Vancouver police say four men are facing charges after they seized guns from a Hastings Street encampment on the weekend.
On Sunday (Aug. 21) around 8 a.m., the VPD responded to a report that drugs and guns were being stored inside a tent around East Hastings and Carrall Street. With assistance from the VPD’s Emergency Response Team, the officers arrested four men and seized two guns at the scene, "including a loaded shotgun that was found inside a tent," explains a news release.
“We’re growing increasingly concerned for public safety in and around the encampment,” says VPD Sgt. Steve Addison. “Violence against the public and against our officers is on the rise throughout the Downtown Eastside, and the proliferation of guns in the encampment increases the risk to everyone.”
Investigators believe people were using the weapons for protection and to intimidate other individuals in the encampment.
The four suspects – a 40-year-old from Vancouver, a 23-year-old from Burnaby, and two men in their 20s from Surrey – are due back in court in October.
