FEBRUARY 2007
We prepare
a monthly summary of gun incidents, focussing on those that raise key
issues about the nature of gun crime and the adequacy of gun legislation. Items that
have been amended or added to the list since the
Summary was written are marked (*).
ENGLAND
Southern Daily Echo,
28 February 2007
A shopkeeper in Sholling,
Hampshire,
was kept at gunpoint by two armed robbers who forced him into a back room
before grabbing the safe which contained a substantial amount of money.
Shields Gazette,
28 February 2007
Former Sunderland footballer
John Oster has reached a settlement with a former team mate whose career
he ended in a "freak shooting accident". The other man was hit in the
eye by an airgun pellet at Oster's
home in Durham in April 2002. The pair were playing with the
gun which they believed was not loaded when it discharged.
Mid Devon Star,
28 February 2007
A man was arrested in
Axminster after police received a report that a man was seen in
possession of a suspected firearm. Officers recovered what is
believed to be a ball-bearing gun.
Hucknall Today,
28 February 2007
A betting shop in Bulwell
was robbed by a gunman who threatened staff and demanded money. He
left the shop on foot after stealing a quantity of cash.
Coventry Evening Telegraph,
28 February 2007
The windows of a travel agents
and three other businesses in Warwick were hit by a pellet fired
either from an air pistol or a
catapult. The travel agent's windows were smashed.
Wigan Observer,
27 February 2007
James Devenay blasted a former
friend in the leg with a double barrel shotgun at Ince, Wigan, in
November 2006. After he had been drinking he had taken out the
loaded gun to shoot ducks but by chance met his victim with whom he had
fallen out. The man, who was with his partner and two young
children, was left with 21 pellets between his hip and knee. A
firearms expert concluded that the gun could not have gone off
accidentally. Devenay was jailed for at least five years after
pleading guilty to wounding with intent, possessing a firearm and a bladed
article.
Liverpool Echo,
27 February 2007
Armed response units were
called to a club in Liverpool after reports that somebody may have
been armed with a handgun. No shots were fired and it is not
believed a weapon was recovered.
Liverpool Echo,
27 February 2007
A gunman opened fire on a row
of shops in a street in Dovecot, Liverpool. The shots were
believed to have been fired using a shotgun and caused damage to the
window of a pizza shop and pharmacy.
Lancashire Telegraph,
27 February 2007
A masked raider thought to be
just 16 threatened the staff of a post office in Church,
Accrington, with a black handgun before leaving empty handed.
Asian Image,
27 February 2007 *
A 20-year-old man was fatally
injured when he was shot in a park in Horton Bank Top,
Bradford. He had suffered a single gunshot wound to the head.
The police have not yet established a clear motive for the attack.
The victim died from his injuries in hospital. A 20-year-old man and
19-year-old woman have been arrested in connection with the murder (BBC,
1 March 2007). A man who is on trial has denied murder (Telegraph
& Argus, 4 October 2007).
Northern Echo,
26 February 2007
A bus driver noticed that a
passenger slumped asleep on the back seat of his bus in Bishop Auckland,
County Durham, was holding a gun. Armed police were called and
closed the bus station for an hour. The gun was out of its case,
although the man had brought the gun on the bus in a locked case when he
had boarded in Ferryhill. Police confirmed that an
air rifle was found at the scene and had
since been sent for tests. A man has been arrested and released on
police bail. He was heavily under the influence of alcohol and
drugs.
Black UK Online,
26 February 2007
Armed police officers were
called to two separate incidents in Southwark, south London, involving
imitation guns. In one the
police surrounded gangs of youths in Bermondsey and Surrey Quays.
One gang member was seen brandishing a gun outside a bingo hall. A
10-year-old among the gang had a fake firearm. Five boys, aged
10-13, were arrested. On the same day a man was arrested after being
caught with a BB pistol tucked into his belt in Bermondsey.
BBC,
26 February 2007 *
A 16-year-old boy, who was one
of a group of five youths approached by two men in a playground in
Fulwood, Preston, was in hospital with severe head injuries after
being hit with a gun. The men produced a BB
gun and demanded money. The group were trying to escape
when the victim was hit over the head. The robbers escaped with the
boy's wallet. Two teenagers, aged 14 and 15, are due to appear
before magistrates charged with the attack (Citizen (Preston), 2
March 2007). They have both been given custodial sentences (see
August 2007 Incidents).
BBC,
26 February 2007
A man was being treated in
hospital for gunshot wounds after being shot in the legs in Sheffield.
His injuries are not said to be life threatening.
The Star (Sheffield),
24 February 2007
Four men were attacked by a
gang armed with an airgun who smashed
up their car as they drove home in Eckington, Derbyshire.
