As the Vancouver Police Department increases its presence in the Downtown Eastside, loaded guns and other weapons continue to be seized.
The VPD is making crime in the Downtown Eastside an even bigger priority following several violent days, with the latest incident involving a man being shot while riding his bike.
Deputy Police Chief Howard Chow shared a picture on Twitter of the guns and other weapons found in the Downtown Eastside over just one day.
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Yesterday alone, this is just some of what we seized from the #DTES. Aside from shootings & loaded guns pulled off the streets over the past few days in this area, our officers have to contend with weapons & imitation firearms that look pretty real to me. https://t.co/BemBuGIoZL pic.twitter.com/xNeNlV955E
— Howard Chow (@DeputyChow) February 24, 2023
His tweet, which contained pictures of some of the recovered weapons, had mixed reactions, with some applauding the work of the VPD and others suggesting more needed to be done.
Of the real weapons you pulled off the street yesterday, not one was registered, right? Right. Someone should inform Ottawa. These types of weapons (minus the knives, which you can purchase for hunting) all cross the US border. Ottawa must stop criminalizing law abiding citizens.
— A. G. (Alex) Tsakumis (@thetsakuminator) February 24, 2023
Others seem to be either numb to the ongoing situation in the Downtown Eastside or just fed up with how long it has been going on, with one person responding that the current approach “hasn’t worked for 30 years.”
Chow also seems to be getting frustrated by the situation in the Downtown Eastside and retweeted this response:
Remember when a gun arrest was a big deal?
— Bob Cooper (@BobCoop10149793) February 24, 2023
In an earlier tweet, Chow revealed that Vancouver police respond to around nine weapons calls per day.