Yukon RCMP commanding officer reflects on recent increase in gun violence

Yukon RCMP Chief Supt. Lindsay Ellis says there's been a real jump recently in gun-related incidents and crime across the territory. 

So far this year, police responded to several reports of gunshots, some of which involved 3D-printed guns. 

Several youths with firearms were arrested this winter, in unrelated incidents that took place in broad daylight in public spaces. 

In the past few days alone, an individual walked into a restaurant on Main Street, Whitehorse, brandishing a firearm. On a different day, a shooting took place in the city's Riverdale neighbourhood that sent one person to hospital, while another incident involving a replica firearm forced the evacuation of a building as well as homes and businesses within a two-block radius around downtown Whitehorse. 

Meanwhile, the federal government gave $4 million last November to help address gun crime and gang violence in the Yukon.

So how is the local police handling the rise in gun violence?

Ellis spoke to Yukon Morning's Elyn Jones Thursday about why this has become a growing issue and what the RCMP's response to it all is. 

The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Yukoners have expressed concerns over what appears to be a rise in gun violence. How real is the issue?

Over the last recent months, including over the last week or two, the RCMP have reported on investigations that we've undertaken or reports that we've received ... about firearms being displayed, brandished, or us coming upon firearms through the course of investigations. 

So it's not just a perception — it's real.

We're getting some firearms out of traffic stops. That's highly concerning for officer safety and the public. When I'm seeing that my members every day are interacting with individuals that may have on their person operable or even replica firearms, that's a concern.

The overarching concern is the fear that the public feels going anywhere in the Yukon and thinking, you know, "Does this person have a firearm? Is something going to take place in front of me that I have no control over? And I'm an innocent bystander, too."

What explains this increase?