APRIL 2009
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
Norwich Evening News,
30 April 2009
A number of people have been
injured after being shot at with an air pellet
gun in Norwich. One man was walking along a street
when heard a sound and felt what he thought was an air pellet hit his leg.
A second incident took place two days later when a man was left with a
bruised stomach and a short time later a woman was left with a bruised leg
when she was also hit by what she thought was an airgun pellet.
Northumberland Gazette,
30 April 2009
A shop door in Alnwick,
Northumberland, has been shot with an air rifle.
The owner found her floor covered with glass when she opened up the shop.
Kent Online,
30 April 2009
A Lithuanian who had armed
himself with a loaded pistol when entering the UK has been jailed for five
years. Aurimas Radzevicius was found to have a 9mm semi-automatic
pistol in his shoulder bag together with three blank cartridges and one CS
cartridge when he arrived at the UK Channel Tunnel control zone.
Buxton Advertiser,
30 April 2009
A man from Buxton,
Derbyshire, has appeared in court charged with possession of a firearm, a
shortened single barrel .410 shotgun.
He also faces an allegation that he purchased or acquired 47 .410 shotgun
cartridges without a firearm certificate being in force.
BBC,
29 April 2009
A man was injured when he was
shot in the face with a BB gun fired
from a passing car. The incident took place in Pangbourne,
Berkshire.
BBC,
29 April 2009 *
A robber has been found guilty
of shooting a police officer during a raid on a pub in Bamber Bridge,
Lancashire, in December 2007 (see
Incidents). The female officer was
hit about 12 times in the thigh when Wayne McDonald fired a
sawn-off shotgun. McDonald was
cleared of attempted murder but found guilty of wounding with intent as
was a second man, David Tyrell. Tyrell had earlier admitted the
robbery and McDonald was found guilty of robbery. Two others,
Rudolph Mancini and Peter Plaskowksi, were also convicted of robbery.
McDonald was jailed for life and will serve at least 12 years.
Tyrell was given an indeterminate sentence and will serve at least
seven-and-a-half years. Mancini and Plaskowski were serve sentences
of eight and three years, respectively (BBC, 15 May 2009).
This is Gloucestershire,
28 April 2009
William Maskell has pleaded
guilty to firing an air rifle into the
street from his bedroom window in St Mark's, Cheltenham. A
shot hit a lamppost near where two witnesses were standing. He
claimed to have been trying to hit a pigeon. Maskell was given a
£200 fine and the bench also ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the
air rifle.
Streatham Guardian,
28 April 2009
A teenager who kept a loaded
submachine gun in a rucksack in his loft has been jailed for nine years.
Rhys Palma, 18, was caught with the Mac-10 submachine gun, ammunition and
two fired cartridges during a raid on his home in Tulse Hill, south
London, in May 2008. The gun was one of many made by arms dealer
Grant Wilkinson who was jailed in August 2008 (see
Incidents).
Dunstable Today,
28 April 2009
A man has been convicted of
possessing a firearm after police discovered a
sawn-off shotgun inside a wardrobe at his home in Houghton
Regis, Bedfordshire. Philip Davis has been remanded in custody
and is facing a custodial sentence.
Bridgwater Mercury,
28 April 2009
Armed police were called to a
church in Bridgwater, Somerset, after reports a man had been
spotted carrying a firearm. Earlier police riot vans and a police
helicopter were seen at Bridgwater College where police had received
another report of somebody holding a firearm. One man was arrested
who was later released without charge.
BBC,
28 April 2009
A man was arrested by armed
police after a "domestic report" that someone had a gun at an address at
Southsea, Hampshire. A nearby address is also being searched.
BBC,
28 April 2009
A school caretaker is
recovering after being shot in the forehead with an
air weapon in Middlesbrough.
The previous week cars parked at the school were targeted in a similar
attack.
Worksop Guardian,
27 April 2009 *
Darren Smith has admitted
robbing a petrol station in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, in March 2009
and possessing a firearm when prohibited. Smith was armed with a
sawn-off shotgun when he stole £250
during the raid. He has been given an indefinite prison sentence
with a minimum of six years (Worksop Guardian, 22 May 2009).
This is Grimsby,
27 April 2009
A 9-year-old girl was shot
three times in the face, neck and leg with pellets from a
BB gun as she played near her home in
Grimsby. The gun has been recovered and the police say that
inquiries are continuing.
