Hamilton’s acting police chief says a new project was launched in December to stop targeted retaliation between neighbourhood gangs.
Frank Bergen outlined the early results in a budget presentation to city councillors on Thursday.
Bergen says 42 people have been charged in relation to Project Strong and face a total of 372 charges.
He adds that 10 firearms and 471 rounds of ammunition have been seized, along with four other weapons, and $390,000 worth of cocaine, crystal meth and fentanyl.
Bergen says the creation of Project Strong follows a year that saw 51 shootings in Hamilton, up from 47 in 2019 and more than doubling a total of 25 shootings in 2018.
Bergen adds that there were 23 victims and eight fatalities attributed to last year’s shootings, while 32 of the incidents resulted in no injuries.