They believe that an airgun was fired at the car as they heard a bang and
found four indentations in the back of the vehicle. They had stopped
their car but as they got back a man ran towards them. The car
windscreen was smashed as the men drove off again.
This is Lancashire,
23 February 2007
Armed police went to
Baxenden after reports that workers at a salvage yard were threatened
by a man brandishing a shotgun. A man was arrested and questioned on
suspicion of making threats to kill and attempts to endanger life.
The weapon was not recovered.
The
Star (Sheffield),
23 February 2007
A taxi driver has been left
with a pellet embedded in his head after being shot repeatedly with an
air rifle in one of two armed attacks on
cabs in Sheffield in as many days. He was attacked in
Arbourthorne by one of two men he had picked up in the city centre.
The men demanded money and the driver was shot when he tried to open his
door. In the second attack another driver was held up at gunpoint in
Burngreave. He was forced to hand over cash.
Richmond & Twickenham Times,
23 February 2007
A 14-year-old youth was
arrested for five offences including possession of an
air pistol (a Glock 9 mm lookalike),
theft and going equipped for theft and admitted 26 counts of criminal
damage. He will receive a final warning at a youth offender's
clinic. He had been tracked by a PCSO from a description given by
the manager of a supermarket in Ham where goods had been stolen.
The manager had caught one youth and spotted a black handgun in his
rucksack.
Oxford Mail,
23 February 2007
Christopher Bowsher admitted
shooting a 13-year-old boy in the eye with a
ball-bearing gun in September 2006 (see
Incidents). The victim was left
blind in one eye. Bowsher fired a carbon dioxide-powered
self-loading BB gun at the teenager while he was playing with friends in
Greater Leys. A pellet lodged in the back of the victims'
right eye, and a two-hour operation failed to save his eyesight.
Sentencing was adjourned but Bowsher has been told he faces jail. He
has had nine previous convictions in the past 14 years, including affray
and firearms offences.
Mirror,
23 February 2007
A man with a history of gun
crime, drugs and violence, who is also described as a sports shooting fan,
was arrested after firing his Brocock Specialist Revolver and an air rifle
for target practice on private land. However when he answered bail
he was told no action would be taken due to insufficient evidence, and he
was given his guns back, despite the fact that, like other gas cartridge
airguns, the Brocock was banned in 2003 and could only be kept with a
firearms licence. The man from Edmonton, north London,
returned to the police to hand in his weapons.
Note: According to the article
some 75,000 Brocock air cartridge guns are thought to have been sold since
1989, but by 2004 only 1,524 had been surrendered and just 5,791 have been
registered on a licence.
ic South London,
23 February 2007
A gang burst into a house in
Peckham and stole a puppy at gunpoint. The four masked men
threatened the victims with two handguns before taking the Staffordshire
bull terrier worth at least £500.
Evening Telegraph (Northampton),
23 February 2007
Scott Minter, 18, robbed a
petrol station at the A14 Thrapston exit using a
ball bearing gun. He was confronted
by the cashier and stole just ten cigarettes. He pleaded guilty to
robbery and possessing an imitation firearm and was sentenced to 46 months
detention.
BBC,
23 February 2007
A teenager, aged between 15
and 17, stole a quantity of cash from a garage in Haydock after
threatening staff with a weapon. It was reported that a handgun had
been used.
Whitehaven News,
22 February 2007 *
Andrew Taylor threatened his
mother with a plastic ball-bearing gun
which he held to her head at her home in Whitehaven in
September 2006. She believed it was a real weapon. He pleaded
guilty to the public order offence of affray. His case was adjourned
for social inquiry and psychiatric reports. Taylor blamed depression
for his actions. He was sentenced to a 180-day prison term,
suspended for two years but must undertake 200 hours community service (Whitehaven
News, 5 April 2007).
This is Lancashire,
22 February 2007
A man has been charged with
possessing an imitation firearm after
police responded to a report of a man dressed in camouflage gear who was
chasing children in Darwen. When police arrived an imitation
gun was allegedly pointed at them. He has pleaded guilty to
possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence (see
March 2008 Incidents).
Metro,
22 February 2007
John Laidlaw, who said he
would 'kill all black people', was found guilty of firing a pistol at two
people in north London in May 2006 (see
Incidents), weeks after being convicted
of a violent race attack. One of his victims was left fighting for
life and has a bullet permanently lodged in his throat after being shot at
random in Islington. Half an hour later Laidlaw shot a woman
at Finsbury Park station whilst aiming at a man with whom he had
clashed earlier in 2006. A bullet was plucked from the victim's back
and she was later treated in hospital. Laidlaw was found guilty of
three counts of attempted murder and was jailed for life, with a minimum
term of 15 years (Guardian, 24 February 2007).
