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Handguns present in majority of firearm-related violent crimes, says StatCan report

Published

2 years ago

May 29, 2022

Firearm-related homicides have gone up 37 per cent over the past 11 years and handguns were the most commonly used weapon in such crimes, a report from Statistics Canada has found, but it warns there are large data gaps in information collection.

The report looking at trends in gun crime in Canada between 2009 and 2020 was released Friday.

The proportion of homicides where a firearm was used rose from 26 per cent in 2013 to 37 per cent in 2020, it said. Handguns were the weapon of choice in 59 per cent of the firearm crimes, it added.

“Firearm-related violent crime typically represents less than three per cent of police-reported violent crime in Canada,” said the report.

“Nevertheless, it has a significant emotional and physical impact on victims, families and communities. Additionally, rates of firearm-related violence have seen a general increase over the past several years.”

About six per cent of gun crimes were related to gang violence, it said.

“Though firearms are present in a minority of criminal incidents, the rate of firearm-related violent crime has been increasing in recent years.”

An earlier Statistics Canada report said the use of guns in violent crime increased 81 per cent from 2009 to 2019.

A July 2021 report by the agency said there were 8,344 victims of violent crimes where guns were used.

The new report cautioned, however, that there are gaps in data where guns are used, including the type of firearms, ownership and storage.

There is “no consistent definition of a shooting applied by police services in Canada, nor are there consistent criteria used to assess whether a shooting actually occurred,” it said.

“Of particular concern, there is currently little information available to determine the source of firearms used in crime: for example, whether a gun used in a crime was stolen, illegally purchased or smuggled into the country. This information is sometimes not recorded by police services, recorded inconsistently or, in some cases, the information is simply not available.”

This means not all guns are available for tracing, it noted.

According to the report, handguns were involved in about 75 per cent of violent robberies, and 60 per cent of homicides, other violations causing death and attempted murders. Handguns were also involved in 54 per cent in sexual offences and 51 per cent of firearm-specific violent offences in 2020, the report said.

There were 743 homicide victims in 2020, of which 277 were killed using a gun, said the report.

The first year of the pandemic saw 8,344 victims of crimes involving guns, which was unchanged compared to 2019, it said.

Rates of gun crime in 2020 were highest in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the Territories, it said.

Cities with the highest proportions of gun crimes were Regina, Brantford, Ont., Toronto, Saskatoon, Winnipeg and Windsor, Ont., it said.

“It is worth noting that Toronto had a relatively low rate of firearm-related violent crime, but these firearm-related crimes accounted for a relatively high proportion of all violent crime,” said the report.

Gun crimes, it said were mostly higher in rural areas than urban regions, which can be attributed to a number of reasons including more firearm ownership. Firearms are usually used in hunting or farming and are around “when an offence is committed,” it said.

About 63 per cent of firearm victims in urban areas involved handguns, said the report. The rural north has seen a 33 per cent increase in handgun crimes over the past six years, it added.

“While rates of handgun-related crimes were generally higher in urban areas than in rural areas, the highest rates of handgun-related crime in Canada were reported in northern Saskatchewan, which is all rural, and the Northwest Territories,” it said.

The Canadian Criminal Code classifies firearms into three categories: prohibited, restricted, and non-restricted.

Prohibited firearms include automatic firearms, sawed-off rifles and shotguns. Handguns are restricted while rifles and shotguns, also known as long-guns, are usually non-restricted.

The law requires a person to have a valid license to own or possess a firearm and buy ammunition.

The federal government amended regulations to prohibit over 1,500 models of assault-style firearms, particularly semi-automatic rifles, after the Nova Scotia mass shooting in 2020 where a gunman driving a replica police vehicle killed 22 people.

Men made up 67 per cent of those afflicted by gun violence although women were more affected in rural areas, it said. Most of the victims were between the ages of 18 and 24, it added.

The accused is most often a stranger in firearm crimes, the report said although this was less often the case in rural areas.

“One in four women who were victims of a firearm-related violent crime in 2020 were victimized by a current or former spouse or other intimate partner, compared with two per cent of men.”

The knowledge gaps identified in the report also included the extent of the involvement of organized crime, which it said is currently unclear.

“Patterns in the ethnicity, Indigenous identity — with the exception of homicide data — and socioeconomic characteristics of both victims and persons accused of firearm-related violence are also unknown.”

The agency said it is working with the Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics on getting uniform data across the country.

“It should be noted that it may take a few years for these changes to be fully implemented by police services in a way that allows the reporting of this information.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2022.

Hina Alam, The Canadian Press

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Langford, Heim lead Rangers to wild 13-8 win over Blue Jays

Published

50 mins ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Rookie Wyatt Langford homered, doubled twice and became the first Texas player this season to reach base five times, struggling Jonah Heim delivered a two-run single to break a sixth-inning tie and the Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 13-8 on Tuesday night.

Leody Taveras also had a homer among his three hits for the Rangers.

Langford, who also walked twice, has 12 homers and 25 doubles this season. He is hitting .345 in September.

