DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
GCN compiles
an on-going list of incidents involving guns. See links
to Infer Trust for summaries of incidents involving domestic violence.
We define domestic violence as 'violence that is or arrives from a
personal relationship.'
We know that our information
is incomplete. The number of incidents in our lists is between 10
and 15 percent of the total number of firearms offences recorded in Home
Office and Scottish Government figures, though we believe nearly all of
the most serious crimes are being included. Your help in collecting more
information would be greatly appreciated. If you have any information
about an incident please contact us by email
contact@gun-control-network.org.
Please see our explanation of
why
we highlight incidents involving air weapons.
Domestic
Violence in England, Scotland and Wales
List of Domestic Incidents:
2004-2011
(see also
March 2010 Review)
Monthly
Incidents
The following are monthly
lists of incidents which appear to have involved family members, partners
or ex-partners, close friends or neighbours. This list does not include
every domestic incident in which a gun will have been used to intimidate,
threaten or injure. Many incidents go unreported because victims are too
afraid of further threats or injury if perpetrators know they are
investigated by police. We believe these incidents represent the tip of a
disturbing iceberg.
APRIL 2012
Pendle Today,
21
April 2012
Donna
Sherwin has been jailed for seven months after pulling a knife on her ex
partner who allegedly threatened her with a gun in Nelson,
Lancashire. The victim allegedly told her he had a
shotgun down his pants before an
altercation ensued.
News Shopper,
11
April 2012
Owen
Roberts has been handed a community order after he threatened his
girlfriend with an imitation firearm
in Erith, southeast London. Roberts reportedly pointed the gun at
the victim and verbally threatened to kill her. The ruling judge cited
Roberts' mental health as the reason for not imprisoning him for the
guilty charge of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of
violence.
St Helens Reporter,
11
April 2012
Christopher Strettle has been convicted of murdering his best friend in
Prescot, Merseyside. Strettle shot the victim in the chest before
his wife, Lesley, disposed of the murder weapon. She pleaded guilty to
assisting an offender and possessing a banned firearm. Strettle
reportedly used a handgun in the attack (Liverpool
Echo, 30 March 2012).
This is Wiltshire,
6
April 2012
Paul
Muller has been jailed for ten years after taking his son hostage in
2001 and then going on the run. Police arrested him for a domestic
dispute in Swindon when he held his son hostage at knifepoint,
also possessing an imitation handgun.
He falsely claimed he had a bomb and used his son as a human shield from
police. After police eventually captured him, Muller skipped bail and
was caught in December 2010 after he took a second son hostage in
Cambridgeshire.
West Briton,
5 April 2012
Travis
Hughes, 20, has been ordered to do unpaid work and given a suspended
sentence after cutting himself and another man over his relationship.
Police shot Hughes three times with a stun gun
to subdue him, before arresting and convicting him of affray and common
assault.
MARCH 2012
St. Helens Star, 23
March 2012
An inquest
determined that a police officer in St. Helens, Merseyside
committed suicide in February 2011 after assaulting another officer he
was having an affair with. He died after shooting himself in the head
with a shotgun.
This is North Devon,
19 March
2012
Police
arrested a man on suspicion of making threats to kill in Bideford,
Devon. Officers raided a home to respond to a domestic incident before
capturing the man and recovering a BB gun.
This is Wiltshire,
9
March 2012
Mathew
Bastin has been given a community order and was released after being
convicted of purchasing two illegal stun guns.
Bastin's home had been raided after police received information that he
had a history of harassing ex-girlfriends and possessed several items
relating to an intent to kidnap. He apparently purchased the second stun
gun days after being arrested for stalking his ex and having a similar
weapon. Bastin, who pleaded guilty to two counts of buying or acquiring
prohibited weapons, will not serve jail time but cannot enter Surrey or
leave the country for three years.
Western Morning News,
6 March 2012
Craig Lane
has been given a community order for criminal damage, possession of an
air rifle and possession of a
pickaxe handle after he attacked a car belonging to his ex-partner's new
boyfriend. Lane was carrying the air rifle when he smashed a window of
the car. He was ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid work.
Scottish Sun,
1
March 2012
Mo
Siddique, Tencho Andonov and Deyan Nikolov were convicted of murder
after Siddique ordered the execution of his brother in Fife. He
paid the others to carry out the murder, while Andonov, who pulled the
trigger on the fatal blast that killed Siddique's brother, was also
convicted of a attempted murder of a second man also present.
JANUARY 2012
Halifax Courier,
13
January 2012
Marcin
Kasprzak has been jailed for 20 years for attempted murder and
possessing a prohibited weapon after attacking his girlfriend in
Huddersfield in May 2008. Kasprzak shot the victim twice with a
stun gun before he bound and gagged
her, forced her into a cardboard box and buried her alive. He then took
her bank card and withdrew 500 pounds before being caught at the home of
his accomplice, 18-year-old Patryck Borys, who was sentenced to four and
a half years at a young offenders institute for kidnapping. The victim
managed to survive and escape, and now has sole custody of the son she
had with Kasprzak one month before the attack.
North West Evening Mail,
11
January 2012
Daniel
Adams has been found guilty of possessing an
air rifle with intent to cause fear of violence. Adams
threatened another man with the airgun in Barrow, Lancashire
after the victim confronted Adams at Adams' home. The incident was the
result of a dispute over the victim's son, who lives with Adams. The
victim reportedly grabbed the loaded weapon and left the house with it
before police got involved.
BBC News,
3
January 2012
A man shot
and killed three women in Horden, County Durham before turning
the gun on himself. The killer used a legally owned
shotgun to murder his partner, her
sister and his partner's niece. The BBC reports that the killer, who was
licensed to own six firearms, had previously had his guns taken away by
police in 2008, but his licenses were later restored.
DECEMBER 2011
Fulham Chronicle,
9 December 2011
Samantha
Cadge has been found guilty of arranging for her ex-partner to be shot
in west London in November 2010. She hired a gunman to blast her
ex after he ended their relationship, and the victim was left confined
to a wheelchair. Police recovered the sawn-off
shotgun used in the shooting and convicted Cadge of
conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm after her friend Shane Worrall
and gunman Marwan Goodridge admitted the same charge. Cadge was jailed
for 16 years, while Worrall received 14 years and Goodridge was jailed
for 18 years and five months (Barnet
Today, 12 January 2012).
NOVEMBER 2011
Boston Standard,
25 November 2011
Jacek
Piwowarski has been jailed for two years after threatening to shoot his
ex-wife and possessing a loaded shotgun
in Lincolnshire. Piwowarski admitted assault,
possessing a loaded shotgun in a public place and breaching his shotgun
licence. He reportedly grabbed his ex-wife, leaving red marks on her
arms, and told her he would 'shoot her head off'.
Falmouth Packet,
25 November 2011
Dylan
Wilkes has been found guilty of assaulting his former partner in
Cornwall. Wilkes had been on the run for several weeks, and armed
police pursued him under the belief he may have had a firearm. Wilkes,
who admitted punching his former partner in the face and is alleged to
have attacked her further, was caught in the water trying to swim to
safety.
East Coast Target,
10 November
2011
Mark
Burton has been given a 12-month prison sentence suspended for two years
for possessing an unlicensed shotgun.