BBC,
22 February 2007
George Stevens has been jailed
for six years after admitting the manslaughter of a father of five whom he
shot in the chest on the doorstep of a house in Effingham, Surrey,
in February 2005 (see Incidents).
This is Cheshire,
21 February 2007
A deaf 12-year-old boy and his
older brother were attacked by a group of four men as they walked home in
Stretford. The men shouted at them to hand over a phone and
the elder brother tried to explain his brother couldn't hear. One of
them threatened the boys with a gun. The man, aged between 18 and
20, took a PSP console and a mobile phone.
BBC,
21 February 2007
A man brandishing a small
handgun threatened staff at a bookmakers in Bracknell, Berkshire,
and forced them to hand over £500 in cash.
This is Lancashire,
20 February 2007
A 17-year-old was shot with a
ball-bearing gun in an unprovoked
attack by a gang of up to 20 men in the centre of Blackburn.
The boy was left with two deep cuts to the back of his head and an injury
to his right shoulder where it is believed a pellet from the gun hit him.
He and his friends were also attacked with baseball bats and metal bars
which were used to smash up cars. The victim thought it was a proper
gun because of the sound of the echoes but police recovered ball bearing
pellets from the scene.
Press Association,
20 February 2007
A jury has cleared a
13-year-old of the manslaughter of 12-year-old Mitchel Picken whom he shot
through the eye with an air rifle at a
house in Stockton Brook, Staffordshire, in August 2006 (see
Incidents).
The jury believed the boy's story that the gun had gone off accidentally
in spite of the fact that the defendant admitted that he pointed the
loaded weapon at Mitchel and intended to "scare him a bit". A third
boy told the court that the defendant had been laughing as he pointed the
gun and said: "Are you scared? Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Barking & Dagenham Recorder,
20 February 2007
A gunshot was heard following
a fight between youths in Chadwell Heath. Frightened
residents were warned to stay indoors.
Borehamwood & Elstree Times,
19 February 2007
A delivery driver was robbed
at gunpoint outside a post office in Borehamwood. The driver
was loading a cash box into a security van. The gunman drove off in
a red car, which was later found abandoned.
Argus (Brighton),
19 February 2007
A court has heard how a
teenager was kidnapped at gunpoint in a row over a runaway girl. One
man has denied kidnap, false imprisonment and possessing a firearm with
intent to cause fear, and another has denied kidnap and false
imprisonment. The first man is said to have pointed a pistol at the
teenager's head and ordered him into his car in Gossops Green,
Crawley, where the victim had arranged to meet the second man who said he
wanted to repay some money he had borrowed. After being challenged
about the whereabouts of the girl the victim was let out of the car in
Crawley. The pistol allegedly used was never found. The trial
continues.
Sky News,
18 February 2007
A man was shot in the leg in a
street in Harlesden, north west London. Police were called to
reports of shots being fired. Two men were seen running away from
the scene, one carrying a handgun.
Guardian,
17 February 2007
Gerry Smith and Evaldas Cinga
have been jailed for ten and a half and seven years respectively for their
part in smuggling handguns from eastern Europe. Sentencing for a
third man, Tony Magee, was adjourned. The deal between Magee, Smith
and the Lithuanian arms dealer Cinga was negotiated in north London
and witnessed by undercover police. When police moved in they found
that Cinga had sold 18 pistols to the other pair.
Evening Star (Ipswich),
17 February 2007
Police are searching for two
youngsters who fired pellets and stones, possibly from an
air rifle or catapult, at traffic on the
A14 in Ipswich. Three vehicles were damaged and one car
passenger was hit in the eye with a stone and could now face an operation.
The windscreen of another car was struck and cracked by what is believed
to be a pellet fired from an airgun. The driver spotted a young lad
with a gun who fired it just before the windscreen shattered.
Evening Courier (Halifax),
17 February 2007 *
A man who was found shot in a
street in Warley died a short time after he arrived at hospital.
Three men and a woman have been arrested in connection with the shooting.
Three men have been charged with murder together with two other men
arrested later (BBC, 20 December 2007).
BBC,
17 February 2007
Five people have been arrested
following reports of a weapon being fired out of a car window. Three
men and two women were in a vehicle stopped by police in Middlesbrough.
Police recovered a BB gun and two
paint ball guns from the car.
AOL News,
17 February 2007 *
A man was shot dead in
Hackney, east London, whilst he was sitting in a car. He was
pronounced dead on arrival at hospital. A man has appeared in court
charged with his murder (BBC, 14 April 2007).