Metro,
27 April 2009
One of the two men accused of
torturing and murdering two French students at their home in New Cross,
south east London, has previous convictions for a series of robberies in
which he used an imitation firearm.
Hunts Post,
27 April 2009
Police have apologised for
taking nearly two hours to attend the scene of an alleged airgun attack in
Eaton Socon, Cambridgeshire. The rear window of a property
had been shot through with what was believed was an
air rifle.
Hull Daily Mail,
27 April 2009
A man has been charged with
two counts of common assault and possession of an
air weapon after allegedly being seen
with a gun in west Hull.
Evening Courier,
27 April 2009
A
shotgun was fired on a street in Halifax, West
Yorkshire, where children were playing football. A car drove up and
three men got out carrying what witnesses described as a shotgun.
They blasted the front nearside wing of the car before driving off.
The incident is being link to another four incidents in which windows were
broken and a car was smashed.
Diss Express,
27 April 2009
A
shotgun, a rifle and ammunition were among items stolen when a
house was broken into in Framlingham, Suffolk.
BBC,
27 April 2009
Warwickshire Police have
described Luke Nathanial Jones from Rugby, who is wanted on
suspicion of firearms offences and not answering bail, as one of the
county's most wanted criminals.
BBC,
27 April 2009
A man has been cautioned by
Lincolnshire Police after trying to sell a shotgun from his car boot at
Swineshead. He was cautioned for possession of a
shotgun without a firearms licence.
BBC,
27 April 2009
Two men, one of whom had a
gun, stole a car in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. They
pointed the gun through the driver's side window and threatened another
man with a knife. The vehicle was later found in Urmston.
BBC,
27 April 2009
A man was injured when two
attackers robbed him of a large amount of money as he sat in his car in
Hook Heath, Surrey. The attackers hit him about the head and
threatened him with what is thought to have been a gun.
Rye & Battle Observer,
26 April 2009 *
A man wielding a suspected
imitation gun was overpowered by staff
and customers during an attempted robbery at a store in Kemptown,
Brighton. The man sustained an injury during the scuffle and was
taken to hospital while under arrest. A man has admitted a number of
robbery and attempted robbery charges and three counts of possessing an
imitation firearm (see August
2009 Incidents).
BBC,
26 April 2009
A shopkeeper was tied up by a
robber believed to be armed with a handgun during an attack in
Colchester, Essex. The man fled in the business's van with a
four-figure sum in cash and a large amount of cigarettes. The van
was later found burnt out.
Liverpool Echo,
25 April 2009
Paul Kane's sister went to the police after
she spotted a sawn-off shotgun at his
house in Walton, Merseyside. It was found that the weapon was
in full working order and had been fired recently. Kane admitted
possessing the prohibited weapon and a butterfly knife. He was
jailed for five years and nine months.
Huddersfield Daily
Examiner, 25
April 2009
Joseph Liburd has been found
guilty of possessing a weapon banned under the Firearms Act and sentenced
to five years in prison. He was caught with a
sawn-off shotgun at his home in
Sheepridge, Huddersfield, when police executed a search warrant in
November 2007.
BBC,
25 April 2009
An 11-year-old girl was shot
with an airgun in Huyton,
Merseyside, as she queued at an ice cream van. A youth on a bike
fired the pellet at her. She was taken to hospital but is now
recovering at home.
Bromsgrove Advertiser,
24 April 2009
Two men threatened the
occupants of a car in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, with a crossbow
and a ball bearing gun or
air weapon. Two men in the car
were made to get out, get on the floor and empty their pockets. A
number of items were stolen from one of the victims.
BBC,
24 April 2009 *
A candidate for the British
National Party (BNP) has been arrested by armed police in connection with
an incident in Halesworth, Suffolk, and questioned on suspicion of
handling stolen goods. It is believed that this relates to selling
illegal firearms. A man has been charged with possession of explosives, possession of a
weapon and possession of ammunition with intent to endanger life (BBC,
29 October 2009).
BBC,
23 April 2009 *
Two men fired a shot at a man
on the doorstep of his home in Barton, Oxford. The victim was
lucky to survive the attack which is being treated as attempted murder.
The shot was fired at point-blank range but missed and hit the wall
behind. Three men, two of them teenagers, have been charged with
conspiracy to murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger
life (BBC, 10 September 2009). All three have been found
guilty of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and
conspiracy to rob and been jailed for 10 years (see
March 2010 Incidents).
