HIGH RIVER — Mounties in Alberta announced Sunday that they’ll begin returning some of the guns they seized during searches of evacuated homes in this flood ravaged town.
An RCMP news release says that owners of guns that were seized should call police, and that an officer will call them back to make arrangements to have the weapons picked up.
The Mounties said earlier that they took the guns as officers searched homes in High River’s flood zone to look for flood victims, pets and anything that might pose a threat to returning residents.
Any guns were removed from homes because they were not properly stored, said Staff Sgt. Brian Jones, who added that no charges are planned.
“There is no indication of that at this point in time. That wasn’t the reason. That wasn’t the intention,” Jones said about the gun seizures.
“Our focus was on the search and rescue operations.”
The move to take the weapons was condemned by the Prime Minister’s Office, who said the Mounties should focus on more important tasks such as protecting lives and private property.
Critics took the PMO to task, saying the Harper government should not be dictating how the Mounties should conduct their operations.
Jones said owners of guns that were seized can let RCMP hang onto their firearms if they can’t return to their homes, yet. He said it’s also OK if they want to store the guns with someone else.