AOL News,
17 February 2007
Three people were in hospital
after two shooting incidents in Manchester. An 18-year-old was shot
in the back in Moss Side. In the second incident two men were
in a car waiting at traffic lights in Longsight when someone in a
passing car opened fire and hit the two men, one in the arm and one in the
back.
Yorkshire Evening Post,
16 February 2007
In one week there have been
three armed raids in Leeds. In one a gang, at least one armed with a
handgun, struck at a bingo hall in Famley and robbed staff in the
foyer. Shots were fired when the gunman opened fire to frighten the
staff who had grabbed one of the robbers outside. Two corner shops
have also been targeted by gunmen.
Northern Echo,
16 February 2007
Denis McCormick has been
jailed for 14 months after an incident in which he pulled two handguns
from the waistband of his trousers whilst walking home in Middlesbrough
in December 2006. He pointed one of his guns at a police officer and
finally put down the Smith and Wesson revolver and
Skif pistol moments before he would have
been shot by armed police.
The News (Portsmouth),
16 February 2007
Two cash machines in
Portsmouth have been left riddled with holes after being shot at with
an airgun.
Islington Tribune,
16 February 2007
A school in Archway
failed to call police for almost two hours after a 15-year-old pupil was
shot with an air pistol. The
victim was playing basketball in the playground when one of a group of
Year 11 pupils pointed the gun at him and fired it. A plastic pellet
hit him on the bone of the eye socket. The deputy head teacher took
an hour to find the suspect. The gun was then seized and the two
boys responsible sent home. The victim's mother was not contacted
until almost two hours after the incident. The deputy head is quoted
as saying "The children involved are not naughty students. We took
rapid action and dealt with a stupid playground incident".
Evening Star (Ipswich),
16 February 2007
Five people were taken into
custody after an armed response unit was deployed following a report from
a member of the public in Felixstowe who had spotted a handgun.
The people were arrested from cars, a property and in the street and three
BB guns, a machete, a crossbow and
some knives were seized. Four were arrested on suspicion of
conspiracy to commit robbery, the fifth on suspicion of possessing a Class
A drug with intent to supply.
East London and West Essex
Guardian,
16 February 2007
Wanstead High Street
was brought to a standstill when armed robbers threatened a security guard
at gunpoint. The guard was attempting to deliver a cash box to a
bank when he was approached by two men on a bike. They made off with
the cash box.
The Citizen (Blackburn),
16 February 2007 *
Two shots were fired in a
Blackburn alleyway. Police were carrying out fingertip searches.
It was later reported that a man had come within inches of death. He
was in the front passenger seat of a car when a bullet passed through the
boot of the car (This is Lancashire, 20 February 2007). Six
men and a woman have been arrested over the alleged murder plot (The
Citizen (Blackburn), 10 September 2007). Another man has now
been charged with conspiracy to murder (BBC, 18 April 2008)
BBC,
16 February 2007 *
David Shepherd has been jailed
for six years following an incident in Rugeley in August 2006 (see
Incidents) in which
he was shot in the arm and hand by police after he pointed a
ball bearing gun at them. The
police had found Shepherd waiting in a car brandishing the weapon after
Shepherd's former partner received threatening texts. He was told
several times to lower his gun during the incident, in which baton rounds
were fired followed by four shots, two of which hit him. He was
charged with assault, two counts of threatening to kill, affray and
possession of an imitation firearm.
The
Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) have criticised
Staffordshire Police's armed response unit for its tactics during the
operation (see June 2007
Incidents).
BBC,
16 February 2007
Two men were abducted by
another three men carrying a shotgun and a pick axe in the car park of a
pub in Whitnash, Leamington Spa. The victims were forced out
of their car, bundled into another one and later abandoned in Offchurch.
They have been arrested on suspicion of supplying drugs. Police are
still looking for their abductors.
Sky News,
15 February 2007 *
A third teenage boy has been
shot dead in south London within 12 days. Reports say that the
15-year-old was found by his 12-year-old sister. He was killed in
his own home in Clapham North. A suspect was arrested in
connection with the shooting when police raided two addresses in south
London (Evening Standard, 6 June 2007).
Norwich Evening News,
15 February 2007
Armed robbers who held up a
Norwich jewellers bought replica guns on the same day as the raid
in July 2006.
The three men were chased from the shop empty-handed. Kuldar Ojaaar was jailed
for 11 years after pleading guilty to attempted robbery and carrying a
firearm. Staff at the jewellers were praised by the judge. One
was pistol whipped and another had a gun held to her throat. Ojaaar
asked for an earlier, almost identical robbery on a jewellers in
Cambridge to be taken into account.
