'Gun seizure every 36 hours': Peel police collect record 205 illegal guns in 2024

Peel Regional Police say they seized 205 illegal guns in 2024, the highest total in a single year to date.

At a news conference Tuesday, Peel police and provincial government officials said that number means an illegal firearm is being seized in Peel Region approximately every 36 hours.

Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah said the 205 guns were 60 more since last year. He said that separately there were 147 shootings in Peel this year - a 70 per cent increase compared to 2023.

“These (guns) are the tools for violence and if we don’t mitigate them, we are going to see a continued deterioration not just in Peel but right across the GTA,” Duraiappah warned.

"Too many young people in Peel Region are being preyed on and lured into street gangs," added Graham McGregor, Associate Minister of Auto Theft and Bail Reform. "Scumbag hardened criminals target our youth and introduce them to a life of crime."

Police say of the 205 guns taken off the streets, 53 were seized by their Strategic and Tactical Enforcement Policing (STEP) team. That is more than double the number of firearms the team took off the streets in 2023 and more than triple the amount from 2022. They also seized 63 prohibited magazines and 915 rounds of ammunition.

According to Peel police, the STEP team made 50 arrests and laid 461 charges in relation to firearms offences in 2024. Of the 50 charged, 25 were released from custody on bail, while 15 were already facing charges and 31 had previous conditions.

"Fifty per cent of the violent offenders that we arrest are already on a form of release for a similar or other violent offence," Duraiappah said.

The chief also added that Peel police experienced a 300 per cent increase in home invasions and an 80 per cent increase in car jackings in 2024.

Of the 53 guns collected by the STEP team, police say 41 have been traced back to the U.S. and the remaining 12 are still being investigated.

"We know that almost every single illegal gun used in an illegal activity anywhere in Ontario traces itself back to the other side of the border," Michael Kerzner, Solicitor General of Ontario, said Tuesday.

"We call on the federal government today to step up measures at the border and make investments so that these illegal guns don't find their way back here."