Posted on 01/18/2005 10:22:23 AM PST by neverdem
London police say the easily accessible weapons are coming out of pockets in the heat of the moment.
The easy accessibility of knives on the street makes them deadly when emotions run high, London police said following a rash of weekend knifings. "Walking downtown with a pocket knife or some other type of knife . . . is not necessarily a criminal offence," London police Chief Murray Faulkner said yesterday.
"But when emotions erupt, people know they have this weapon in their pocket and they're quick to use it."
Latest police statistics show weapons offences, which aren't broken down by type, are on the rise, up 13 per cent last year over 2003.
That may be because society is more violent, Faulkner said.
"If you grow up bombarded by violence, it will have an impact," he said, referring to TV, movies and video games.
Four people were hurt in three separate knifing attacks over the weekend.
The most serious was about 3 a.m. Sunday, when a fight broke out in the parking lot behind Club Phoenix at Richmond Street and Queens Avenue.
A London man, 23, was in critical but stable condition yesterday with five stab wounds to his chest and arm.
A second city man, also 23, was in serious but stable condition.
Fernando Barrera, 20, of London, is charged with two counts of aggravated assault.
About midnight Sunday, a Toronto man, 27, was arrested in Club Phoenix after a Waterloo man, 23, received a shoulder cut when he was stabbed with a broken bottle.
He was treated and released from hospital.
About the same time, a 17-year-old Londoner was stabbed when teenagers tried to crash a house party on Trellis Crescent in Westmount. He was in serious but stable condition yesterday. A 19-year-old man is charged.
Const. Jeff Arbing said it's not uncommon to find a weapon such as a pocket knife on someone being arrested.
While not illegal, they often become deadly weapons when emotions run high.
Almost monthly, police investigate a stabbing.
"It's a very disturbing trend that is putting public and officer safety in jeopardy," said Arbing.
Knives may be the weapon of choice because crimes involving a firearm come with a minimum sentence judges must impose, he said.
For example, if a person is convicted of robbing a variety store at gunpoint, they get at least one year in jail for using the firearm on top of the sentence for the robbery.
But if the robber used a knife in the same circumstances, there is no minimum sentence for the weapon.
LONDON STABBINGS
- Laura Wilson, 23, was stabbed to death Jan. 9. Her ex-boyfriend has been charged with first-degree murder.
- Two employees of Jack's were escorting a man from the club Nov. 16 when he pulled a knife and stabbed them. Corey Shankar, 20, is charged with several offences, including aggravated assault.
- Bill Smith, 37, died after he was stabbed outside his Clarence Street apartment Nov. 16. Darwin Woodruff, 19, has been charged with second-degree murder.
- Matthew Cook, 22, was stabbed to death June 20 outside the Duchess of Kent Royal Canadian Legion branch during a stag-and-doe dance. Rowhan Lloyd Mitchell, 29, of Strathroy, is charged with manslaughter.
Yeah, ban the knives, your GUN BAN is working GREAT...for the criminal class that is.
You know where this is heading...
YET!
And just think! All the idiot gun-grabbers want to reduce America to this kind of insanity!
Therefore, starting today, all knives can be turned in at the local constable's office in exchange for a nice, lovely plastic spork, still in its original wrapper.
I think they'll ban violent television and movies before they resort to banning hands. Teletubbies and Care Bears, 24x7.
Tongue's the fastest weapon known to mankind. Must be removed at all cost to keep anyone from being hurt.
Well the answer is clear: cutlery must be banned.
But fear not, law-abiding citizens. The state will cut your meat FOR you.
A nation of shopkeepers indeed...
Is it still permissible to carry a sword at your side in England?............
And heeeere we go...Anyone who doubted that the slippery slope of gun control exists should read this twice.
But crime so exploded in London that the city was soon wallpapered with these flyers and the police stopped posting them.
I'm pretty sure this is London, Ontario.
No kidding. In feudal Japan, each villiage had only one knife - chained to a large rock in the village center. Notice that Oriental food never needs a knife for eating.
Fast forward: With modern packaging, you could easily buy everything pre-cut and not need any knives, for cooking or consumption.
"You know where this is heading..."
Yep!
"Westside Story"
"If you grow up bombarded by violence, it will have an impact," he said, referring to TV, movies and video games."
They better ban grinders and all metal because with one and the other a fairly good knife can be made in about a hr.
A file and metal just takes a bit longer.
But then who needs metal some tape and glass will work just fine. Oh I forget you can make knifes out of the right kind of rock.
Damm I guess disarmament only hurts the honest people.
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