Waterloo gun amnesty yields 50 weapons in first 7 days

Waterloo Region's first-ever weaponsamnesty month has led to the recovery of 50 weapons in the first seven days.

Police declaredthe amnesty in October, telling people that for the entire month of Novemberthey could turn in any unwanted weapons tothe force by calling for an officer to come to their home to pick them up.

• Waterloo Regional Police hold first ever gun amnesty

The small arsenal collected by police includes38 firearms, several dozen boxes of ammunition, as well as a collection of a dozen pellet guns, prohibited knives and even a can of bear spray.

While most of the weapons are pretty common,there were some unusual finds, including what could be an antiquerifle, Waterloo Regional Police spokesman Olaf Heinzel said Friday.

'Red Ryder' BB gun among finds

"There was one shotgun-style rifle that looked like it may have dated back maybe 100 years, but it was fairly rusty and it looked pretty old," Heinzelsaid.

The other oddity included a brand of BB gun made famous by a classic American holiday television special that has been a broadcast staple in many North American homes since the 1980s.

"We did get one Red Ryder BB gun," Heinzel said. "Everybody commented 'oh that's just like in the showThe Christmas Story.It was pretty beat up, but you could still see on the stock, 'Red Ryder' on it."

While the discovery of that particular BB gun did elicit some smiles on the force,Heinzel said police are taking the month-long weapons amnesty very seriously.

Officers 'pleased' with response

"I think the officers are pleased with the way the community is responding," he said. "Every item like that that comes out of the community means it can't fall into the wrong hands."

"The same goes for some of these pellet guns, particularly some of the hand guns that we've seen, from a distance they look potentially real," he said.

"We often get calls from the community about someone walking and carrying a pellet gun," he said.

"The untrained eye can't tell the difference and they call the police and then police need to treat it as a legitimate gun call until they can determine that it's either an imitation or a pellet gun."