OTTAWA, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- Rates of violent crime involving firearms in Canada remained stable for the fourth consecutive year, federal statistics released in Ottawa indicated Wednesday.
The Statistics Canada agency said crimes involving guns accounted for 2.4 percent of Canadian victims of violence, or about 8,100 people, the agency said.
More than two-thirds of the gun crimes involved handguns, while knives accounted for 6.2 percent of violent victimizations and blunt instruments were used against 3 percent of victims, the agency reported.
Nationwide, Vancouver, British Columbia, had the highest rate of gun-related criminal injuries, followed by Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Toronto, the report said.
Vancouver's rate of 45.3 violent offenses involving guns for every 100,000 population was well above the national average of 27.5, while Winnipeg's rate was 43.9 and Toronto's was 40.4, the agency said.
Police statistics showed 190 homicides were committed with a firearm in 2006, 33 fewer than the previous year.
