside tents

After a pair of guns were found inside a tent in the Downtown Eastside and Vancouver police say it’s increasingly concerned for public safety because of a “proliferation of guns” in the encampment.

After receiving reports about guns and drugs being stored inside a tent near East Hastings and Carrall Street, on Sunday around 8 am police seized two guns from four men at the Hastings Street encampment.

The seized weapons included a loaded shotgun found inside a tent.

“Investigators believe the weapons were being used for protection and to intimidate other people in the encampment,” a statement from police reads.

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The officers arrested four men.

The suspects — a 40-year-old from Vancouver, a 23-year-old from Burnaby, and two men in their 20s from Surrey — face a number of charges.

“Violence against the public and against our officers is on the rise throughout the Downtown Eastside,” Sergeant Steve Addison said adding people in and around the encampment are at risk.

The four suspects are expected to be back in court in October.

Police issued the news release about the guns on the same day the force faced questions about a man who died following an interaction with police.

According to advocacy organization Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU), the man was naked and “screaming for help” when officers shot him with a beanbag gun.

Police have not answered Daily Hive’s questions about the incident, only saying the victim went into “medical distress.”