By LOUIE ROSELLA, The Mississauga News (Mississauga, Canada)
Peel Regional Police say the thousands of guns circulating on Mississauga streets has led to a year marred with increases in armed robberies and gang shootings.
“The use of weapons in the commission of crime is going up, no question,” said Constable Steve Rowe, officer in charge of Peel Crime Stoppers. “It’s getting way too out-of-hand in this region. When I became a cop 17 years ago, armed robberies would be, like, once or twice a month. Now, you’re hearing about it every day.”
This weekend alone, there were four armed robberies in the city. And, police say, the gun-wielding thugs are targeting vulnerable residents, in addition to businesses.
Sunday night at around 7:20 p.m., a 56-year-old woman had a gun held to her head in the elevator of her Cooksville apartment building. Police say the man took cash and credit cards from her purse before fleeing the scene.
Peel’s Central Robbery Bureau, which handles robberies in which weapons were used, has already investigated 59 such cases this year. Last year at this time, the Bureau had just 29 cases under its belt.
“This is going to sound terrible, but when our officers come in on a Monday, they almost expect to have four or more armed robberies to look into from the weekend,” said Detective Sergeant Bruce Chapman, who heads Central Robbery. “That seems to be the norm these days...and it’s disturbing.”
There were other armed robberies over the weekend..
Last month, two gang-related shootings in Mississauga, one at a house party and the other at a nightclub, sent four people to hospital.
In January, 50-year-old Bogdan Spolski was gunned down and killed outside his Kirwin Ave. townhouse in an apparent random killing. Investigators suspect the killer is a gang member.
Police attribute the increase in gun crimes to an easier accessibility to firearms.
“Getting illegal handguns is easier and there is less hesitation to use them,” said Peel Homicide Inspector Mike MacMullen.
Peel police have been seizing more than 6,000 illegal firearms annually in recent years. Illegal guns are entering Canada at an increasing rate through Europe, the United States and Mexico, and being sold on the street.
Police have tried to combat the problem with the Gun Stoppers program, a first in Canada. The program is similar to Crime Stoppers. People call the toll free hotline at 1-800-222-8477 to report a gun or any other weapon.