Government needs to outlaw assault rifles, says MHA

St. John's South MHA Tom Osborne says assault rifles should be outlawed altogether in Canada, to avoid tragedies like the double-murder suicide in Conception Bay South earlier this week.

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary says Brian Dawe, 43, shot and killed his former girlfriend Julianne Hibbs on Tuesday night inside a medical clinic in Villa Nova Plaza. 

He then killed her boyfriend, Vince Dillon, 45, who had been waiting in the parking lot.

Dawe's body was found on Wednesday morning at an Anglican cemetery in Mount Pearl. Police said they found the 9-mm handgun used to shoot Hibbs and Dillon, as well as an AK-47 assault rifle with hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

The RNC said the weapons were legally owned, but the magazines were unlawfully modified.

Osborne said on CBC's On Point Radio on Friday there is only one purpose for anyone to own an assault rifle and it's necessary for the federal government to take action.

"The only reason anybody would have an assault rifle is to kill people — that's what they're designed and built for. They shouldn't be allowed on our soil," Osborne said.

"Newfoundland and Labrador has always been known as a very peaceful place. We need to have our law enforcement here, [the] RCMP and RNC, equipped and funded to be able to deal with these new challenges, but we need to focus on the federal government to prevent these from being legal."

The RNC said it found a total of 43 weapons inside Dawe's home, not including the two weapons found inside his vehicle where they discovered his body.