Number of shootings in Halifax area doubled in 2021, but it's not clear why
CBC
The number of shootings in the Halifax region skyrocketed last year, but the reasons for the escalating gun violence aren't clear and some say the repercussions are complex and far-reaching.
Police responded to 62 shootings in 2021 — more than double any other year since 2015. At least seven people were killed in shootings last year, including an eight-year-old child who was shot during rush hour.
MLA Angela Simmonds, the Liberal justice critic, wants the province to dig into why gun violence has increased and conduct a review that would look at systemic issues and the factors that contributed to the recent spike.
"We can all speculate why, but there's actually been no analysis. We just have numbers," she said.
She said intergenerational trauma, mental health and economically depressed communities — perhaps even the financial strain of the pandemic — could be contributing. So too could Halifax's position as a port if more illegal weapons are entering the city.
Any review, Simmonds said, should also take into account how these things might play out in different parts of Nova Scotia.
"If we have the same broad strokes for every community and every person, then we're not actually thinking about what this correlation of gun violence is and the increase in violence."
The growing frequency of gun violence is not limited to the Halifax area. Statistics Canada data shows that in 2020 — the most recent year available — the number of firearms-related homicides increased by six per cent nationally.
Across Canada, shootings are the most common form of homicides, according to Public Safety Canada, though the proportion of homicides caused by guns decreased slightly in 2020.
The 62 shooting calls in the Halifax area last year do not include situations that involved imitation or self-inflicted gunshots.
In some shootings, officers found only shell casings or evidence that vehicles were struck. In others, people were injured, though it's not clear how many as neither the Halifax Regional Police nor the RCMP were able to provide that information.
Both police forces declined requests for an interview with CBC News.
Investigators with the Halifax Regional Police responded to three-quarters of the incidents and believe the majority of the shootings were not random, which means people were targeted. An emailed statement to CBC News from the force said there were many factors that contributed to the spike, but it did not elaborate on what they were.
"We have specialized units that continue to act both reactively and proactively. We have made a number seizures of drugs and guns," the HRP statement said.
P.E.I.'s Public Schools Branch is looking for 50 substitute bus drivers, and it'll be recruiting at three job fairs on Saturday, June 8. The job fairs are located at the Atlantic Superstore in Montague, Royalty Crossing in Charlottetown, and the bus parking lot of Three Oaks Senior High in Summerside. All three run from 9 a.m. until noon. Dave Gillis, the director of transportation and risk management for the Public Schools Branch, said the number of substitute drivers they're hiring isn't unusual. "We are always looking for more. Our drivers tend to have an older demographic," he said.