Police find 174 guns in senior's house during wellness check
The firearms, most of which were vintage and from World War II, had not been stored safely
Vancouver police say they seized more than 170 guns from a senior's home in South Granville while conducting a wellness check last week.
Officers, along with staff from Vancouver Coastal Health, went to a home near West 15th Avenue and Granville Street to check on a 76-year-old man at the request of his doctor as part of Car 87, a program that pairs a plainclothes police officer with a registered or psychiatric nurse to do on-site assessments during mental health crises.
Police say the man has dementia and physical health issues.
Most of the 174 firearms found in the home were vintage and from the Second World War.
"The guns were all seized as they were not stored safely," said Const. Tania Visintin with the Vancouver Police Department in a statement.
The man was taken to hospital to be seen by a psychiatric professional, she said.
Not every VPD call involves a crime. This week <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Car87?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Car87</a> recovered 174 guns from a west-side senior after visiting his house for a wellness check. His physical and mental health was in decline, so officers took him to hospital for urgent care. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/communityinneed?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#communityinneed</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/worldmentalhealthday?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#worldmentalhealthday</a> <a href="https://t.co/K9yxydihHs">pic.twitter.com/K9yxydihHs</a>
—@FionaWilsonVPD