Burton, reportedly depressed over his mother's health, fired the shotgun
into the air after arguing with his partner. Police arrived at their
Lincolnshire home after his partner called them. They confiscated
the illegal weapon but spared him the mandatory five-year sentence for
possession of an unlicensed shotgun due to the judge ruling this case
was exceptional.
Ripley and Heanor News, 4 November 2011
Peter
Sisson has admitted illegally possessing a stun
gun, possessing amphetamine and damaging property. He
apparently broke into his ex-partner's home in Alfreton,
Derbyshire and threatened her with an axe. He was arrested four days
later in possession of the amphetamine, which he claimed to be taking to
counteract side effects from schizophrenia medication.
Sunderland Echo,
4 November
2011
A man who
killed one partner and was jailed for abusing another partner is
apparently on the run. Shaun Gibbons disappeared in Wearside and
witnesses reported seeing a man carrying a gun. Police recovered a
replica handgun at the scene. Gibbons choked his girlfriend to death in
1991 and was handed a reduced murder charge of 'manslaughter on the
grounds of provocation'. He served two years before being released and
he eventually married another woman, then was jailed for stalking and
bullying her during a two-month campaign of terror.
OCTOBER 2011
Boston Target, 28 October 2011
A man in
possession of a shotgun allegedly
threatened to shoot his estranged wife in Boston, Lincolnshire.
He is alleged to have turned up at the victim's home, grabbed her by the
arm and shouted "I'm going to shoot your head off." Police arrested the
man and recovered a loaded 12-bore shotgun plus 102 rounds of ammunition
from his car.
Scottish Sun,
26 October 2011
Frank
Moore has been jailed for at least 22 years for killing his ex-partner's
new boyfriend in Edinburgh. Moore bludgeoned the victim to death
and attacked his ex-partner, apparently setting fire to their flat and
leaving them. She was found by firefighters and survived the attack.
Police recovered a stun gun at
Moore's home, and he was convicted of illegally possessing the weapon
among numerous other charges.
BBC News,
12 October 2011
Colin
Baulch has admitted threatening his estranged wife and a man with a
loaded shotgun in Orkney.
Suspecting his wife of having an affair with the man, Baulch brandished
the weapon in October 2010 but the victims disarmed him and tied him up
until police arrived. Baulch will be sentenced next month for two counts
of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
Peterlee Mail, 4 October 2011
Paul
Skidmore and Craig Short have been jailed for seven years and four
months and six years, respectively. Both were convicted of two counts of
robbery, possession of a firearm and laptop theft. Skidmore threatened
his uncle with an air rifle while
Short held a knife to the man in Hartlepool in May as the pair
attempted to steal money and drugs. Skidmore also struck his uncle on
the eye with the butt of the gun. They assaulted another man three days
later along with a third offender, Robert Beevers, who was sentenced to
a 18-month community order for theft of a laptop and possession of
cannabis.
SEPTEMBER 2011
Guardian, 20 September 2011
A woman
was shot and killed on a farm in Devon. Police arrested her
husband and charged him with murder after finding the victim dead from
gunshot wounds.
Journal Live, 14 September 2011
Max Exley
and Lee Scott have been jailed for 13 and a half years each after
shooting someone over unpaid debt. The victim was shot in the shoulder
in May 2010 while sitting in a car on his street in Stocksfield,
Northumberland. He said he had been friends with the shooters for 20
years prior to the attack, which forced him to undergo surgery. He
continues to have problems from nerve damage due to the shooting.
Daily Record, 9 September 2011
Frank
Moore has been found guilty for murder and attempted murder in
Edinburgh, as well as
threatening his ex-girlfriend, theft, trying to destroy evidence and
possessing a stun gun. Moore, who
will be sentenced next month, beat his ex-girlfriend's new lover to
death and also severely beat her, leaving her with a fractured skull,
blind in one eye, deaf in one ear and unable to walk. A fire started
after he left and firefighters were able to save the female victim.
Express and Star, 2 September 2011
Jahmayne
Meade has been jailed for at least 26 years for the murder of Lee
Douglas. Meade shot Douglas in the neck and back with a pistol after
finding him with Meade's ex-girlfriend in Wolverhampton in
November 2010.
AUGUST 2011
BBC
News,
26 August 2011
Catherine
Hodges has been jailed for at least 24 years after murdering her partner
in Stratton Strawless, near Norfolk. She drove five miles from
her home and shot him several times with a rifle in June (See
June Incidents: BBC News, 13 June
2011).
JULY 2011
Evening Telegraph,
26 July 2011
Edgar
Clark, 73, has been jailed for two and a half years after threatening to
shoot his partner and her son with a shotgun
at their home in Corby, Northamptonshire. The gun had
reportedly been altered by Clark to accommodate live ammunition (it was
created to be an imitation gun), and he threatened her for an hour and
20 minutes. The shooting threats were recorded by Clark's partner from a
device in her bag. Clark was convicted of possessing a firearm, making
threats to kill and false imprisonment.
BBC
News,
25 July 2011
John
Pitcher, 21, has been jailed for five years after being convicted of
wounding and fraud. Pitcher opened fire at his father with the elder
man's shotgun in his home in
Plymouth in December 2010. He hit him in the shoulder, causing a
severe injury. The younger Pitcher, who had been due to join the Royal
Navy two months later, was cleared of attempted murder.
Braintree and Witham Times,
20 July 2011
Pedro Da
Silva was convicted of common assault in Braintree, Essex on
suspicion of assaulting his wife with an
imitation gun. The woman reportedly asked her brother to
contact police after believing her husband threatened her with a real
gun. He was arrested and ordered to stay at an alternate address and not
contact his wife before he is sentenced on 8 August.
Daily Post,
16 July 2011
Luke
Lamond, 21, has been jailed for five months in Llysfaen, Wales for
harassing his ex-girlfriend, who is the mother of his child. Over a
period of time he broke into her home, told her he had a firearm,
pestered her with online and text messages, and switched off her
electricity. Lamond was arrested after threatening to jump off a bridge.
Daily Mirror,
15 July 2011
Mohammed
Alom has been jailed for two years after attacking his ex-wife with a
knife. High on drink and cannabis, Alom threatened to kill his wife in
front of her two-year-old child in Oldham, Manchester. Even after
police shot him with a taser gun, he
began slicing through the weapon's wires and police had to use more
physical force to bring him down. His ex-wife was apparently injured in
the abdomen, legs and fingers, and Alom was convicted of unlawful
wounding, having a knife, making a threat to kill and possessing
cannabis. In addition to the jail time he was ordered to stay away from
the woman for a minimum of five years.
JUNE 2011
This
is Wiltshire, 28 June 2011
A man in
Eldene, Swindon faces trial after being arrested and charged with
shocking his wife with a taser gun
and causing her actual bodily harm. The man is accused of zapping her
with the stun gun four or five times in their home in February, leaving
her bruised on the stomach, arm and one of her eyes.
Lynn
News, 28 June 2011
An inquest
determined that a man in Feltwell, Norfolk shot his ex-lover in
the back of the head with a handgun before turning the gun on himself in
July 2010. The man's victim survived but still suffers impaired vision
and hearing, while the man's suicide bid was successful.