Hendon & Finchley Times,
15 February 2007
Three teenagers, aged 18 and
19, were arrested for possession of a firearm after one of them stepped in
front of a car on the A41 and pointed a gun at the driver.
The driver ducked down and swerved to avoid the youth. A silver and
black handgun, an unloaded airgun, was
found on one of the young men. The youths had been drinking and had
decided to "role-play".
Yorkshire Post,
14 February 2007
Matthew Bryan, 20, has been
sent to a young offender institution for nine months after admitting
illegally possessing a .22 air rifle
which was fired at members of the public in Lupset, Wakefield in
November 2006 (see Incidents).
A 16-year-old girl was struck by a pellet on her shoulder and a man
pushing his two-year-old child in a pushchair was hit in the head.
Police were not able to prove who had fired the weapon when people were
struck: Bryan admitting firing the weapon from a window, as had others.
Speaking of those who were hit he said "it was their own fault if they got
hit because it was only a bit of fun".
Sunderland Echo,
14 February 2007
Armed police were called to an
estate in Sunderland after a pensioner fired a
starting pistol at a group of teenagers.
He is believed to have challenged them before firing. The man has
been taken into police custody.
Lancashire Telegraph,
14 February 2007
Detectives are searching for a
gunman thought to have been stabbed during a fight between criminal gangs
in Burnley. Police were told that a man who had fled the
scene was carrying a handgun. There were no reports of shots having
been fired and the police did not know whether the gun was real or
imitation.
ic South London,
14 February 2007
An e-fit image of a man has
been released following an incident in which a gang of five people burst
into a flat in Sydenham in November 2006. The man was armed
with a silver handgun. The gun was pointed at the householder and
the raiders snatched money. The victim was pistol-whipped during a
struggle and suffered a cut to the back of his head. The gang fled
with mobile phones, more cash and the man's flat and car keys. Four
of the gang are thought to have been aged between 13 and 17.
Evening Gazette (Middlesbrough),
14 February 2007
At least 20 homes of elderly
residents in the Hardwick and Norton areas of Stockton have been
damaged during a two week period. It is believed that the windows
and doors have been broken in attacks by youths with
airguns.
Wiltshire Times,
13 February 2007
Gerard Jordan, who caused an
armed siege by brandishing a .22 calibre air
pistol at his house in Melksham in November 2006 (see
Incidents), was
given a 36 week suspended jail sentence after admitting a charge of
affray. During the incident the airgun may have been fired at police
who used a stun gun to incapacitate Jordan. His counsel said he
suffered from depression and drank to try and ease it. The judge
ordered the confiscation and destruction of the gun.
Huddersfield Daily Examiner,
13 February 2007
A number of
airguns, including a .22 BSA air rifle, a
BSA Merlin air rifle with telescopic sight, a .177 BSA air pistol with a
hexagonal barrel and a Webley Junior air pistol, were among items stolen
from a house in Wilton, Batley.
Willesden & Brent Times,
12 February 2007
Two men were left needing
hospital treatment following a double shooting in Harlesden.
Neither victim was seriously injured.
Ealing Times,
11 February 2007
Two incidents in Battersea
involving armed men may be linked according to police. In the first
attack five men, apparently in their late teens, and a youth broke into a
flat. One, aged around 19, pulled out a gun and demanded to know
where the money was from the man and woman who were at home. The man
was punched to the floor, knocked unconscious and tied up. The woman
was sexually assaulted. The gang took mobile phones, a DVD player
and jewellery amongst other belongings. In the second attack a
married couple were robbed at gunpoint in the street. The incident
involved a group of five or six young men. One pointed a handgun at
the couple and threatened to shoot. They stole credit cards and
demanded that the victims reveal their pin numbers.
Croydon Guardian,
11 February 2007
James Hensby has been jailed
following a robbery at a shop in Shirley in September 2006.
He threatened an assistant with a ball-bearing
gun, demanding she empty the shop's till. He also
threatened a customer and revealed a second gun in the waistband of his
trousers. The next day he handed himself into the police. He
said he got the guns from a friend. He was given three years for the
robbery and a minimum of two and a half years on two charges of possession
of imitation firearms while committing an offence, the sentences to run
concurrently.
BBC,
11 February 2007
A female assistant was
threatened with a handgun during an attempted raid on a shop in
Littlemoor, Chesterfield. She managed to activate an alarm and
the man ran off empty handed.
BBC,
9 February 2007
A man was recovering in
hospital after being shot in St Ann's, Nottingham. His
injuries were not life threatening.
BBC,
9 February 2007
Two men armed with a gun
threatened staff in a shop in the Allerton area of Bradford before
fleeing with cash from the till.
