Police recover loaded semi-automatic rifle in Vancouver’s Strathcona neighbourhood

Vancouver police are investigating the discovery of a loaded, semi-automatic rifle about a block from a controversial homeless encampment.

A construction worker found the gun in a tent bag near Prior Street and Heatley Avenue around 9:30 a.m. last Thursday, according to police.

That’s not far from the Strathcona Park camp that area residents blame for an increase in property crime in the area.

Police swabbed the gun for fingerprints and have canvassed the area for video surveillance, said Const. Tania Visintin.

Tension has been building in the neighbourhood since homeless people and housing activists established the Strathcona Park camp after being pushed out of Oppenheimer Park and a former lot next to CRAB Park in June.

4:36 Back to school concerns for Strathcona residents

The camp has since grown to about 400 tents.

Occupants say the camp provides a necessary, safer option than homeless shelters or living on the street, while neighbourhood residents say it has become a haven for criminals and contributed to an uptick in violent incidents in the area.

Deputy Vancouver Police Chief Howard Chow told a special council meeting last week that police had seen a 50 per cent increase in weapons calls around Strathcona, along with a 68 per cent increase in break-ins and threatening street disorder.

On Monday, Vancouver city council passed a motion to explore five emergency housing alternatives, including a disaster relief shelter, tiny house villages, or converting hotels to housing.