Bearsden Herald, 24 June 2011
A man has
been arrested and charged with the murder of his ex-partner and daughter
in Essex. He is alleged to have killed both in early June before
turning the gun on himself. He was held under police guard in hospital
since the incident and was arrested upon regaining consciousness.
BBC
News, 23 June 2011
Joseph
Peachey has been found guilty of attempted murder after he tried to
smother his terminally ill father in a hospital in Eastbourne,
East Sussex. In the incident, which occurred in December, 2010, police
used taser guns to restrain Peachey
after he attacked members of staff. Peachey will be sentenced in August.
Falmouth Packet, 15 June 2011
Michael
Glanville has been jailed for four months after walking through the city
centre of Truro, Cornwall with a samurai sword. Glanville also
had assaulted his partner and a 17-year-old youth. Police threatened him
with a taser gun upon arresting him
but did not use it.
Daily Mirror, 15 June 2011
Scott
Raisbeck has been jailed for 15 months after hiding a van, shotgun
ammunition and evidence used by convicted murderer Raoul Moat. Raisbeck,
of Northumberland, admitted perverting the course of justice
after his assistance to Moat, who killed a love rival with a
shotgun in July 2010. Richard Reay
was previously sentenced to five years for possession of a shotgun after
one was found in his garden. His friend Moat had also shot his
ex-girlfriend and turned the gun on himself (Northern Echo, 14
June 2011).
BBC
News, 13 June 2011
A man was
shot and killed in Stratton Strawless, Norfolk. His body was found at an animal
shelter with bullet wounds, and a woman who was previously in a
relationship with the victim was arrested.
John
O'Groat Journal, 11 June 2011
John Begg
has been jailed for two years and two months after threatening to shoot
his former partner if she tried to take their child away from him.
Wielding an air pistol, the
21-year-old Begg pointed it at his ex-girlfriend in March in Wick,
Highland threatening her in front of the child.
The
Northern Echo, 9 June 2011
A two-year community order was given to Michael Tierney for an
incident in March in which police used a taser
gun to paralyse him after Tierney had stabbed himself in
Middlesbrough and threatened to kill himself. He had attacked
himself in the wake of a break-up, having also theatened his
ex-girlfriend via text message, smashed a window of her home and
threatened her new partner in November 2010.
The
Wolf,
9 June 2011
Police
seized four firearms in the past week in Wolverhampton. They
arrested a man and woman after finding a
shotgun and ammunition in their home; arrested a 19-year-old
on suspicion of burglary and found drugs and a
shotgun in his home; arrested a 20-year-old man after finding
a loaded pistol on him as well as drugs when they encountered him in a
domestic dispute with a woman; and found a
shotgun hidden in bushes after receiving a tip.
MAY 2011
Yorkshire Post,
24 May 2011
Michael Tucker has
been found guilty of murder in Norwich. He shot his partner in
Norfolk in March, 2010 before hiding her body in the freezer. He was
sentenced to 26 years in prison (The Independent, 25 May 2011).
Worcester News, 21 May 2011
Jamie
Cornes has been jailed for 30 months following an incident last month in
Malvern, Worcestershire in which he barricaded himself into his
ex-girlfriend's house and threatened to use a loaded
shotgun. After a six-hour siege,
police arrested Cornes, who was inside with his ex-partner and their
four-year-old child, but was without a gun or ammunition.
BBC
News,
6 May 2011
Stuart
McCutcheon, 23, has been jailed for two years and five months for
putting someone in a state of fear, breaching the peace, possessing a
firearm and committing motoring offences. McCutcheon reportedly
threatened to rape and kill his ex-girlfriend in May 2008 in Hawick,
Scotland
following a breakup. Police recovered a
shotgun and ammunition at the time of his arrest.
Bath
Chronicle,
5 May 2011
Shaun
Drake has been jailed for four years and seven months in Bath
after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm. On 5 December, 2010,
Drake had been involved in a domestic incident and had threatened
officers with what turned out to be an
imitation gun.
MARCH 2011
The
Herald
(Plymouth),
24 March 2011
A man
from
Devonport,
Devon, has appeared in court accused of putting an
air pistol
to the
stomach of an ex-girlfriend. He is charged with possessing a firearm
with intent to cause her to believe that violence would be used against
her or another.
This
is South Wales,
11 March 2011
Andrew
Bidder seriously injured his ex-girlfriend by shooting her with an
airgun.
The incident took place at an address in
Morriston,
Swansea, in November 2010. The victim suffered injuries to her face,
arms and legs and had to undergo surgery to have pellets removed. Bidder
had been drinking heavily. He had admitted unlawful wounding but
originally denied wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. He
changed his plea and accepted that he had intended serious injury and
has been jailed for six years.
Daily Post,
2 March 2011
A man
was arrested in connection with a domestic incident in
Towyn,
Conwy. Firearms officers and a police helicopter had gone to the scene
but police refused to confirm if a firearm was recovered at the scene.
FEBRUARY 2011
Lincolnshire Echo,
25 February 2011
Gary Noble
from Glebe Park, Lincoln, threatened to shoot his ex-girlfriend
during "menacing" phone calls to police. He said he had a loaded shotgun
and would "put a bullet" in her. He was an
air rifle owner. He pleaded guilty to two charges of making
menacing phone calls and has been sentenced to a 12-month supervision
order with conditions not to contact his former partner or own air
weapons.
The
Argus,
19 February 2011
John
Cogger armed himself with an arsenal of weapons including three machine
guns, a rifle and a pistol when police surrounded his house in
Copthorne, West Sussex, in November 2010 (see
Incidents). All the firearms had
been deactivated. The police were
responding to a call from Cogger's wife saying he had been drinking and
had threatened to blow them up or to shoot both of them and their dog. He
was shot by a police marksman after he raised a Bren gun and aimed it
through the kitchen window. He pleaded guilty to two charges of
possessing a firearm or imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of
violence. Sentencing was adjourned.
This
is Kent,
18 February 2011
A soldier,
Nicholas Fabian, from Vigo, Kent, has been convicted of trying to
murder his wife in March 2010 (see
Incidents) by booby trapping her
car using a stolen hand grenade. He had pleaded guilty to possession of
95 rounds of 5.56 mm rifle ammunition without a firearms certificate. He
has been given a life sentence and will serve a minimum of 16 years.
Evening Gazette,
7 February 2011
In October
2010 Christopher Donnelly, 19, from Grangetown, Teesside, grabbed
his former partner and when she escaped he pursued her holding a small
imitation gun. He admitted possession
of an imitation firearm. He also admitted handling stolen goods. He was
jailed for 20 months, primarily for trying to frighten his ex-partner.
This
is Kent,
2 February 2011
An
air rifle was confiscated from a house
in Sittingbourne, Kent, where a man jumped from a chimney after an
hour-long stand-off with police. He was wanted by police after allegedly
breaching bail conditions for an offence of domestic assault.
Evening Gazette,
1 February 2011
Christopher Pease from Thorntree, Middlesbrough, bought a
shotgun and then threatened to kill
his ex-girlfriend. A friend of his took the gun off him to stop him from
doing "anything stupid". Pease pleaded guilty to having a firearm with
intent to cause fear, making threats to kill and possessing a shotgun
without a certificate. He was jailed for three years. His friend Matthew
Robinson, 21, who hid the gun at his home pleaded guilty to possessing a
shotgun without a certificate and was given a 12-month community order
with a supervision requirement.
