B.C. police warn about 3D-printed guns that look like 'harmless toys'
Police in British Columbia are raising concerns about the rise of 3D-printed guns and other privately made firearms, saying the risks posed by the weapons that often resemble "harmless toys" may not be understood by parents or teachers.
The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit has shared a photo of an array of weapons printed in colourful plastic, with names including Songbird, Biden's Bane and Macdaddy.
Others appear to be replicas of commercially made guns including an AR-15 rifle and handguns by Glock and Smith & Wesson.
The unit says in a news release that although a fully functional firearm cannot be printed, conversion kits that complete the guns can be purchased in stores or online.
It warns that anyone with a 3D printer "for their children, school, or business" needs to be aware of the risks.
The unit says privately made firearms, sometimes called "ghost guns," are a growing phenomenon, and although they aren't yet as widely seen in B.C. as elsewhere, they have an "obvious appeal" to criminals seeking untraceable weapons.
"Many of the parts used to manufacture PMF’s are unregulated which provides opportunity for criminal networks to create new avenues for firearm trafficking schemes and networks bypassing legislation surrounding firearms," the unit says in the release.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 11, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Liberal MP says she's leaving politics over disrespectful dialogue, threats, misogyny
Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she won't run again in the next federal election, saying she has experienced misogyny, disrespectful dialogue in politics and threats to her life.
Concerns about Plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglass barriers.
Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Ont. woman who faked pregnancy to defraud doulas arrested again on similar charges
Victims of a Brantford, Ont., woman who was sentenced to house arrest earlier this year for defrauding and deceiving doulas say they’re not surprised she’s been apprehended again on similar charges.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Construction begins on LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa
Shovels have hit the ground for constuction on Canada's LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa.
B.C. man awarded $5,000 in damages in first-of-it-kind intimate image case
In a first-of-its-kind case, a B.C. tribunal has ruled on a dispute involving the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, awarding damages and issuing orders that the photos be destroyed and taken offline.