Results of four-month crackdown on London gun crime to be shared (2024)

London police are holding a news conference next week to announce the results of a crackdown on gun crime in the city.

Police will speak to the media Monday afternoon about Project Safe Street, a four-month investigation that resulted in charges laid and guns seized and hundreds of thousands of dollars of drugs confiscated. Investigators will also showcase the seized items at police headquarters on Dundas Street.

Article content

“We will also address a number of additional previously reported on search warrants and seizures conducted by the LPS Guns and Gangs Section since January 2024,” police said Friday.

The investigation comes amid a dramatic decrease in cases of gunfire in London this year. There have been just three cases of gunfire this year, resulting in two people injured, compared to 19 incidents by this time last year. In total, there were 27 cases of gunfire last year, up from 24 the previous year.

Chief Thai Truong previously called the level of gun violence in London unacceptable and vowed to crack down on gun crimes as part of his pledge tomake the city safer when he became the city’s police chief over a year ago.

In response to a surge in gun violence last year, London police launched Project SAFE, an investigation into firearms and weapons smuggling that earlier this year led to the seizure of 26 guns and $8.5 million of drugs. Seventy people were charged with a combined 550 offences.

Police make arrest in latest London threat involving fake guns

A 39-year-old London woman is charged after police say a fake gun was pointed at people downtown – the second such incident in the city’s core this week.

Article content

Article content

London police say it was around 12:45 a.m. on Thursday when a man was walking toward his vehicle in the 400-block of King Street and he was approached by a woman who then pointed a gun at him through the passenger-side window of his vehicle before walking away to a nearby building.

A witness contacted police and, shortly before 1 a.m., officers arrested a woman and a replica gun was seized, police say.

London police says that the victim and suspect did not know each other, and there were no reported injuries. The accused was kept in custody and was expected to appear in London court Friday.

In a similar incident, London police say they were contacted at about 7 p.m. on Monday and told a woman was pointing a handgun near Wellington and Horton streets, just south of the core.

One person was arrested and a replica gun was seized, police said at the time.

A woman, 52, is charged with possession of a weapon and using an imitation firearm in commission of a crime, police said. She was released from custody and is scheduled to next appear in court on Aug. 21.

On Canada Day, London police said they were called to an area in Lambeth where two men said a man on a motorcycle pointed a gun at them. The incident happened at about 7:30 p.m., police said.

Article content

The male on a small, black motorcycle then drove off. Officers arrested a suspect a short distance from the scene and recovered a black BB gun replica firearm, police said.

Fake guns have sparked safety warnings from area police departments in the past. In 2022, Aylmer police sounded the alarm after they said officers stopped a teenager who was inside a vehicle with a replica handgun that closely resembled a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver.

“The message is simple: Police cannot tell if your gun is real or fake. Avoid a confrontation. Do not show an imitation gun in public or leave in vehicle,” police said in statement at the time.

Article content