ann m

Communication is the most difficult thing to organize in any fast time incident. Magnify that tenfold when you have different agencies, with different responsibilities, all working on different radio channels and it's invariably a f*** up that leads to tons of incredulous speculation after the fact as to "how could this have happened".

Every Chief Constable in the land will now be going to media proclaiming how ready they are for any such similar incident, but I would put money on the fact that they are not even vaguely ready. I can tell you that Calgary Police (who's Chief was on the TV yesterday declaring oh-so-politically-correctly how Calgary were ready) are not ready.

Everyone bumbles along, is crucified with the hindsight later on, and makes a couple of changes to the Procedures Manual after the horse has bolted.

magnumpi

So CBC news are saying he (the crazed gun man) was miffed that the Canada passport folks wanted to ask him a few questions regarding his application for a passport. (Prob Like to know more about his recent Islamic brainwashing and planned vacation in Syria) He did not have his passport removed.

Oakvillian

I have been somewhat amused, in my own cynical little way, to listen to assorted Government spokespeople wriggle when asked about today's news-agenda question: where did Zehaf-Bibeau get his gun? Just think, if the serial number information had been recorded in some central list somewhere, like - oh, I don't know, a long-gun registry - then that information would be easily to hand, no? A blustery Senator was quite splendid in his obfuscation of this issue on the news last night. Can't remember who he was, but he was ridiculous.

But, on the broader issue, it seems everyone may have been a bit hasty calling this one an ISIS-inspired terrorist incident. Sure, the guy had been watching some questionable content on line, but this has more of the hallmarks of an unstable individual with a personal grudge, rather than a dedicated jihadist. Not that that makes it any less tragic, of course.

caretaker

He probably stole the rifle and ammunition or bought it on the street. The dope cycle has a vibrant stolen property component so someone living on the street or who has addicts as friends will know who has one. Mental illness was probably a factor but I consider this primarily a politically and religously motivated act based on his choice of targets and his recent history. He wasn't on the list of suspect jihadis though, so CSIS might be re-thinking their criteria for that.

Oakvillian

well yes, but where/who from? Who was the licensed owner? What is the history of ownership of the rifle? A registry would be a good starting point in tracing the movement of the weapon into the hands of the shooter.

But of course, as we have heard many times from anti-gun-registry folks, criminals don't use long guns. Except when they do.

BristolUK

Yes.

Funny isn't it. Tickets for football matches given to officials, players etc that find their way into the wrong hands are traced back to those responsible who are punished by the authorities.

But not guns.

scrubbedexpat091

I am sure they will determine where he got the gun at some point, but if it had been stolen, who knows how many hands it went through before ending up with him.

Based on his drug problems, and street life, I am sure he could obtain one on the black market without much difficulty.

macadian

True, I am sure he could get hold of one easier than the unarmed guard at the door to parliament! That this obvous hole in the Parliaments security was not covered long before now is tatamount to neglect! Oh wait, having someone armed at that door would send the wrong message about Canada....Yea, you got that right!!!

magnumpi

He used an old long gun that held 5 rounds only and had to be reloaded prior to killing with. The head of "rumour control" says he most likely stole the gun off of some ones wall.

caretaker

The one I had held 6 in the magazine and 1 in the chamber and most 30-30's were the same. Winchester manufactured these until 8 years ago but they're still made under license offshore and imported. If it had a steel butt-plate it's pre 1964. Mine was made in 1948. Arguably the most popular deer rifle ever made there could be a million or more still in use in Canada. Age isn't everything (he said slyly), my Springfield is 101 years old and still delivers sub minute-of-angle accuracy.

FlaviusAetius

Right. You have a gun in your house, there's a burglary and the gun is stolen, you do report it to the police (or fail to report it if your ownership is a bit dodgy and it wasn't registered). That gun now circulates on the street until someone uses it to shoot someone else. While in circulation it's worth a lot of money - even more if the serial number is removed.

Take Chicago, with the strictest gun control laws in the USA...well, you take Chicago, please. Come to think of it, you Canucks once invaded the US and seized both Detroit and Chicago (August 1812). We're willing to return both.

caretaker

They x-ray serial # spaces on motorcycles now to see if numbers have been removed and new ones stamped over, I wonder if they can do the same with firearms? If it was purchased new before 1979 there may be no record at all.

BristolUK

It might have passed through so many hands as to render all the rules (and any new ones) pointless.

Or it might not.

I'm always a bit puzzled when people say it's quite easy to get guns especially when they suggest popping over the border to get one.

That one needs to "get in" with criminals to get one would likely put otherwise law abiding citizens off in the first place. I'm not about to ask around where I might get a gun and then take a load of cash to some dodgy situation and meet a total stranger engaged in criminal activities. Hands up anyone else who is.

And that's without adding the risks of going through border controls.

Not everyone is going to be deterred by strict laws of course, but some will be. Some is better than nobody.

caretaker

Every so often there will be a news item about a trucker or tourist or whoever with 6 or 10 handguns heading north intercepted at the local border crossings here. I assume they're destined for gangsters of some sort and probably just the tip of the iceberg. I don't know if it's a fact but it seems over the past decade the weapons used in our hold-ups have changed from nearly always knives to more and more guns. We still seem to have more people stabbed than shot though.

MarkG

Only if the consequences of preventing the law-abiding from owning guns are no worse than the benefits of keeping them out of the hands of those 'some'.

People who are determined to murder others don't have much trouble finding weapons to do so. Ignoring acts of terrorism and genocide, I believe you'll find the most deadly mass murder in America was committed with a can of gas and a match. This case just shows how ineffective guns are as weapons of mass murder when some of the intended victims are armed. Sadly, the terrorist nutters may learn from this and use something more effective next time... or go somewhere where their victims won't be armed.