It was a disturbing seizure of
guns and ammunition made more troubling by the personal circumstances of the
arrested man.
A Kelowna resident is in custody undergoing a psychiatric assessment after
police found a small arsenal of firepower in a home and vehicle.
In total, 13
rifles and handguns were seized along with more than 2000 rounds of ammunition.
Police say 20 bullet clips had been illegally modified to hold up to 30 rounds.
“Anyone who has a supply of firearms of this nature, it’s certainly very
serious when these circumstances come to light,” says RCMP Constable Kris
Clark.
David Michael
Toneff, 33, is charged with 25 gun offenses.
A
seizure of two packages allegedly destined for Toneff by border agents in May
adds to police concerns.
Inside the packages were instruction
manuals to modify two of Toneff’s rifles into fully automatic weapons.
There
were also a replica grenade, a tactical backpack, a face mask and a copy of The
Turner Diaries.
Police say it’s a prohibited hate propaganda book about a
violent revolution to overthrow the American government and slaughter all
Jewish and non-white people.
According to information RCMP swore to obtain a
search warrant, Toneff’s father told officers his son is a grade 8 dropout who
joined the Canadian Military, served in Afghanistan, and was later
diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Toneff allegedly stopped taking
his medications about a year ago.
His father says Toneff’s personality
changed and he became very quiet and dark.
The investigation started in January
after police pulled over a vehicle for a burned out headlight and found nine
guns, four of them loaded, along with ammunition, 29 gun magazines, an axe and
a machete.
“Circumstances were certainly quite shocking”, says
Constable Clark.
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