VERNON – Police hope the arrest of a teenager packing a handgun will help curtail a recent escalation of drug-trade related violence in Vernon.
The incidents include three shootings since April including a drive-by shooting earlier this month.
The Vernon Mounties asked the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of BC’s Uniform Gang Enforcement Team for assistance.
“Teaming up with a key partner agency such as the CFSEU-BC is part of our detachment’s ongoing strategy to target individuals and groups involved in this violent activity,” says Vernon RCMP Supt. Jim McNamara in a news release.
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On Tuesday, UGET team members arrested a 16-year-old outside a suspected drug house on Bevan Court as he was about to leave in a vehicle.
A search of the boy turned up a loaded handgun and two bottles of codeine.
“It did not take long for members of the CFSEU-BC ‘s Uniform Gang Enforcement Team to make an arrest and take a loaded gun off of Vernon’s streets that could have potentially killed someone,” says CFSEU-BC spokesperson S/Sgt. Lindsey Houghton. “With that gun now off the streets, it will not only make Vernon safer, but also destabilize and impact the ability of the associated criminal group to cause fear and violence.”
The suspect was arrested for possession of a loaded firearm without a license.
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