JANUARY
2011
BBC,
25 January 2011
A woman
was found dead with gunshot wounds in the attic of a house in
Woodlesford, Leeds. The weapon was apparently a
shotgun (Yorkshire Evening Post,
25 January 2011). A man has appeared in court charged with murder (BBC,
27 January 2011). An inquest has opened into the death and has been
adjourned by the coroner pending the outcome of further proceedings (Yorkshire
Evening Post, 22 February 2011).
Lincolnshire Echo,
17 January 2011
After
walking in on his former partner and friend of his at her home in
Navenby, Lincolnshire, Jamie Belton went home and armed himself with
his licensed shotgun. When he
returned to the property he fired the gun into the ceiling. He admitted
possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, causing
actual bodily harm and criminal damage and has been jailed for four
years.
Walsall Advertiser,
13 January 2011
Matthew
King from Walsall, West Midlands, bombarded his former partner
and her mother with a string of abusive texts. He had also left two
knives on her bed, a toy gun and
toy dolls which had their heads removed. He admitted two charges of
harassing the victims and was given a two-year community order with two
years' supervision.
DECEMBER 2010
Evening News,
29 December 2010
A man
was being questioned after a five-hour stand-off with armed police in
Whitburn, West Lothian. The police had surrounded a house following
reports of a domestic disturbance. Despite initial reports no gun is
believed to have been involved.
Pendle Today,
18 December 2010
A man
has been cleared of bursting into his ex-partner's home in
Barnoldswick, Lancashire, and pointing a gun at her teenage son's
head. He was found not guilty of making a threat to kill and possessing
an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
stv,
13 December 2010
John
McDermott sparked a ten-hour grenade siege in a street in Partick,
Glasgow. He barricaded himself into his flat with a three-year-old girl
in September 2010 (see
Incidents). Grenades were thrown
out of the window and a gas-powered
ball-bearing gun and magazine were seen on top of a nearby
bus stop. He has pleaded guilty to assaulting his wife and police
officers and admitted breaching the peace by throwing items out of the
window, shouting and swearing and holding a knife to his throat. He was
jailed for four years (Herald, 28 January 2011).
Lincolnshire Echo,
7 December 2010
Jason
Elliott sparked an armed police operation in Orby, Lincolnshire,
in September 2010 when he produced a replica
musket in front of his former girlfriend. She feared the gun
was real and contacted the police. Elliott had been drinking heavily at
the time. He admitted common assault by putting her in fear and was
placed under 18 months' probation supervision and ordered to carry out
80 hours' community punishment.
Bath
Chronicle,
6 December 2010
Two
people were arrested after a three-hour armed siege at a flat in Bath,
Somerset. Two officers attending a domestic incident were threatened
with a handgun, which later turned out to be a replica. A man has been
charged with possessing a firearm, an airgun,
with intent to cause fear of violence and making threats to kill. A
woman has been charged with assaulting a police officer and with a
public order offence (Bath Chronicle, 9 December 2010).
Yorkshire Evening Post,
1 December 2010
Police
officers were confronted by a woman armed with a rifle when they were
called to a domestic disturbance at a tower block in Leeds. The
woman was arrested for possession of a firearm with intent to endanger
life and breach of an ASBO, and the gun, an
air rifle, was safely recovered.
NOVEMBER
2010
BBC,
16 November 2010
A man
who has been charged with the murder of his father has also been charged
with firearm offences. The remains of a body were found in a garden in
Borehamwood, Hertfordshire.
Press Association,
9 November 2010
A man
has been shot by police after he threatened a woman with a gun at an
address in Copthorne, West Sussex. The man was injured in the
hand and taken to hospital where he was assisting police with their
inquiries. It was reported that a woman had called the police to say
her husband was scaring her and had access to guns. Firearms and
ammunition were found within the house (The Argus, 10 November
2010). He has been charged with possession of an
imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence (BBC,
21 November 2010). He has pleaded guilty to two charges of possessing a
firearm or imitation firearm with intent to case fear of violence (see
February 2011 Incidents).
OCTOBER
2010
BBC,
28 October 2010
A
17-year-old has been arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm with
intent to cause fear after police were called to a domestic dispute in
Marston, Oxfordshire. It was reported that a firearm had been
seen. The firearm turned out to be an air
rifle.
The
Star,
19 October 2010
An
inquest has heard that a man found dead with a gunshot wound in
Gleadless, Sheffield, in January 2009 (see
Incidents) had barricaded himself
into his flat when police officers arrived to arrest him for allegedly
breaching a non-molestation order sought by his partner. During a
48-hour siege a shot was fired through the door and a police officer was
saved from serious injury by his helmet. The man had previously been
seen by doctors who concluded he was not unwell enough to be sectioned
under the Mental Health Act. Before the siege he had thought people
were talking about him and collected weapons. According to the reports
he was gripping the trigger of a 'rifle' when he was found but had a
shotgun wound and more than 40 small shotgun pellets were recovered from
his brain. The police were unaware he owned guns but had been given two
deactivated rifles as a birthday present by his ex-wife (The Star,
27 October 2010). The inquest jury recorded a verdict that he took his
own life. The coroner is set to recommend changes in the way
information is passed to police in siege situations (The Star, 29
October 2010).
Daily Mirror,
14 October 2010
Martin
Jones, described as a firearms enthusiast, shot his wife dead by firing
at her nine times and then killed himself with a musket at their home in
Brabourne Lees, Kent, in December 2009 (see
Incidents). An inquest was told
that his wife had been planning to leave him. Verdicts of unlawful
killing and suicide have been recorded.
Northern Echo,
11 October 2010
Imran
Miah brandished an imitation firearm at his pregnant wife and in front of their
daughter at their house in Darlington, County Durham, in April
2010 after an argument about him having an affair. Police who were
called to the house found the gun and a black padded glove with a 5 inch
spike. Miah admitted possessing an imitation firearm with intent to
cause fear of violence and possessing an offensive weapon and was jailed
for two-and-a-half years.
SEPTEMBER 2010
Paisley Daily Express,
30 September 2010
James
Murphy pulled out a gun and warned his estranged wife "Your days are
numbered" outside the former marital home in Paisley in June
2010. The weapon was a Russian air pistol
capable of firing ball-bearings. He has admitted charges of
assault, possession of a firearm and breach of the peace.
News
& Star,
27 September 2010
Richard
Ewart terrorised his estranged wife sending a number of text messages
and making calls describing serial killers as heroes. He was said to be
aggressive when drunk. He was found with an arsenal of weapons
including an airgun in his former
home in Carlisle. He has been given bail whilst awaiting
sentencing.
This
is Kent,
24 September 2010
Steven
Oakeshott held a starting pistol
against his niece's head as she sat in bed at his home in Tunbridge
Wells, Kent. He did so because she would not move out of his
property. He pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to
cause fear of violence and was given a suspended 14-week jail sentence.
He was also ordered to carry out 150 hours' unpaid work.
