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91ƵAbsolutely scary91Ƶ: B.C. police warn of dangers in creating 3D-printed guns

Anti-gang agency says firearms may look like harmless toys, but can pose a real threat

If you can Google, you can get the schematics to create a 3D-printed firearm or weapon, says B.C.91Ƶs anti-gang police agency.

That was the message from the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit Tuesday (July 11) warning the public, parents and their children of the dangers of 3D printers.

91ƵYou can literally go on to the internet and Google 3D printing schematics and plans, and unless there91Ƶs oversight in visibility of what is being done, there is a risk that our children might be printing things that we wouldn91Ƶt want them to have,91Ƶ explained Staff Sgt. Baltej Dhillon, program manager for CFSEU91Ƶs crime guns investigative and intelligence group.

91ƵBecause it91Ƶs so new and we91Ƶre still learning ourselves the risks and dangers to it, this is an extraordinary step that we91Ƶre taking to make sure our children don91Ƶt find themselves in a situation and parents don91Ƶt find themselves in a situation that they91Ƶre having to come to a police station and bring their child along. That make be a best-case scenario. The worst-case scenario is the child getting hurt.91Ƶ

Police have dubbed them privately made firearms, but plans can also include 3D-printed 91Ƶbrass91Ƶ knuckles, knives and grenades. CFSEU had several 3D-printed guns on display, along with a 3D printing in progress for the frame for a Glock 26.

91ƵIt really didn91Ƶt take our team long to figure out how to print from the online sources,91Ƶ noted Daisy Wong, lab manager with CFSEU91Ƶs Provincial Forensic Firearms Lab.

Wong is part of a team that takes the seized items, assesses them and determines if they can readily be made into a firearm. If they can, then it91Ƶs likely a prosecutable offence.

What the team has found is that 50 per cent of them are 91Ƶfailed jobs,91Ƶ which have flaws and can pose structural integrity issues, but the rest are operable as is.

The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit Provincial Forensic Firearms Lab manager Daisy Wong points to a Songbird firearm, which was almost entirely made from a 3D printer. The CFSEU-B.C. warned the public, parents and their children of the dangers of using 3D printers to make firearms or other potential weapons during a press briefing Tuesday (July 11, 2023). (Lauren Collins)
The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit Provincial Forensic Firearms Lab manager Daisy Wong points to a Songbird firearm, which was almost entirely made from a 3D printer. The CFSEU-B.C. warned the public, parents and their children of the dangers of using 3D printers to make firearms or other potential weapons during a press briefing Tuesday (July 11, 2023). (Lauren Collins)

A 3D printer can make about 80 per cent of a firearm and the remaining 20 per cent are all parts that are legal to purchase, such as barrels and trigger mechanisms.

Dhillon has had a decades-long career in policing, but he never expected to 3D-printed guns as a cause for concern.

91ƵPrivately made firearms are here to stay, but this technology is absolutely scary.91Ƶ

Operations officer Insp. Joel Hussey said Tuesday91Ƶs warning wasn91Ƶt about 91Ƶmoving away from the huge benefit that 3D printing provides,91Ƶ but instead being aware and mitigating the risks with what the technology can do.

91ƵThat is what is concerning to the public is that they91Ƶre being made to look like real guns 91Ƶ that is concerning. Also equally disturbing, as you see here, they91Ƶre made to look like toys, so they also pose that risk to public.91Ƶ

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He said in B.C. and Canada, there has yet to be a high number of these type of firearms, but law enforcement agencies are noticing a year-over-year rise in seizures and illegal use of the 3D-printed firearms. It91Ƶs becoming a global trend.

In Canada, the number of privately made firearms in 2021 was 91Ƶjust shy of 200,91Ƶ but it rose to 500 the following year.

Comparatively, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in the U.S. seized about 8,500 in 2020. That number rose to 19,000 in 2021.



lauren.collins@blackpress.ca

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Lauren Collins

About the Author: Lauren Collins

I'm a provincial reporter for Black Press Media's provincial team, after my journalism career took me around B.C. since I was 19 years old.
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