The data, which was obtained through an access to information request, also shows that nearly a dozen RCMP firearms have gone missing so far this year.
In total, 122 handguns, 55 shotguns, 23 rifles, three submachine-guns and two machine-guns have been reported lost by RCMP detachments across the country since 2020. Canadians are largely prohibited from using or acquiring machine-guns and submachine-guns, which are fully automatic and capable of rapid fire.
Nearly half of the guns were lost in 2021, when a staggering 99 RCMP firearms were reported missing, including three fully automatic weapons. There were also 25 lost firearms in 2020, 44 in 2022, 26 in 2023 and 11 in the first seven months of 2024.
That was a singular, isolated event, probably heavily influenced by the movie Heat. We’ve never had another robbery like that since then.
It was a singular event that was broadcast all over North America. Following that police departments in the states started getting surplus AR-15s.
And it shaped all police forces in the US for the entire decade after