This
is Cornwall,
22 September 2010
Keith
England has been given a five-year prison sentence after admitting
possessing a specially-modified Smith and Wesson revolver with intent to
cause fear of violence. In August 2010 (see
Incidents) he had had an argument
with his wife at their home in Liskeard, Cornwall, before firing
a bullet into their sofa. He fled the scene before turning to fire
twice at the couple's home. He was later arrested in Somerset after
making a distress call. He told police he was intending to shoot
himself. England, a slaughterman, kept the revolver at work.
This
is Cornwall,
17 September 2010
At the
trial of a man from Camborne, Cornwall, accused of breaching a
non-molestation injunction, his former partner has revealed how he kept
a loaded shotgun and
air rifle in the house and on one
occasion had intimidated her with a gun.
BBC,
15 September 2010
Armed
police were called out after a woman in Lincoln said she received
a text message which contained a threat to shoot her. A man was
arrested a few hours later.
stv,
13 September 2010
A man
was arrested after police officers entered premises in Glasgow
after a siege which followed reports of a disturbance. There were
reports of various weapons, including a handgun and magazine being
thrown out of the window of a flat. The weapon was a
ball-bearing gun and the man has
admitted assaulting his wife and police officers and breaching the peace
(see
December 2010 Incidents).
Evening Courier,
12 September 2010
A man
shouted "shoot me" at two armed police officers and then tried to reach
for the pistol of one of the officers before being shot in the chest and
arm by the other officer. Bartholomew Buckley had argued with his then
girlfriend at a house in Brighouse, West Yorkshire, when the she
called the police. He has been given a nine-month suspended sentence
for affray and a suspended one-month sentence for common assault and
been made subject to a supervision order.
Daily Mail,
9 September 2010
A man
has denied the attempted murder of his ex-wife who was shot three times
in the head in a street in Finchley, north London, in February
2010. The victim survived but was left with severe brain damage. The
attack took place the day they were due in court to divide their
assets. The man also denies possessing a firearm with intent to
endanger life. Ronald Seymour has been found guilty of attempted
murder. He had claimed that he bought the revolver to kill himself and
did not know how it had gone off. It is reported that he feared that
the victim would "take everything" in a financial settlement (BBC,
15 September 2010). He had pleaded guilty to having a prohibited weapon
with ammunition and not having a certificate for it (Independent,
15 September 2010). He has been jailed indefinitely, with a minimum
term of 12-and-a-half years (BBC, 27 October 2010).
Keighley News,
2 September 2010
Andrew
McKell from Oxenhope, West Yorkshire, has been jailed for six
months for breaching a restraining order after a relationship ended. He
also admitted possessing an air rifle
without a certificate for which he was given a six month sentence which
will run concurrently.
AUGUST 2010
BBC,
31 August 2010
Jason Barnett has been jailed for
seven and a half years after pleading guilty to drugs and weapons
charges. He was arrested after a gun and chemicals used in
cocaine production were found in his van after police were called to
a domestic incident at his house in Avonmouth,
Bristol. A pump action rifle was found in a hidden
compartment.
Press & Journal, 28
August 2010
A man is alleged to have attacked
and injured three people including a former girlfriend at a flat in
Inverness. The incident is believed to have
involved a stun gun.
A man has been named in connection with the attack and is being
sought by police. A man has been arrested and accused of
abduction and assault involving a stun gun and pepper spray (BBC,
2 September 2010). He has admitted three charges of assault
and one of possessing unlawful weapons (see
November 2010 Incidents).
Evening Post (Bristol),
26 August 2010
A man waved a loaded pistol in his
girlfriend's face and threatened to slash her at his flat in
Bristol. The gun was a Glock 8mm blank-firing pistol,
adapted to fire live rounds. The woman had to be rescued by
armed police. Abdizak Daoud pleaded guilty to possessing a
prohibited firearm, possessing ammunition without a firearms
certificate and false imprisonment and was jailed for six years.
Northampton Chronicle & Echo,
18 August 2010
Luke Bosworth from
Merefield, Northampton, walked uninvited into his
ex-girlfriend's home pointing what appeared to be a black handgun at
her. He threatened to "blow her head off". The police
were called and Bosworth calmed down and handed over the gun, an
imitation pistol.
He has pleaded guilty to possessing an imitation firearm with intent
to cause fear and been sentenced to four-and-a-half years.
Derby Evening Telegraph,
16 August 2010
Jamie Hand threatened to kill his
mother while pointing an imitation
handgun at her head after an argument was sparked by
the smell of her cooking. The incident took place at the home
in Mickleover, Derbyshire. His mother escaped
to a neighbour's where the police were called. Police found a
BB gun and a blank-firing pistol. Hand has been jailed for 13
months.
Tamworth Herald,
12 August 2010
Richard Jackson shot his partner
in the leg during a drunken assault. The attack happened when
he returned drunk to their home in Tamworth,
Staffordshire. He threw two punches at her and then ran
upstairs to get his air rifle
to find her cornered in the back garden. He has admitted
assault causing actual bodily harm, criminal damage and cultivating
cannabis and been jailed for two years.
Yorkshire Evening Post,
7 August 2010
Two police officers have been honoured for disarming and subduing a man
at a house in Weetwood, Leeds. The man was
pointing a handgun at them when they responded to a 999 call from the
man's partner who had taken refuge in the bathroom. The gun was
later found to be a replica
which appeared entirely real. The man, who was high on cocaine,
was convicted of affray and given a 12-month sentence suspended for two
years, a 12-month supervision order and ordered to do 250 hours of
community service.
Liverpool Echo,
7 August 2010
Phillip Lilliot has been jailed for 14 months for possession of a
firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. He was seen
brandishing a gun in the street in Prenton, Merseyside,
in July 2010. His wife, with whom he had broken up, and daughter
had rung police saying that he had made threats and that he had a gun.
He pointed a handgun at a driver who was stopped when Lilliot was
standing in the middle of the road. He was stopped by his
neighbour who grabbed him in a lock during a police stand-off. The
court heard that he had been drinking and had no recollection of the
incident. The gun was an imitation
(Wirral Globe, 9 August 2010).
Hunts Post,
4 August 2010
A man has been arrested on suspicion of firearms offences after a gun
went off during a domestic row in Ramsey,
Cambridgeshire. No one was injured.
JULY 2010
Hartlepool Mail,
30 July 2010
Anthony Errington fired at
his sister's partner with a lethal .177 air
rifle following a family feud. He narrowly missed him
when he fired from a bedroom window in Hartlepool, Teesside, in
February 2010 (see Incidents).
The shot hit the driver's side door. The two men had brawled
outside the house minutes before. He was convicted of possessing a
firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and affray and jailed for
a year.
Shropshire Star,
27 July 2010
Julian Danks kept an illegal
gun and ammunition in a bedroom drawer at his home in Shifnal,
Shropshire. He admitted possessing a firearm without a certificate
and possessing a prohibited firearm and ammunition without a firearm
certificate. His partner told police he owned an illegal handgun
when they were called to a domestic incident in September 2009. A
single barrelled shotgun was seized
and the handgun was seized a day later after his partner said she had
found it.
