VANCOUVER -- The Vancouver Police Department is considering declaring an amnesty on guns amid a growing demand for action after the tragic shooting death of a popular skateboarding artist.
Sergeant Anne Drennan said yesterday that police officials "are discussing it now" but don't want to rush into the project without having a plan and extra staffing in place.
"Our senior officers are discussing the potential for an amnesty similar to the one they had in Toronto," Sgt. Drennan said. "There are logistical issues . . . you can't just say please turn in your guns . . . you need a plan in place."
She said police aren't under any illusion that hardened criminals will rush in to hand over their weapons, but it could help alleviate an increasingly dangerous situation.
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"We know criminals will be very, very unlikely to turn their guns in . . . [but] it would be a step in the right direction," she said.
Police have been thinking about a gun amnesty for some time, but the issue was pushed to the forefront when Lee Matasi was gunned down outside a Vancouver nightclub early Saturday morning.
The victim was a young artist who recently graduated from the Ottawa School of Art with an award for excellence and had planned to move to Paris with his girlfriend.
Mr. Matasi was well known in Vancouver's skateboard community for the graffiti art he painted on bare concrete walls and for turning a bleak underpass into a vibrant skateboarding park.
Friends of Mr. Matasi, who last night held a vigil at the Leeside skateboard park he helped create in East Vancouver, said a gun amnesty is long overdue.
"That's a great idea," said George Faulkner, who had known Mr. Matasi for more than a decade and who first taught him skateboarding.
"I first met him when he was 10," Mr. Faulkner said. "He was just a great guy to be around. He was a good artist and he was a very creative skateboarder. . . . The last kind of thing he ever wanted to be involved with was violence."
Mr. Faulkner said Vancouver has become a much more dangerous city in recent years because of an influx of guns.
"You don't need a gun in the city," he said. "It's just getting ridiculous."
Lee Ann Slade, a member of the Vancouver Skate Park Coalition, said the city's close-knit skateboarding and artistic communities are shocked by Mr. Matasi's death.
"You're going to see a lot of people take a stand against this violence that's going on," she said. "We can't tolerate this any more. Something has to be done."
Ms. Slade said a decade ago she thought nothing of going out to nightclubs in the city. Now, however, she wouldn't because of a series of shooting incidents in recent years.
"I'm afraid to go the bars. . . . It's getting worse and worse. You never know who's going to have a gun."
Ms. Slade said Mr. Matasi was a peaceful man who would step into disputes to mediate.
"He was not a violent person. He was the most mellow guy. . . one of those people who just had a good vibe."
James Miller, founder of http://www.youthandviolence.com, is doing a survey in Vancouver's nightclub district this week on safety issues.
He said the shooting of Mr. Matasi is being raised by a lot of people who are worried about guns on the streets -- and in the clubs.
"Several people we talked to were friends of his, or they were out clubbing in that area the night of the shooting. Some were very upset," he said.
Early survey results indicate people are concerned about escalating levels of violence and a majority -- 60 per cent -- don't feel nightclubs are doing enough to ensure safety.
He said 40 per cent said they have been a victim of violence in nightclubs.
"I personally feel a gun amnesty would be very effective," he said. "It can't be the only thing you do, but it's a start."
While police are still investigating the shooting of Mr. Matasi, some reports indicate he approached or made comments to a man who was firing a gun into the air.
"Apparently the victim ran [before he was shot]," Sgt. Drennan said.
Dennis Robert White, 28, has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder.
Yesterday, Sgt. Drennan issued a renewed appeal for anyone who witnessed the shooting to call police. The incident took place outside the Red Room Niteclub at about 3:30 a.m. on Saturday.
"There were quite a few people in the area . . . there could be a half-dozen [witnesses], there might be more," Sgt. Drennan said. "They were right there . . . they can fill in a lot of the blanks for us."
Police in Toronto set up a gun amnesty during November, collecting 261 guns and more than 1,500 rounds of ammunition.
Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair said the results of the amnesty made the streets safer.