BBC,
9 February 2007
A 19-year-old has been charged
over five armed robberies which were carried out over two days in
Reading. He had threatened staff at various shops and a betting
shop with a silver handgun. He has been charged with armed robbery
and firearm offences.
Express & Star,
8 February 2007
A man fled with £200 of
Lottery scratchcards after he had aimed a shotgun at a shop worker in
Merridale, Wolverhampton. The worker triggered an attack alarm
and refused to give the robber any money. CCTV pictures of the
incident, which occurred in December 2006, have just been released.
BBC,
8 February 2007
A gang of four men, one armed
with what is thought to have been a handgun, robbed a supermarket in St
Peter's Bridge in the Burton area of Staffordshire. They
demanded money from staff and a quantity of cash was taken.
BBC,
8 February 2007
A 15-year-old girl was alone
in a caravan at a farm in Rushton, near Kettering, when a gunman
knocked on the door and demanded money. He took about £80 leaving
the girl extremely traumatised.
Ilkeston Today,
7 February 2007
A man has died from gunshot
wounds on family-own land in Stanley. He is thought to have
shot himself in the face with a rifle as he tripped climbing over a fence
whilst out lamping. An inquest has opened.
BBC,
7 February 2007
Yvette Luffman and her
ex-boyfriend Wayne Briscoe have both been sentenced to life in prison for
the murder of her former husband on a canal towpath at Bramcote,
Nottinghamshire, in October 2003. They had paid Thomas Convery
£30,000 to carry out the murder. Convery shot the victim twice
in the back and twice in the head with a shotgun and was himself convicted
of the murder in 2004.
The Star (Sheffield),
6 February 2007
A 14-year-old girl needed
hospital treatment after being shot in the leg with an
air rifle. The pellet went through
the girl's leg, smashing into the bone. The incident occurred when
she was with a group of teenagers in a field near Smithies, Barnsley.
The Press (York),
6 February 2007
A jury in York has been
hearing details of a robbery on a takeaway in the town in July 2006.
Masked armed raiders smashed a cook's teeth and herded staff into a
freezer as they carried out the robbery. The men were said to be
armed with a handgun, a shotgun and one set of nun chucks used in martial
arts. The cook had also had a shotgun put to his head. One man
has denied charges of robbery, carrying a firearm or imitation firearm
during a robbery and wounding. The trial continues.
ic South London,
6 February 2007
One man was executed and
another was in a serious condition in hospital after a double shooting in
a flat in Peckham. The murdered man is believed to have been
shot several times at close range. The injured man alerted police to
the shooting on his mobile phone.
East London and West Essex Guardian,
6 February 2007
Police confiscated an
air rifle from a youth near Waltham
Abbey following reports that he was seen aiming the gun at a road.
BBC,
6 February 2007 *
A 15-year-old boy has been
shot dead in the bedroom of his home in Peckham, south London.
Two men, believed to be in their late teens or early 20s, forced their way
into his home. A police spokesman said he believed the premises were
specifically targeted and this was not a botched burglary. Four men
have been held over the murder (Times, 8 February 2007).
Police have revealed that they suspect up to 30 people were present when
the murder was planned. It has also been revealed that police
believe that the murder weapon was a Mac 10 machine gun (itv, 5
March 2007). Two men have been found guilty of murder (see
June 2008 Incidents).
This is Cheshire,
5 February 2007
Frank Kinder has been found
guilty of the attempted murder in March 2006 (see
Incidents) of a doorman in Widnes
who had asked him to remove his hood before entering a bar. Kinder
shot the man at pointblank range. He has been sentenced to a minimum
of 20 years' imprisonment with 5 years to run concurrently in respect of
firearms offences. His victim will be paralysed for life from
the chest down as the bullet severed his spinal cord.
News & Star,
5 February 2007
A 12-year-old boy was taken to
hospital after being shot in an airgun
attack in Workington. He was out walking at the time of the
incident. Police are keen to trace two youths who were shooting at
crows in the area.
Citizen (Burnley),
4 February 2007
Four men have been arrested on
suspicion of being involved in gun crime after police officers stopped a
car in Nelson.
BBC,
4 February 2007 *
A 16-year-old boy has been
shot dead at an ice rink in Streatham, south London. About
300 people were in the venue at the time of the shooting. Six youths
and an 18-year-old were being held by the police. A teenage suspect
has been jailed for more than two years for gun running (see
August 2007 Incidents).