Northampton Chronicle & Echo,
22 July 2010
Stephen Hart has admitted
unlawfully wounding his cousin at his home in Daventry,
Northamptonshire. He had previously denied the charges. In
May 2010 when the two were sharing a spliff he pulled a
.22 air rifle from behind the sofa
and fired the weapon at a wall. A second shot was fired which hit
the victim in his left foot. Hart has been sentenced to 30 weeks
in prison, suspended for two years. He was given a 12-month
community order, a 10-day employment course and told to do 100 hours of
unpaid work. He will also pay his cousin £600 in compensation.
Evening Telegraph (Peterborough),
20 July 2010
A man shot and wounded his
ex-girlfriend before shooting himself dead in Feltwell, Norfolk.
He suffered gunshot wounds to the head. The woman was with a baby at
the time of the incident. Her condition is not thought to be life
threatening. It is understood that the dead man had appeared in
court in January 2009 after attacking another ex-partner and was given a
suspended prison sentence. Police said investigations were underway
to establish how the man came to have gun. They are not looking for
anyone else in connection with the incident. The police have said
that the dead man did not have a gun licence but had previously been
considered eligible for a firearms licence and had voluntarily surrendered
a shotgun licence. His victim was shot with a
shotgun and a .22 single-shot pistol was found by his body (East
Anglian Daily Times, 21
July 2010).
BBC, 3 July 2010
A man died and his partner was in a critical condition in hospital after
they were shot in Birtley, Tyneside. It is believed that
the man responsible was the ex-boyfriend of the woman and that he had
just been released from prison. The gunman has been named as Raoul
Moat. A man believed to be Moat also shot a police officer on duty
in East Denton (BBC, 4 July 2010). Police are
investigating an armed robbery of a fish and chip shop near Blyth
by a man with a similar description to Moat (Guardian, 6 July
2010). Police searching for Moat sealed off the town of
Rothbury, Northumberland (BBC, 7 July 2010). Moat, who
is still on the run, has made threats to the wider public (BBC, 8
July 2010). Two men believed to be part of Moat's conspiracy to
hunt down and kill policemen have been charged with conspiracy to commit
murder and possessing a firearm with intent (Mail, 8 July 2010).
It is suggested that they got hold of a
sawn-off shotgun before Moat was released from jail and
helped him find food and supplies when he went on the run (Daily
Mirror, 9 July 2010). Moat died after shooting himself
following a six-hour stand-off in a field Rothbury (BBC, 10 July
2010) Two
Taser guns were fired at him
but his wounds were consistent with a weapon he was carrying (BBC,
11 July 2010). It has since been revealed that neither of the
Taser rounds fired at Moat by the police hit him (Telegraph, 5 January 2011).
Another man has been arrested on suspicion of firearms offences (Guardian,
19 July 2010). Two men have appeared in court charged with
conspiracy to commit murder and possessing a firearm with intent (The
Journal,
1 November 2010) and both have now been convicted of a number of
offences (see
March 2011
Incidents).
JUNE
2010
Press & Journal,
25 June 2010
Kevin McHugh, 21, was drunk
when he began shooting an airgun into a wall in Muirhead, Angus.
He was at his girlfriend's house where he kept the £800
air rifle under a bed and invited neighbours for a drink before
he started becoming abusive towards his partner. The neighbours
became concerned about his increasing aggression and were scared when he
fired three pellets from the gun. He had pleaded guilty of
committing a breach of the peace and recklessly discharged a firearm.
He was jailed for four months.
Barking & Dagenham Post, 23 June 2010
Paul Thompson has admitted
arming himself with an air pistol
during a family brawl in Dagenham, east London, in December 2008.
He was attacked by his son and his son's stepfather after he pointed the
gun at his ex-partner. The other two men have been found guilty of
affray and are facing jail.
Get Reading, 23 June 2010
Jamie Dunne from Caversham,
Berkshire, has been convicted of attempting to murder his wife in January
2010 (see Incidents).
He shot her in the head with a shotgun. He previously admitted
possessing a shortened shotgun, criminal damage, possession of a firearm
with intent to cause fear of violence and unlawful wounding. He will
serve a minimum of 20 years in prison (BBC, 27 September 2010).
Hounslow Chronicle, 21 June 2010
Sebastian Mateza and his
brother Pedro Mateza, both aged 19, lured a former girlfriend to their
home in Chiswick, west London, in September 2009 where Sebastian
shot her in the stomach at point blank range with an
airgun. They left her thinking she was going to die.
The two were both convicted with intent, two counts of having with intent
to commit an indictable offence and a fourth of having an imitation
firearm in a public place. Both were given indeterminate jail
sentences with a minimum of four years. A third man, Daniel Kongo,
was sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of wounding
with intent and having an imitation firearm in a public place.
Wiltshire Times, 18 June 2010
A man from Melksham,
Wiltshire, has been charged with possessing an imitation firearm with
intent to cause fear of violence following an incident at his home.
It is alleged that following an argument he threatened family members with
a BB gun. The 19-year-old has
been charged with possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause
fear of violence (This is Wiltshire, 31 August 2010).
The Herald (Plymouth), 16 June 2010
An inquest has heard that
Andrew Pawlowski shot his partner as she lay on the floor before he put a
Magnum .357 revolver to his temple and killed himself. The two died
at their home in Dousland, Devon, in April 2009 (see
Incidents).
The shootings were witnessed by Pawlowski's mother. Apart from the
Magnum revolver several other guns were found at the property. At
the inquest he was described as controlling and a drinker. The
coroner recorded a suicide verdict and a verdict of unlawful killing on
his partner.
BBC,
11 June 2010
Thomas Williams has been
jailed for life for shooting his sleeping father with a homemade gun at
the family home in Rhydyfro, West Glamorgan. He also stabbed
his father 16 times. The body was discovered in March 2009.
Williams admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished
responsibility.
Paisley Daily Express,
10 June 2010
An arsenal of weapons was
found at a home in Glenburn, Paisley, after a woman told the police
that her husband had pressed a gun against her head during a row. A
rifle and shotgun cartridges were discovered. The man was arrested.
Liverpool Echo, 8
June 2010
Michael Clarkson from Speke,
Merseyside, "lost all control" and threatened to set fire to a car while
armed with a BB gun. He wrongly
believed his partner was having an affair after finding a text message on
her phone. He admitted possessing an imitation firearm with intent
to cause fear of violence, affray and criminal damage and has been jailed
for 16 months.
Lennox Herald,
4 June 2010
Jamie Floyd, 19, from
Helensburgh, West Dunbartonshire, threatened his ex-girlfriend and her new
boyfriend, claiming his dad had a shotgun.
He admitted sending offensive text messages and making threats.
Sentencing was deferred.
MAY 2010
This is Local London,
19 May 2010
An inquest heard that a man
whose body was found in King's Wood, High Wycombe in
Buckinghamshire, in February 2010 committed suicide after being
interviewed by police over allegations he assaulted his wife. He
died from a gunshot wound to the head. Three
shotguns had been taken from him by
police over concerns that he was at risk to himself in September 2009,
were later returned but taken away again at the end of January.
The weapon found at the scene was an "old fashioned gun" given to him by
a colleague to look after. The coroner recorded a verdict that he
took his own life.
Western Telegraph,
6 May 2010
Mark Edwards from Hakin,
Pembrokeshire, threatened to "sort out" his ex-wife and her new partner
while loading a revolver with pellets and attaching gas canisters.