“I think it’s really important to finish on a strong note,” Langford said. “I’m just going to keep trying to do that.”

Heim was 1-for-34 in September before he lined a single to right field off Tommy Nance (0-2) to score Adolis García and Nathaniel Lowe, giving Texas a 9-7 lead. Heim went to the plate hitting .212 with 53 RBIs after being voted an All-Star starter last season with a career-best 95 RBIs. He added a double in the eighth ahead of Taveras’ homer during a three-run inning.

Texas had 13 hits and left 13 men on. It was the Rangers’ highest-scoring game since a 15-8 win at Oakland on May 7.

Matt Festa (5-1) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the win, giving him a 5-0 record in 13 appearances with the Rangers after being granted free agency by the New York Mets on July 7.

Nathan Eovaldi, a star of Texas’ 2023 run to the franchise’s first World Series championship, had his worst start of the year in what could have been his final home start with the Rangers. Eovaldi, who will be a free agent next season, allowed 11 hits (the most of his two seasons with Texas) and seven runs (tied for the most).

“I felt like early in the game they just had a few hits that found the holes, a few first-pitch base hits,” said Eovaldi, who is vested for a $20 million player option with Texas for 2025. “I think at the end of the day I just need to do a better job of executing my pitches.”

Eovaldi took a 7-3 lead into the fifth inning after the Rangers scored five unearned runs in the fourth. The Jays then scored four runs to knock out Eovaldi after 4 2/3 innings.

Six of the seven runs scored against Toronto starter Chris Bassitt in 3 2/3 innings were unearned. Bassitt had a throwing error during Texas’ two-run third inning.

“We didn’t help ourselves defensively, taking care of the ball to secure some outs,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said.

The Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had a double and two singles, his most hits in a game since having four on Sept. 3. Guerrero is hitting .384 since the All-Star break.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Blue Jays: SS Bo Bichette (calf) was activated and played for the first time since July 19, going 2 for 5 with an RBI. … OF Daulton Varsho (shoulder) was placed on the 10-day injured list and will have rotator cuff surgery … INF Will Wagner (knee inflammation) was placed on the 60-day list.

UP NEXT

Rangers: LHP Chad Bradford (5-3, 3.97 ERA) will pitch Wednesday night’s game on extended five days’ rest after allowing career highs in hits (nine), runs (eight) and home runs (three) in 3 2/3 innings losing at Arizona on Sept. 14.

Blue Jays: RHP Bowden Francis (8-4, 3.50) has had two no-hitters get away in the ninth inning this season, including in his previous start against the New York Mets on Sept. 11. Francis is the first major-leaguer to have that happen since Rangers Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan in 1989.

—

AP MLB:

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Billie Jean King set to earn another honor with the Congressional Gold Medal

Published

2 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

WASHINGTON (AP) — Billie Jean King will become the first individual female athlete to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey announced Tuesday that their bipartisan legislation had passed the House of Representatives and would be sent to President Joe Biden for his signature.

The bill to honor King, the tennis Hall of Famer and activist, had already passed unanimously in the Senate.

Sherrill, a Democrat, said in a statement that King’s “lifetime of advocacy and hard work changed the landscape for women and girls on the court, in the classroom, and the workplace.”

The bill was introduced last September on the 50th anniversary of King’s victory over Bobby Riggs in the “Battle of the Sexes,” still the most-watched tennis match of all-time. The medal, awarded by Congress for distinguished achievements and contributions to society, has previously been given to athletes including baseball players Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente, and golfers Jack Nicklaus, Byron Nelson and Arnold Palmer.

King had already been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. Fitzpatrick, a Republican, says she has “broken barriers, led uncharted paths, and inspired countless people to stand proudly with courage and conviction in the fight for what is right.”

___

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Account tweaks for young Instagram users ‘minimum’ expected by B.C., David Eby says

Published

2 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

SURREY, B.C. – Premier David Eby says new account control measures for young Instagram users introduced Tuesday by social media giant Meta are the “minimum” expected of tech companies to keep kids safe online.

The parent company of Instagram says users in Canada and elsewhere under 18 will have their accounts set to private by default starting Tuesday, restricting who can send messages, among other parental controls and settings.

Speaking at an unrelated event Tuesday, Eby says the province began talks with social media companies after threatening legislation that would put big tech companies on the hook for “significant potential damages” if they were found negligent in failing to keep kids safe from online predators.

Eby says the case of Carson Cleland, a 12-year-old from Prince George, B.C., who took his own life last year after being targeted by a predator on Snapchat, was “horrific and totally preventable.”

He says social media apps are “nothing special,” and should be held to the same child safety standards as anyone who operates a place that invites young people, whether it’s an amusement park, a playground or an online platform.

In a progress report released Tuesday about the province’s engagement with big tech companies including Google, Meta, TikTok, Spapchat and X, formerly known as Twitter, the provincial government says the companies are implementing changes, including a “trusted flagger” option to quickly remove intimate images.

— With files from The Associated Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024

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