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Toronto Sun
3 days ago
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
HAUBRICH: Canadians want Carney to focus on gun smuggling, not gun bans
A semi-automatic pistol with a conversion device installed making it fully automatic is fired as four empty shell casings fly out of the weapon, at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), National Services Center, Thursday, March 2, 2023, in Martinsburg, Photo by Alex Brandon / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Most Canadians want Prime Minister Mark Carney to focus on stopping illegal guns from getting into Canada, instead of taking firearms from licensed Canadian gun owners through Ottawa's so-called gun ban and buyback. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Recent Leger polling shows 55% of Canadians think the best way to reduce gun crime in Canada is to focus on stopping the smuggling of guns into Canada from the United States. Only 26% think banning the sale and ownership of various models of guns, along with a government seizure and compensation program, would be the best way to reduce crime in Canada. Canadians have the facts on their side: Ottawa's gun ban and compensation program have failed to make Canadians safer for the last five years. The feds originally announced the scheme in 2020 and banned about 1,500 different makes and models of firearms. After multiple expansions of the ban list, it now includes more than 2,000 different types of firearms plus hundreds of different parts and accessories. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Since then, violent gun crime in Canada has increased . That's because licensed gun owners, who follow the law to buy and use their guns, aren't the ones committing these violent crimes. About half of all homicides using firearms were related to organized crime or street gangs, according to Statistics Canada . Those stats echo what the police and academics have been saying about the effectiveness of gun bans and compensation schemes for licensed firearms owners. 'There is no evidence that gun bans are effective in reducing this violence, particularly when 85% of guns seized by our members can be traced back to the United States,' said the Toronto Police Association. 'Buyback programs are largely ineffective at reducing gun violence, in large part because the people who participate in such programs are not likely to use those guns to commit violence,' said Jooyoung Lee, a University of Toronto professor who studies gun violence in Canada. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Federal politicians are finally starting to figure out that the real problem is illegal guns crossing the border. During the election debate, both major party leaders highlighted the problem of illegal guns coming across the southern border. Carney said, 'We have a problem with guns coming over our border.' Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said, 'We will secure our border to keep illegal guns out.' In the government's most recent throne speech, there was no mention of the gun ban and compensation program. Instead, King Charles III announced that the Canadian government will 'stem the tide of illegal guns and drugs across the border.' Wasting more taxpayers' dollars to compensate firearms owners for their property hinders the ability of police forces to deal with the illegal gun problem. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. This was highlighted by the National Police Federation, the union that represents the RCMP. In a report, the union said the gun ban and compensation program 'diverts extremely important personnel, resources, and funding away from addressing the more immediate and growing threat of criminal use of illegal firearms.' Taxpayers need a full commitment to end the gun ban before any more money is wasted on it. Government documents show that the total gun ban and compensation program could cost about $2 billion. Other estimates show that the cost could balloon to more than $6 billion. That's too much money to waste on a program that isn't going to make Canadians safer. Police, academics and Canadians know the real danger is gun smuggling, not firearms owned by licensed Canadian gun owners. Despite this, Carney promised during the election to 'reinvigorate the implementation' of the gun ban and compensation scheme. Carney needs to stop wasting money on the gun ban and focus on the real problem of illegal guns crossing the border. Gage Haubrich is the Prairie director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation Toronto & GTA World World Columnists Crime
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Vehicle used to ram into Greenbrier gun store
GREENBRIER, Tenn. (WKRN) — A vehicle was used to ram into a Robertson County gun store early Thursday morning. Officers were called to the Guns and Leather, located at 2216 Highway 41 South, around 5 a.m. ⏩ Investigators believe a group of suspects used a Kia Soul to back into the glass door at a high rate of speed to gain access to the shop. It is not known if any weapons were taken. In July 2022, a truck was used to crash through the front entrance. It took the family-owned business a few days to reopen. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is assisting with the investigation. A full inventory of firearms will be conducted to determine how many guns were taken. 📲 Download the News 2 app to stay updated on the go.📧 Sign up for WKRN email alerts to have breaking news sent to your inbox.💻 for Nashville, TN and all of Middle Tennessee. This is a developing story. WKRN News 2 will continue to update this article as new information becomes available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Fully automatic gun used in deadly Memorial Day mass shooting in Philadelphia park: Police