The gun was an imitation, an R77 Combat revolver.
The incident occurred in November 2009 (see
Incidents). He has been convicted
of possessing an imitation firearm with intent of making his mother fear
that violence would follow and of assaulting his mother by beating.
A restraining order was made without limit of time banning Edwards from
possessing a gun of any description or ammunition of any type.
Yorkshire Post,
4 May 2010
David Large and Simon Mullen
have been found guilty of murdering Large's gay lover who was found shot
dead with a shotgun in a lay-by near
Clayton West, West Yorkshire, in September 2009 (see
Incidents).
Large paid Mullen thousands of pounds to carry out the killing.
Both men have been jailed for a minimum of 30 years.
APRIL 2010
Telegraph,
30 April 2010
Caroline Igoe has
been convicted of the murder of her boyfriend in Edinburgh in
January 2009 (see Incidents).
Her brother Paul Igoe was cleared of murder but both were convicted of
possessing the murder weapon and attempting to cover their tracks.
The victim was shot in the head outside their home after they had rowed
in the hours leading up to his death. The murder weapon was a
converted blank-firing pistol. The gun belonged to the victim (Daily
Record, 1 May 2010) who had shown Igoe how to use it (Times,
1 May 2010). She has been jailed for life and will serve a minimum
of 20 years (Daily Record, 28 May 2010).
Mid Devon Star,
30 April 2010
A man was arrested after an
incident in which a shotgun was
fired in Bishops Tawton, Devon, during a dispute involving a
father and son.
BBC,
23 April 2010
Five members of a
family have been found guilty over the death of a man whose decapitated
body was found in a lake in Arlesey, Bedfordshire (see
February 2010 Incidents).
The victim had been kept prisoner at a house in Luton as a slave
and for his
benefit money. He was hit with bats, shot with an
airgun and stabbed. James Watt,
Natasha Oldfield and Nichola Roberts were all convicted of murder and
Robert Watt, Jennifer Smith-Dennis were found guilty of familial
homicide. Richard Watt had admitted familial homicide. All
were found guilty of perverting the course of justice. James Watt
had 14 previous convictions for 22 different offences, including affray
and an airgun shooting. James
Watt will serve a minimum of 36 years in jail, Oldfield a minimum of 18
and Roberts a minimum of 15 years. Richard Watt was jailed for
eight years and Smith-Dennis for 10 years (Independent, 26 April
2010).
Racing Post,
18 April 2010
A jockey has been
arrested on suspicion of assault and possession of a firearm with intent
to cause fear. The arrest followed an altercation with his
girlfriend in Newmarket, Suffolk. The firearm is understood
to have been a broken air rifle.
He was released with no charge and commented that "this is a private
matter which is now resolved".
BBC,
18
April 2010
Armed police were involved
in a stand-off with a householder in Dunbeath, Caithness.
The incident followed reports of a man with a gun and an earlier
disturbance between a man and a woman. A man was arrested.
He had abducted his former partner at knife-point and was jailed for two
years and four months after pleading guilty (BBC, 9 July 2010).
Lancashire Evening Post,
16 April 2010
A man has been charged
in connection with possession of an imitation gun
and false imprisonment after an incident in which a woman was allegedly
threatened with a gun at her flat in Leyland, Lancashire.
Three other people, two women and a man were also arrested and bailed.
Two men have
pleaded guilty to possession of an imitation firearm to cause fear of
violence and false imprisonment (see
January 2011 Incidents).
Express & Star,
16 April 2010
Paul Swain held an
imitation gun to the head of his wife
when their marriage collapsed. He threatened that "This is for
you" as she was driving through Walsall, West Midlands. His
wife did not immediately report the incident to the police but did so
when Swain attacked her at the house they shared after a drinking spree.
Swain admitted possession of an imitation firearm and assault and was
jailed for 16 months.
Express & Star,
14 April 2010
A man from Shirley,
West Midlands, was given a three-year community order under supervision
after he admitted possession of a bladed article and loaded
air weapon. He was found with the
weapons when hiding outside the home of his wife after their marriage had
broken down. His wife was regarded as being at "high risk" and a
restraining order had been issued.
Lincolnshire Echo,
12 April 2010
Paul Charrington held
an imitation firearm to the head of an
unarmed police officer called out to deal with a domestic incident in
Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, in January 2010. The officer
believed he was about to be murdered. Charrington admitted
possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence
and has been jailed for five years. The weapon was an unloaded
ball bearing gun. He
has had his sentence reduced to four years on appeal (Lincolnshire
Echo, 6 October 2010).
Press & Journal,
10
April 2010
A police armed response unit
was called to a flat in the Menzieshill district of Dundee and
following a nine hour stand-off a
man was detained in connection with an alleged assault of a woman.
A witness said there was a lot of talk that a gun was involved, but the
police would not confirm if a firearm had been recovered.
MARCH 2010
Sunderland Echo,
31 March 2010
John Elliott was arrested in
Seaham, County Durham, after pointing what turned out to be a
toy gun to his head in a fall out with
his estranged wife. He admitted having an imitation firearm in a
public place and was given an 18 month conditional discharge and ordered
to pay costs.
BBC,
31 March 2010
Andrew Copland shot his
ex-partner and their
4-year-old
daughter at his home in Aldershot,
Hampshire, in December 2009 (see
Incidents) before killing himself an
inquest heard. The weapon was a 1934 Beretta semi-automatic
pistol. His ex-partner's new boyfriend said she had told him
Copland was violent and had a gun in the loft. The coroner
recorded that he had unlawfully killed the mother and child and then
took his own life. Copland had found the gun in a skip whilst he
was working as a builder in 1998 (BBC, 2 April 2010).
Daily Mirror,
31 March 2010
Helen Lawson fired both
barrels of a shotgun at point-blank
range at her husband after waking him up in bed at their home in
Wellow, Isle of Wight, in January 2009 (see
Incidents). She was found guilty
of murder and will serve a minimum of 15 years in prison.
BBC,
31 March 2010
A coroner has criticised
police in Lincolnshire for "extraordinary" failings in the lead up to a
man shooting his teenage step-daughter before killing himself.
Elvis Cant was on police bail accused of assaulting and threatening to
kill her at the time of the incident in Potterhanworth,
Lincolnshire, where Cant had tracked her down in July 2009 (see
Incidents).
He had a double barrelled shotgun he
had bought hours earlier and struggled with his step-daughter's natural
father before shooting her in the leg and then missing her with a second
shot. He was found dead an hour later in a nearby field with
gunshot wounds. Officers had confiscated three shotguns from Cant
but did not take his firearms certificate allowing him to buy the other
gun. An open verdict was recorded on Cant because the coroner was
not entirely clear how he came by his death. Lincolnshire Police
offered an unreserved apology to the victim and her family. Four
officers are to receive "management words of advice" after failing to
take steps to find and seize the certificate (Lincolnshire Echo,
26 May 2010).
Stourbridge News,
26 March 2010
Ben Goodwin, 18, has pleaded
guilty to unlawful wounding and having a firearm. He fired an
air pistol at a love rival during an
incident in Redditch, Worcestershire, in December 2008. Two
pellets were embedded in the face of his victim. Surgery was not
possible and doctors were hoping the pellets would eventually work their
way out. Goodwin was sentenced to two years detention.
