Winnipeg police say they’re seeing a troubling trend of machetes increasingly being used as a weapon of choice by local criminals.
At a press briefing Tuesday – in which details of two machete-related crimes were released – police Cst. Rob Carver said he’s seen the number of machetes on the streets increase significantly over the last two years.
“Prior to a couple of years ago, it was fairly rare,” Carver said.
“It seems to be a weapon of choice currently by many criminals.
“It’s a very intimidating weapon. You pull out a machete, which is effectively a giant knife. It’s more intimidating than a small knife, and it can certainly do more damage.
“We’ve had some incidences where we have had victims of attacks with a machete and it’s a dangerous, serious weapon.”
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