Two gun control advocacy groups are asking for information.
Specifically, about the firearms used in the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, in February.
PolySeSouvient and Danforth Families for Safe Communities say the RCMP has a duty to disclose which guns were involved in the Feb. 10 shootings that left nine people dead, including Jesse Van Rootselaar, the young assailant.
In a media statement, the groups say withholding this information prevents informed debate about Canada’s gun control laws and how they are enforced.
They say the RCMP has not explained how disclosing the models and legal status of the firearms would compromise the ongoing police investigation.
The two groups were among five advocacy organizations that told the RCMP in a March letter they were “alarmed and disappointed” that the force had not yet released basic information about the guns.
BC’s Public Safety Minister Nina Krieger says the police investigation into the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting is in its final stages, but releasing information prematurely could compromise the probe.
Nina Krieger says it would compromise the investigation if details were released prematurely, though she understands the public’s desire for answers about the shooting.
“Ultimately, it is through that investigation that accountability will be ensured, and rushing that investigation will not support that function,” she said.
Krieger said protecting the integrity of the police investigation is essential to getting answers for the public.
“We know that the need for answers is there for victims’ families, for the community, for British Columbians, Canadians, and for all of us, and that is why the B.C. coroner has directed an inquest, which is a robust process under oath that will provide, we hope, any of the answers that people are looking for,” said Kreiger.
The Canadian Press is part of a consortium of media outlets that is taking legal action to obtain information about guns used in the mass shooting and firearms seized from the home of Van Rootselaar.
-The Canadian Press
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