Guardian,
25 March 2010
A woman was found dead in a flat above the post office she owned with
her husband in Melsonby, North Yorkshire. She died from
head injuries and is believed to have been bludgeoned. Her husband
has told police that he was in the post office when a man appeared from
the flat carrying a gun and told him "We've got your wife". The man escaped with money. The
post office was also robbed in March 2009 (see
Incidents) by two men armed with an
imitation gun which was discarded at the scene. It would now
appear that an armed robbery did not take place as the husband has
been arrested and charged with the murder (Daily Mail, 17 April 2010).
Press Association,
24 March 2010
A man has killed himself
after holding a child hostage at gunpoint in Dingwall,
Ross-shire, for three hours. Police had managed to negotiate the
child's safe release. The gunman had abducted the 11-year-old
daughter of a former girlfriend and shot himself with a
shotgun (The Herald, 25 March
2010). The man had broken a series of court bans on approaching
the girl's mother after previously assaulting her (Highland News,
1 April 2010).
Evening Star,
24 March 2010
Robert Franks-Jones has
admitted possessing an imitation firearm,
a deactivated bolt-action rifle, with intent to cause fear of violence
during an incident in December 2009 in which he pointed the gun at a
police officer. Officers had gone to his home in Thurlow,
Suffolk, after receiving a call from his mother who claimed he had grabbed
her round the throat. Franks-Jones was given a 12 month prison
sentence suspended for two years and ordered to pay £750 compensation and
£250 costs.
Evening Standard,
23 March 2010
A woman has been shot
on the doorstep of her home in Clapton, east London. She was
found with fatal injuries and pronounced dead at the scene. It has
been suggested that the murder was a domestic incident that got out of
hand and that the weapon was a shotgun
(Hackney Post, 25 March 2010).
Seven people are on trial. They include the victim's common law
husband who is alleged to have hired a boy who was 15 at the time to shoot
her because he feared losing custody of his son. The boy, now aged
16, is one of the others on trial (Evening Standard, 16 March
2011).
Kent Online,
22 March 2010
A former bomb disposal
expert accused of attempting to murder his wife and her son in a car
explosion in Vigo, Kent, also faces a charge of possessing 95
rounds of 5.56mm rifle bullets. He has admitted a charge of
possessing ammunition without a firearms licence (Irish Times,
18 August 2010). He has been found guilty of the attempted murder
and received a life sentence (see
February 2011 Incidents).
FEBRUARY 2010
Northern Echo,
26 February 2010
Andrew Ardle twice fired a
sawn-off shotgun at a man whom he wrongly suspected of trying to "chat
up" his wife. The incident took place in Stanley, County
Durham, in August 2009 (see
Incidents). His victim gave chase by car and the chase
ended when he shunted Ardle's car in Durham City. Ardle was
found near his damaged vehicle with his legally-held
Beretta 12-bore shotgun which he had
illegally shortened the day before. He was jailed for seven years
after admitting two counts of possessing a firearm with intent to cause
a fear of violence, possessing a loaded shotgun in a public place,
shortening a shotgun and possessing a prohibited firearm. His
victim admitted dangerous driving and was given a suspended prison
sentence and was banned from driving.
Isle of Wight County Press,
26 February 2010
Christopher Howse has
admitted threatening his girlfriend and her friend with an airgun in
January 2010. He claimed he had been drinking. He had
pointed the loaded .22 air rifle
inches from the other man's face and threatened to blow his head off.
He shot a pellet into the ceiling of the caravan in Chale, Isle
of Wight. The victim escaped after an ordeal lasting an hour.
Howse was in breach of a condition discharge imposed for assaulting his
girlfriend. He has been jailed for two years.
South Wales Argus, 20 February 2010
Armed police responding to
reports of a disturbance sealed off part of the centre of Newport.
Officers broke into a property and a woman, two-year-old and a baby were
taken away in an ambulance. A man was escorted to a police
station. An air rifle was
recovered from the premises. No shots were fired and no one was
injured.
Get Surrey,
15 February 2010
Ian Henderson threatened his
elderly mother with a BB gun at his
parents' house in Salfords, Surrey, in September 2009. He
was drunk at the time and shouted abuse at her and then flashed the
imitation handgun and said he was going to shoot her and bury her in the
garden. He said he carried the gun sometimes with a view to
shooting cats. His mother called the police who found 1,500 ball
bearings in his bag which could have been used as ammunition. He
admitted one count of possessing an imitation firearm and was sentenced
to 20 months' imprisonment.
Manchester Evening News,
14 February 2010
Alan Long from Eccles,
Greater Manchester, shot his girlfriend in the neck with a
sawn-off shotgun after they argued
about his cheating on her. He escaped an attempted murder charge
after the court heard he had not intended to shoot her and a fault made
the weapon fire. After the shooting he fled the scene with a
shotgun, a handgun and ammunition in a bag. He admitted possessing
the shotgun and handgun with intent to endanger life, plus charges of
possessing ammunition and farming cannabis plants. He was jailed
indeterminately for the public protection. The shooting took place
at a house in Peel Green in August 2009 (BBC, 12 February
2009).
Daily Gazette,
12 February 2010
Terrance Horncastle pointed
a replica gun at police officers who
were looking through the letter box of his home in Witham, Essex,
after his then girlfriend called the police in November 2009. He
had become violent after drinking. He was given a four-month
suspended prison sentence after admitting assault and possessing an
imitation firearm with intent to make someone believe violence would be
used.
BBC, 4 February 2010
A court has heard
that one of two men on trial for the murder of a man on Sanday, Orkney,
had threatened to shoot the victim. The defendant's former
partner, who had a relationship with the victim, said it was an empty
threat because the gun was a replica.
Evening Gazette,
3 February 2010
Duncan Quinn showed a black
pistol to men in black hoods in Lingdale, Cleveland, in June
2009. The incident was the culmination of a feud with his
partner's ex who believed Quinn had damaged his car. Quinn was on
bail at the time. He has admitted possessing an
imitation firearm with intent to cause
fear of violence and dangerous driving. His previous convictions
included an affray when he had fired an air
rifle, narrowly missing someone's eye. He was jailed
for eighteen months.
JANUARY
2010
Monmouth Today,
27 January 2010
A man was arrested following a
report of a woman motorist being tailed through Monmouth by a
second vehicle driven by a man with a firearm. A loaded firearm was
seized and the man was charged with three offences including possession of
a shotgun with intent to cause
unlawful violence. In a linked incident armed police were called to
a property in the Wonastow area to deal with what was described as
a 'domestic incident' involving a firearm. A man who had been
chasing his ex-partner has been jailed after admitting possessing a
firearm with intent to cause fear of violence (see
August 2010 Incidents).
Liverpool Daily Post,
19 January 2010
A husband and wife have been
found dead at their home in Sealand, Flintshire. It is
understood a gun may have been fired at some point prior to the deaths,
but police could not confirm the circumstances of how the couple died.
The husband was killed by a shotgun
wound to his head but a post mortem examination was unable to establish
how his wife died (BBC, 20 January 2010). A coroner has
recorded that the wife unlawfully killed her husband before killing
herself (see October 2010
Incidents).
