KITCHENER – A Kitchener man has been charged after police seized about 250 guns and 200,000 rounds of ammunition.
The Waterloo Regional Police Service executed a search warrant on Strathcona Crescent on Halloween.
That's where they seized the guns and ammunition. A grenade was also recovered but was later found not to have explosives in it.
Police say that the man, 57, was licensed to have the guns, but wasn't keeping them safe. The guns didn't have trigger locks and were not securely stored.
"Had a break and enter occurred, those guns could have potentially reached the streets," says Const. Ashley Dietrich.
Officials say they found out about the guns because information was provided to them as part of an ongoing investigation, prompting a Criminal Code search.
But a resident who lives on the street and didn't wish to appear on camera tells CTV News they know the man and says he's just a collector.
Police call incidents involving improperly secured guns "concerning."
"We are wanting to remind residents that all ammunition and guns are supposed to be secured separately," Dietrich says.
"We're also reminding gun owners to secure and place trigger locks over any firearms, and we're also reminding them to properly store and secure those guns and firearms in a locker or vault or in a room that cannot be broken into or a safe that cannot be easily moved."
As a result the man, who has not been named, has been charged with unsafe storage of firearms.
The investigation is ongoing and police say more firearms-related charges are expected.
Police are looking into how the man obtained the guns and grenade in the first place.
With reporting from the Canadian Press.