Two people were killed and nine others were injured when a barrage of gunfire erupted on Memorial Day in Philadelphia's largest municipal park, one of a series of mass shootings across the nation over the long holiday weekend, authorities said. The Philadelphia shooting unfolded at Fairmount Park around 10:30 p.m. on Monday, the final day of Memorial Day weekend, according to the Philadelphia Police Department. The shooting left a 23-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman dead, police said. Those wounded included three juveniles ranging from age 15 to 17, authorities said. "As your mayor, I want to affirm to all of Philadelphia today that there are no excuses for this. This is a heinous act of violence that was inhumane, no regard for life," Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker said at a news conference on Tuesday. Parker said that from the different caliber shell casings investigators collected at the crime scene, police believe that at least three gunmen opened fire in the incident. No arrests have been announced and detectives were working Tuesday afternoon to identify those responsible for the shooting, authorities said. "This was wartime ammunition that was just opened on Philadelphians and those who were here in our city," an emotional Parker said. MORE: 11-year-old boy accidentally shot to death by sibling inside of their home Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said at Tuesday's news conference that numerous shots were fired in the incident and that investigators suspect at least one of the firearms used in the shooting was equipped with a switch, a device converts some semiautomatic handguns into fully-automatic weapons. "I talked to my SWAT team. We're pretty confident, but we don't have the weapon in hand, that a switch was involved," Bethel said. "You cannot fire that many levels of bullets with such speed and time without having some type of switch on it." Bethel said it remains unclear if any of the victims were targets of the shooting. Mayor Parker said Philadelphia police are working with the FBI, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Marshals to bring the perpetrators to justice. "We will not be held hostage by anyone who decides that they want to get assault-like, war-like weaponry, guns with switches," Parker said. Fairmount Park, which spans 2,052 acres and is divided by the Schuylkill River, was busy throughout the day Monday and into the evening, with families and members of the community attending Memorial Day get-togethers and barbecues, Bethel said. He said Park Rangers contacted police around 8:15 p.m., expressing concerns about the number of people in the park, prompting officers to begin clearing out the park. Bethel said it was unclear how many people were in the park when the shooting broke out. MORE: Torture charges filed against 3 family members accused of abusing 6 children The Philadelphia shooting came amid a violent holiday weekend across the country. Between Friday evening and Monday night, at least five mass shootings occurred throughout the nation, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a website that tracks U.S. shootings. The Gun Violence Archive defines a mass shooting as at least four people wounded or killed in a single event, not including the shooters. At least six people were wounded in a shooting Saturday night in Colorado Springs, Colorado, police said. A 25-year-old man was arrested and charged with attempted murder in the Colorado Springs shooting and police said they were investigating whether others were involved. In Little River, South Carolina, a suburb of Myrtle Beach, 11 people were injured when gunfire broke out on a docked charter boat, according to the Horry County Police Department. Ten of the victims suffered gunshot wounds and one suffered a non-gunfire-related injury. Police said the shooting occurred as the result of an altercation during a private Memorial Day weekend gathering. No arrests in the Little River shooting have been announced. MORE: 11-year-old boy accidentally shot to death by sibling inside of their home In Jackson, Tennessee, seven people, including juveniles, were wounded in a mass shooting that erupted at the city's Kate Campbell Park around 8:41 p.m. on Saturday, according to the Jackson Police Department. No arrests had been announced as of Tuesday afternoon. "Our City of Jackson parks are designed to be a place of community. They are places we ALL can visit, and enjoy being outdoors playing, staying fit, having a picnic, or just relaxing. They should be a refuge for our children and families, safe from any suggestion of harm," Jackson police Chief Thom Corley said in a letter to his community he released on Monday. "When that atmosphere is disrupted by the acts of one or more people who disregard the safety of the rest of us, I become upset and discouraged. I'm sure many of you feel the same." Corley added, "When those acts injure children, the most precious asset to our community, I, like many of you, get very angered. I can also assure you, each Officer and staff member of the Jackson Police Department is determined to seek justice for the victims and their families, and we will prosecute fully, those responsible." Fully automatic gun used in deadly Memorial Day mass shooting in Philadelphia park: Police originally appeared on
