Swords, throwing stars and fake guns used for intimidation on Halifax streets

Members of Halifax's underworld havetaken a liking to ancient weapons and some areusing swords, throwing starsand maces to intimidate their own.

Det. Sgt. Bill Morriswith the Halifax Regional Police said weapons that had their heyday in medieval Europe and ancient Japan are being used on the streets of modern-day Halifax.

The weapons aren't being brought to bear on the general public, according to Morris.They're mainly being used to intimidate people already involved in criminal activity like the illegal drug trade.

While many of the weapons look like they're from a fantasy movie, they're all too real and "life-threatening," said Morris.

"It's a sharp-edged weapon that could potentially kill you or your partner or a member of the public. They're very dangerous and they're not meant to be had by people. That's why they're prohibited," he said.

Injuries from these weapons can confuse police and medical staff as they try to piece together a crime.

"People they get beat, get stabbed and until you actually get the weapon,you don't know what it is," Morris said."But a lot of times when we do end up solving stuff, it comes back and you look and it's stuff you don't expect."

Morris believes many of the odd weapons police confiscate were bought online and shipped into the province, while a handful are homemade.

Almost weekly, police find weapons when they search homes and vehicles for illegal drugs, said Morris. Occasionally officers findancient weapons and fake firearms mixed in with the more conventional knives and guns.

Other times,police are called after a member of the public spots someone brandishing an unusual weapon, or police find weapons like brass knuckles and throwing stars when arresting people for other crimes.

Morris didn't have any specific numbers on how often they find ancient weapons or fake guns.

But imitation firearms worry him most of all.

Some people on the street have started using BB guns that are made of metal, use ammunitionshaped like bulletsand are coloured exactly like real guns.

"If you're involved with something illegal, some people just feel more secure if they have what they believe to be protection.So if somebody flashes a gun at somebody, the person may think twice about doing something.

"But it could also get them shot if somebody else has a real gun, especially if you pull it on a police officer. Our job is to protect your life, our lives, so we have to decide in a split second if that weapon or firearm is real," said Morris."Fake guns they're as dangerous as real ones in our world."

On the other hand, police are also seeing real weapons disguised as something innocuous.

Halifax Regional Police have seen a rise in the number of people carrying key chain punch knives shaped like a cat face,where the pointed ears act like a knife.

"A lot of people think they're cute," said Bill Brooks, an evidence technician with Halifax Regional Police."If you were to pull that out and get in a little scuffle, [you could] very easily slip your fingers in and it becomes a punch knife."

Over the years, the Halifax Regional Police have collected four boxes of ancient and unusual weapons, which it keeps in storage. Many weapons are destroyed after they are used as evidence, but the force keeps a few on hand to train new officers to identify illegal weapons and spot fakes.