Hamilton police say there has been an increase in shootings and guns seized

Hamilton police say there has been an increased number of shootings and guns seized off city streets this year, including four guns seized and two shootings in the last week alone.

On Saturday, police were called to Hess Village for a man who was waving around a gun and had fled down George Street, police said.

The investigation suggests that a witness intervened after seeing a group assault on a male victim. The group then turned on the witness and one of them drew a gun and pointed it at him. Police said the witness fled to a nearby hotel and called police, who arrested the suspect a short time later. He was allegedly found to be in possession of a semi-automatic gun.

This is just one of the recent gun seizures by police.

On Nov. 7, police said they recovered a semi-automatic firearm during a traffic stop.

Two other loaded guns were allegedly found in a vehicle following the arrest of two suspects related to a shooting on Minto Avenue. That was one of two shootings within hours of each other on Nov. 10.

Since the beginning of the year, police have seized 228 guns they say were used in crimes. This is up from 224 guns seized in all of 2021, 185 in 2020 and 190 in 2019.

Hamilton has also seen a 29 per cent rise in shootings compared to this time last year. There have been 36 shootings, including 13 victims shot. Three people have been killed in shootings.

Deputy chief Ryan Diodati called the increase in guns a shocking trend that we continue to see year over year."

Police said many of the guns are linked to serious crimes across the Greater Toronto Area.

Most shootings and gun crimes are targeted, however, this does not bring me any comfort," Diodati said. I fear that one of these shootings will end with an innocent bystander struck by a stray bullet."

Of the guns seized so far this year, 18 were recovered during incidents that began as routine traffic stops, something Diodati said used to be an anomaly" but is now a regular occurrence.

In addition to the spike in guns seized and shootings, police are also seeing an increasing number of people repeatedly charged with gun crimes. Last year, 16 per cent of people charged by Hamilton police with gun crimes faced previous, similar charges.

These increases in guns and shootings should be a concern for all Hamilton residents," Diodati said, adding that it's not just a police issue, it's a community issue."

Nicole O'Reilly is a crime and justice reporter at The Spectator. noreilly@thespec.com