Yorkshire Post,
3 February 2007
Ryan Vickers, 18, who shot his
17-year-old girlfriend between the eyes with an
air rifle, has admitted grievous bodily harm. The victim
suffered life-threatening injuries after the incident in
Bolton-on-Dearne. Vickers had bought the gun to go shooting with
friends in woodland near his home. He fired at targets in his garden
when the rifle jammed and believed the gas canister that propelled the
pellets had become empty. The next day he pointed the rifle at his
girlfriend after she suggested he 'pretend to shoot me'. Two pellets
were discharged and remain lodged dangerously in her brain. Vickers
was given a nine-month prison term, suspended for a year, a 115-hour
community punishment order and placed under the supervision of a probation
officer. His girlfriend had pleaded on his behalf.
BBC,
3 February 2007
Police who were called to an
incident in Moss Side, Manchester, found two men who had been shot,
one in the foot and one in the leg and back. The injuries were not
serious.
BBC,
3 February 2007
A man was shot in the arm by a
gunman in Burgess Hill, West Sussex. Several shots had been
fired at the property where the victim was found. The weapon has
been described as a small handgun.
BBC,
3 February 2007
A teenager aimed a gun at
about 14 youths in a McDonald's restaurant in Wandsworth Road, South
West London, and fired a single shot, before running off. No-one
was injured and there have been no arrests.
ic South London,
2 February 2007
A 13-year-old schoolboy has
been locked up in a young offender institution for four years for
committing a series of five offences in the West Norwood area in
May and June 2006. The boy kept a detailed diary of his crimes which
included muggings, a carjacking and an armed shop raid. The majority
were committed with an imitation firearm.
The boy was only arrested after he smashed up his kitchen in a fit of rage
and his mother called the police. She handed them an empty gun box,
ammunition and a bag of stolen property.
This is Cheshire,
1 February 2007
Four people, two women, and
man and a youth, have been arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm
after a handgun was found in a property in Urmston.
The Star (Sheffield),
1 February 2007
A family is living in fear
after gunmen twice opened fire on their home in Shirecliffe.
Pellets broke the outer pan in a double glazed rear window and damaged a
side door after the attacks occurred on successive evenings. Police
recovered shotgun pellets from around the house and in the trees.
BBC,
1 February 2007 *
A man is due in court after
being charged with the murder of his wife. He is accused of shooting
her in Lowfield Heath, Crawley in Sussex (see
June 2007 Incidents).
SCOTLAND
Scotsman,
27 February 2007
A 17-year-old youth has
appeared in court on drugs charges after police seized £100,000 of
cocaine, a handgun and ammunition in a swoop on a home in Edinburgh.
Daily Record,
23 February 2007
A post office worker was
threatened by a robber with a handgun who fled with several thousand
pounds from the Craigmillar, Edinburgh, branch. The staff
were shaken but otherwise uninjured.
Courier (Dundee),
19 February 2007
Police were trying to track
down a gang of children responsible for shooting two 11-year olds in
a fast-food restaurant in Dundee with a pellet gun. One of the
victims, a girl, was hit in the face at point-blank range (see
photo), the other victim, a boy, was hit
twice in the back of the neck and head. The group who attacked them
were aged between eight and 13. A boy believed to be only seven
years old was being sought by police, according to later reports (Courier,
20 February 2007). One 11-year-old boy has been charged (ic
Scotland, 20 February 2007).
Courier (Dundee),
16 February 2007
Ronald McKay has been found
guilty of presenting an imitation gun
at two members of staff in a pub in Dundee and robbing them of £650
in August 2006 (see Incidents).
Charles Craig Renton had pleaded guilty to being part of the robbery.
Even though the weapon was only capable of firing plastic pellets it was
realistic and McKay repeatedly pointed it at the staff saying "I'll put a
bullet in you". When staff wondered if it was a real gun he asked
"Would you like to find out?". The pair have been told that they
face long jail terms.
Herald,
15 February 2007
An armed robber held up a shop
in the centre of Glasgow making off with a quantity of jewellery.
He threatened the staff of the shop with what appeared to be a firearm.
He is reported to have stolen nearly £1m in diamonds and jewellery (Daily
Record, 16 February 2007).
Evening Times,
9 February 2007 *
A gunman threatened staff at a
shop in Rhu, Dunbartonshire. He made off with an unknown
quantity of cash. Police searched the area but the suspect was not
caught. The gun was not fired and no one was injured. A man
has admitted the robbery in which he was armed with an
air pistol (see
May 2007 Incidents).
BBC,
9 February 2007
In another robbery in
Kilmarnock staff at a shop were threatened by a man with a gun.
The robber escaped with a three-figure sum of money.
