Numbers show gun violence is on the rise in Niagara
Chief Macculloch says the crimes are being aggressively investigated
If it feels like gun crime is on the rise in Niagara, it’s not your imagination. So far this year, firearms have maintained a constant, menacing presence in the headlines.
In an interview, Niagara Regional Police Chief Bryan Macculloch acknowledged the growing level of gun crime but pointed out many of the recent shooting incidents are targeted attacks.
Niagara’s public spaces, he said, are still safe.
“From the public’s perspective, I don’t think they need to be overly alarmed,” Macculloch said. “These aren’t random events. They are targeted. We are doing everything we can to investigate them aggressively.
“I think if you look at our investigative findings, we have been very successful in identifying the people responsible for committing those crimes. I think it demonstrates to the public our commitment, and that we take these incidents very seriously.”
It’s too early to call this Niagara’s Year of the Gun, but it doesn’t look good.
Some of the details are alarming. Firearms are continually finding their way into police reports. The synopsis also notes where police made arrests. Judge for yourself:
á On Feb. 17, Niagara Regional Police dispatched its emergency task and K9 units and crisis negotiators to Queenston Street in St. Catharines for an “armed/barricaded person” call.
A 21-year-old male had accused his 27-year-old male neighbour of stealing his mail. The older man pulled out a gun and waved it at the 21-year-old. Police evacuated the area, and both men ended up in jail.
The 27-year-old was arrested and charged with theft from the mail, pointing a firearm and possession of a weapon. Officers arrested the 21-year-old for unrelated warrants;
Two days earlier, on Feb. 15, uniformed officers were called to the area of Lincoln Street and Prince Charles Drive in Welland in response to a shooting. They learned a 22-year-old had an altercation with, and then shot, a 24-year-old. The victim sustained minor physical injuries. The alleged shooter was arrested and charged with assault with a weapon in what police called a targeted incident;
On Jan. 22, uniformed officers responded to a reported break-and-enter on Haight Street in St. Catharines. They found the 45-year-old male intruder was seeking shelter after having been shot. Niagara EMS transported him to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Police asked the public for witnesses or information in what was called a targeted incident;
á On Jan. 19, police received a 911 call over a disturbance involving a firearm at a shortterm rental residence on Niagara Parkway in Fort Erie. A group using the home fled before police arrived. Officers discovered two dead women, ages 20 and 18. The double homicide is still under investigation;
On Jan. 6, 2021, Grimsby officers arrived at the Food Basics pharmacy after two men, armed with a gun, demanded narcotics and stole a customer’s purse before fleeing in a darkcoloured sedan;
On Jan. 5, officers were investigating a report of an impaired driver in Niagara Falls. They located the vehicle on the Niagara River Parkway in Niagara-on-the-lake where there was “an interaction with an adult male” that ended when police shot the man. Niagara EMS took the man to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The province’s Special Investigations Unit, as well as Niagara detectives, are investigating. A woman in the car was also arrested for possession of the proceeds of crime;
On Jan. 2, police rushed to the Jepson Street area in Niagara Falls and found a 25-year-old male suffering from a gunshot wound. He was airlifted to an out-of-region hospital and survived.
It was labelled a targeted attack. A 23-year-old man was arrested four days later and charged with discharging a firearm with intent, possession of a restricted weapon, unauthorized possession of a weapon and unauthorized possession of a firearm in a vehicle, and failing to comply with a release order. The investigation also led to the arrest of a 22-year-old man for assault with a weapon, pointing a firearm, discharging a firearm with intent and obstructing justice;
In the early hours on New Year’s Day, uniformed officers were called to Queenston Street and Church Street in St. Catharines after a report of an attempted robbery. Officers arrived as multiple people scattered. The investigation found two of the males pointed firearms at a group of victims. Police have asked for help identifying both the male suspects — and the victims.
Along with these shootings, the number of guns seized by NRP has increased drastically.
Its annual crime stats show handgun seizures have nearly tripled in the most recent time frame available, to 117 in 2019 from 36 in 2018. Rifles seized went to 73 in 2019, from five in 2016. (The crime analysts often release the figures from the previous year in the spring).
The increase is partly the result of co-operation between Niagara police, the Canadian Border Services Agency and U.S. officials, Macculloch said.
He said there’s no doubt some of the smuggled weapons end up in criminal hands in Niagara as well the Greater Toronto Area and beyond.
“Through our intelligence sources, approximately 80 per cent of firearms used in crimes in Ontario are linked to the United States,” Macculloch said. “The reality is there are a lot of guns on the street.
“It is unfortunate we only learn of the presence of firearms once a shooting incident occurs. It highlights the importance of information sharing among police agencies, including Canada Border Services, law enforcement at both the federal and provincial levels, and the local level.
A spokesperson for CBSA, Louis-carl Brissette-lesage, said the agency doesn’t comment on third-party data but routinely collaborates with domestic and international law enforcement partners on border issues, including gun smuggling.
Brissette-lesage wouldn’t comment specifically on Niagara border crossings, but did share information on the 157 firearm seizures at crossings in the southern Ontario region including Windsor, Sarnia, London, Fort Erie and Niagara Falls last year.
That included 23 non-restricted firearms and 52 restricted firearms including handguns, semi-automatic pistols and revolvers.
There were 82 prohibited firearms, including 59 handguns. The rest were revolvers, assault pistols and semi-automatic pistols, rifles and carbines.
In Niagara, the high-profile shooting that shocked the community occurred in September 2019 during the annual Grape and Wine Festival.
A gun battle erupted in front of the Karma nightclub in downtown St. Catharines as the bars were closing, wounding six people. Two of the victims were critically injured and taken to out-of-town hospitals for treatment. All six were released from hospital within a week.
“We do everything we can to demonstrate confidence to the public and the community, and we won’t tolerate this type of gun violence in our community,” Macculloch said. “We have always had shooting incidents, but we are seeing an increase in the number of incidents that have happened in the last few years than we have seen previously.
“What is frustrating sometimes for our investigators is the boldness and the brazenness of some individuals that are doing these types of shootings in very public settings.”
It didn’t go unnoticed that there were 40 to 50 people outside the nightclub when the shooting started yet witness information was scarce.
“I can’t talk specifically about this investigation,” Macculloch said. “But in general, with these types of incidents we don’t get the co-operation we like to see, and it creates a lot more work for our officers.”
The NRP oversaw the arrest of nine suspects on a combined 97 charges as part of a sprawling investigation of the shooting. Suspects were from Thorold, Stoney Creek, Richmond Hill and Scarborough.