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
2 dead, 9 injured in Memorial Day shooting in Philadelphia: Police
Two people were killed and nine others were injured in a shooting at Philadelphia's Fairmount Park on Memorial Day, authorities said. A male and female adult victim were pronounced dead, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said at a media briefing early on May 27. The other nine victims are in stable condition. Three of the injured are juveniles between 15 and 17 years old, Bethel said. Bethel said witnesses reported hearing gunshots at the park around 10:27 p.m. local time on May 26. Officials have not recovered any weapons, and no arrests have been made. A large number of adults were present at the park when the shooting occurred, Bethel said. "They were packing up as this incident unfolded," Bethel said. Officers will review social media posts as part of their investigation, he added. Bethel said officials believe the weapon used may have been modified using a switch. "It's pretty rapid fire so we're pretty confident that there probably was a switch on this gun," Bethel said. A switch is a device that converts a semi-automatic Glock pistol to function as a machine gun, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Memorial Day shooting: South Carolina shooting leaves at least 11 hospitalized in Horry County Fairmount Park spans about 2,000 acres in northern Philadelphia, according to Visit Philadelphia. The area is generally popular outside of holidays like Memorial Day, Bethel said. "It's not uncommon for us to have large groups of individuals surge into the park," Bethel said. "We deal with those on a regular basis." Bethel also added that the area was not well lit at the time of the shooting. Bethel also emphasized the gravity of the holiday during which the shooting occurred. "This is significant," Bethel said. "It's Memorial Day — a day where we honor those who gave their lives in war. So we understand the significance of this event and we will make sure to provide an update later today." Memorial Day, traditionally observed on the last Monday of May, is a federal holiday in the United States dedicated to honoring military personnel who have died in the line of duty. This story has been updated with additional information. Contributing: Reuters Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at (This story was updated to include video.) This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fairmount Park, Philadelphia shooting: 2 dead, 9 injured
Indian Express
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
‘Final Destination…': Box truck explosion in Illinois caught on camera, leaves homes damaged and Internet shaken
A quiet street in Addison, Illinois, in the United States turned into a scene of chaos on Sunday when a box truck suddenly exploded while driving by, sending debris flying and startling the neighbourhood. The blast was so powerful that pieces of the truck, along with scattered clothing and broken furniture, were left strewn across the area. Fortunately, the driver survived the accident. CBS News reported that the truck had been rented by a man who was using it to move his personal belongings. Authorities, including local police, the bomb squad, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), later traced the cause of the explosion to a propane tank leak inside the vehicle. The dramatic moment was captured on a nearby home security camera and has since gone viral on social media, racking up millions of views. The impact of the blast was significant — four homes were damaged, and one was deemed temporarily unsafe to live in. One of the truck's walls was hurled straight into a house, smashing into a load-bearing wall and pushing it inward by several feet. Addison Fire Protection District Chief Brock Herion said the homeowners 'kind of described it as an earthquake, and then a tree falling on their house'. A truck explosion in Chicago was captured by a home security camera The driver survived and police said the cause may have been a propane tank leak — Dexerto (@Dexerto) May 26, 2025 Online, the footage left viewers stunned. One person tweeted, 'yea I'm not driving my car for the rest of the year,' while another wrote, 'Sheeesh. I'd never go near a propane tank ever again.' A third user shared, 'Ive seen a real propane tank leak explode before and it was like a bomb went off it was a house one street across from me and it was so bad my windows shook from like a football fields length away.' A fourth individual wrote, 'Final Destination promo is getting more and more insane,' while a fifth user wrote, 'ever since final destination bloodlines came out, things have been getting a lil bit too real.'
