Traffic stop in Waterloo ends with seizure of 200+ guns
Waterloo Regional Police have seized over 200 firearms as part of a weapons investigation that began in Waterloo.
Police said Direct Action Response Team (DART) officers stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation Friday night around 7:20 p.m. in the area of Weber Street North and Bridgeport Road East.
"The DART officers were on proactive patrol as part of Safe Semester, a yearly project to promote the safety and wellbeing of university and college students in the region," police told CTV News in an email.
According to police, during the traffic stop officers noticed firearms and ammunition inside the vehicle.
"Officers approached the vehicle and as they approached, they observed several rounds of ammunition scattered throughout the vehicle as well as the barrel of a firearm was pointing in the direction of the officers that was located in the front seat of the vehicle," said Const. Brad Hickey of Waterloo Regional Police.
The driver, a 39-year-old man from Guelph, was arrested and charged with careless use of a firearms and transport firearm or restricted weapon. 17 firearms were seized from the vehicle.
A large quantity of ammunition, magazines, and firearm parts were also seized at the residence in Guelph on Sept. 7, 2024. (WRPS)
"Are they for sale? Is he a firearms trafficker? Or is he just a gun owner that wants to move them to another location and safely store them? I mean, there's all kinds of options there," said CTV News Public Safety Analyst, Chris Lewis.
As part of the ongoing investigation, police completed a search warrant at a home on Victoria Road North in Guelph Saturday.
“Investigators seized 156 improperly stored firearms and an additional 60 firearms under public safety provisions of the Criminal Code. A large quantity of ammunition, magazines, and firearm parts were also seized,” police said in a media release Sunday.
Additional firearms storage and handling charges are pending, police said.
"It would appear by the charges that have been laid to some of them that perhaps the restricted weapons were never properly registered, so there's a couple of different violations that may have occured here," said Lewis. "But anyone that would own 200 guns, I mean that kind of scares me in itself. It just doesn't make sense to the average gun owner."
"The investigation is ongoing and we're encouraging anyone, any members of the public who have any information to please contact police or Crime Stoppers," added Hickey.
- With reporting by Krista Sharpe
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian drink company tastes controversy after Simu Liu raises cultural appropriation questions
Controversy bubbled for a Canadian drink company after its founders drew the ire of a Marvel superhero on an episode of a 'Shark Tank'-style reality series.
China deploys record 125 warplanes in large scale military drill in warning to Taiwan
China employed a record 125 aircraft, as well as its Liaoning aircraft carrier and ships, in large-scale military exercises surrounding Taiwan and its outlying islands Monday, simulating the sealing off of key ports in a move that underscores the tense situation in the Taiwan Strait, officials said.
Canadian comedian, talk show host Mike Bullard dead at 67
Canadian stand-up comedian and former talk show host Mike Bullard has died.
Christopher Columbus was a Sephardic Jew from Western Europe, study finds
The 15th-century explorer Christopher Columbus was a Sephardic Jew from Western Europe, Spanish scientists said on Saturday, after using DNA analysis to tackle a centuries-old mystery.
Woman killed by malfunctioning ottoman bed
A 39-year-old British woman was killed when a malfunctioning ottoman bed fell on her neck and asphyxiated her, a coroner’s report said.
Thousands of kilometres from home, Justin Trudeau learns of dissension in his caucus
The free trade agreement with ASEAN is expected to be signed at the end of 2025. If Trudeau is pressured to step down, or if his government falls and loses the next election, Trudeau will not, as prime minister, be there to see the fruits of his labour.
Warmer than normal temperatures lead to duller fall colours in Ontario
An especially warm fall in Ontario means the province may not get the colourful array of fall foliage that usually transforms treetops this time of year.
3 in 4 Canadians show support for defence spending on new submarines, Nanos survey shows
Three in four Canadians support defence spending on new submarines, according to a new survey from Nanos Research and CTV News.
Two in three who plan to remain childless said it just wasn't for them, survey finds
New data from the Angus Reid Institute shows that only one in five childless adults 50 or younger are confident they will have children.