Scotsman,
8 February 2007
Gavin Brown shot and killed a
complete stranger in a street in Glasgow in May 2004 (see
Incidents) because
he wolf-whistled at Brown's brother's girlfriend. Brown armed
himself with a sawn-off shotgun and tracked down his victim. He
faces an automatic life sentence and has been remanded in custody pending
reports.
Evening Times,
7 February 2007 *
An armed raider fled
empty-handed after a robbery bid in the centre of Glasgow.
The man dropped two bags of cash when dye exploded over him as he ran from
a financial services office. Staff had been threatened with a
firearm. A man has been jailed for over eight years for this raid
and a later one he carried out in Troon (see
March 2008 Incidents).
Daily Record,
7 February 2007
A security guard was robbed at
gunpoint outside a supermarket in Kilmarnock. The incident
came just a week after a robbery outside another supermarket in the
town (see January 2007
Incidents).
BBC,
7 February 2007
A firearm and ammunition have
been stolen during a break-in at a house near Leven in Fife.
The firearm could be extremely dangerous, according to police.
WALES
South Wales Echo,
20 February 2007
Simon Morelli was found with
two airguns, a silencer and ammunition
when he was stopped by police at Kenfig Hill in June 2006. He
was seen to bend down, take a pistol from his sock and throw it into
undergrowth when he saw the officers approach. Morelli has admitted
possessing all the weapons and a Class B drug. He had a record of 46
offences including shooting someone with an air rifle in 1991. He
was given a 12-month prison sentence suspended as long as he completes 250
hours of unpaid community work, observes a night-time curfew for four
months and attends an enhanced thinking skills course.
South Wales Echo,
17 February 2007 *
A betting shop manager was
held at gunpoint in an armed robbery and left traumatised by the attack in
Lakeside, Cardiff. He was tied up and threatened by two men.
A second related robbery occurred at a travel agents in Pontyclun
three hours later. It had similarities to one that occurred at a
travel agents in Whitchurch, Cardiff, in October 2006 when staff
were threatened with a handgun. Three men have been given long jail
sentences for the attacks in Lakeside and Pontyclun (see
November 2007 Incidents).
BBC,
2 February 2007
Aperpreet Taak conspired with
his former employee Mohammed Akram who staged a fake hold-up with a
toy gun at a Grangetown (Cardiff)
post office run by Taak. The business was suffering from competition
from a newly opened Tesco. Nearly £63,000 was taken during the
robbery and has never turned up. Taak was given an 18-month sentence
and Akram was jailed for two-and-a-half years.
INCIDENTS INVOLVING ANIMALS
Shropshire Star, 28
February 2007
A woman from Leegomery
has called for a change in the law governing the use of
air rifles after her two pet cats were
shot. Both animals had to undergo life-saving surgery following the
attack. Her daughter had found one of the cats bleeding on her bed -
the pet had been shot and her leg was hanging off. When the other
cat was checked he too was found to have been shot - a pellet had gone
right through him.
Hornsey & Crouch End Journal,
21 February 2007
A cat brought to the Wood
Green Animal Shelter by its owner died after being shot twice with an
air rifle, once in the eye and once in
the body. The cat did not make it through surgery.
Evening Star (Ipswich),
20 February 2007
A swan that was shot in the
chest with an air rifle in a park in
Needham Market was so badly injured it had to be put down. A
reward of £250 has been offered to catch the person responsible. A
spokesperson for the RSPCA said that there were 58 reports of animals
being shot in East Anglia last year, of which 29 were attacks on water
birds. Local MP David Ruffley has called for a review of airgun
legislation (Evening Star, 21 February 2007).
Herts24,
15 February 2007
A cat owner in Cheshunt
has spoken of her horror after discovering her pet had been shot in the
head with an airgun. The cat is still alive but has a pellet lodged
in his skull. A police spokesman said that "Cruelty to animals is a
serious offence and we will take action against those responsible for
committing such acts".
Correspondent to GCN,
13 February 2007
A correspondent from
Mexborough, South Yorkshire, has written to us about one of her cats
who was shot with an air rifle in the
vicinity of her house. The cat has had to undergo extensive and
expensive treatment at a vets. She had
a pellet in her chest that had
gone in one side, through her ribs and lungs to the other side where it
had shattered one of her ribs, narrowly missing her heart. More
details can be found on our
Personal Accounts page.
Shropshire Star,
12 February 2007
A pet cat was shot in the face
with an airgun in Wellington,
Shropshire. His owner found an airgun pellet when the cat returned
home, and anaesthetic was needed to enable a vet to remove it from his
face.
Oxford Mail,
9 February 2007
A pet owner has been left
distraught after her kitten died following an
airgun attack in Bicester. A pellet lodged deep
inside the kitten's body after puncturing its intestine several times.