BBC,
23 April 2009
A man suffered leg injuries
when he was shot with an air rifle in
Whitehaven, Cumbria. The shot was fired by a man seen getting
out of a car.
BBC,
23 April 2009
A man has undergone surgery
after being shot in the chest after answering a knock at his door in
Luton, Bedfordshire.
Wigan Today,
22 April 2009
Nicholas Sealey, 18, shot his
friend in the arm with an air rifle
when his friend smoked cannabis at Shevington Nook, Lancashire, in
September 2008. Sealey regretted what he had done and took the
victim to hospital. He has pleaded guilty to wounding and was
sentenced to 12 months imprisonment suspended for 18 months. He was
also ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work.
This is Lincolnshire,
22 April 2009
An 18-year-old woman was shot
with an airgun as she walked along a
street in Wyberton, Lincolnshire. She was taken to hospital
where a pellet was removed.
Wetherby News,
21 April 2009
A man is in custody after
police found heroin and a stun gun in
his home in Wetherby, West Yorkshire.
This is Walsall,
21 April 2009
A porter was threatened with a
gun and crowbar by a robber who stole cash from a hotel in Walsall,
West Midlands. The money was taken from the till and safe.
Ledbury Reporter, 21
April 2009 *
A number of personal items
were taken by three men during an armed robbery at an isolated farmhouse
in Upper Sapey, Herefordshire. No one was injured in the
incident. The owner of the property was threatened with a handgun (BBC,
2 June 2009).
Crewe & Nantwich
Guardian, 21
April 2009
A man was threatened with a
handgun after a gang of men burst into his home in Crewe, Cheshire.
The men escaped with cash and valuables. Five men were arrested
after a search of the area and parts of the M6 resulted in the discovery
of various items of discarded clothing and an
imitation firearm.
BBC,
21 April 2009
Nine people have been detained
on suspicion of trafficking, controlling prostitution for gain, money
laundering and possession of a prohibited weapon, a
stun gun. This follows raids on
four suspected brothels in London and Hertfordshire.
Scarborough Evening News,
20 April 2009
David Harrison has been given
a 21 month prison sentence for carrying a hammer and an airgun in public.
He pleaded guilty to charges of using threatening abusive behaviour and
having an offensive weapon in his possession. In the first of two
incidents he was in a shop in Scarborough with his girlfriend who
was found carrying a case containing an air rifle
along with its ammunition while he was purchasing alcohol. He
identified to police officers that the gun belonged to him. He was
banned from possessing firearms as a result of many previous convictions.
The forfeiture of his weapons was ordered.
Ely Standard,
20 April 2009
John Smith kept a
shotgun propped against a kitchen cabinet
with a box of ammunition nearby at his home in Little Downham,
Cambridgeshire. He did not have a certificate for the gun. He
pleaded guilty to possessing a shotgun without a certificate and was fined
£250 and ordered to pay costs. The weapon and ammunition were
forfeited and will be destroyed.
BBC,
20 April 2009
Two teenagers have been
arrested after a man was hit by an airgun
pellet as he walked along a street in Loughborough, Leicestershire.
The victim was treated in hospital for minor injuries to his leg.
BBC,
19 April 2009
A substantial reward has been
offered for information leading to the conviction of armed robbers who
stole cash from a filling station in North Shields, Tyneside.
The men, one carrying a handgun, ambushed a van carrying money to fill a
cash machine. No-one was injured but the raiders escaped with a
quantity of cash.
BBC,
19 April 2009
A man has been charged with
attempted robbery and possession of a firearm after a sales assistant in a
toy shop in Portsmouth was allegedly threatened with a handgun.
BBC,
19 April 2009
A man has been killed in a
shooting incident in Handsworth, Birmingham. He was taken to
hospital with a gunshot wound to the chest where he was later pronounced
dead. It is reported that the victim was seen arguing with another
man seconds before the shooting (BBC, 21 April 2009). Another
man was shot in the leg in a shooting in the same stretch of the road in
June 2008 (Birmingham Mail, 23 April 2009).
Romford Recorder,
17 April 2009
Noel Grant used a green
water pistol in a hold up a bank in
Brentwood, Essex, in December 2008. A teller handed over £770 in
cash. Grant handed himself into the police sometime later. He
admitted possession of an imitation firearm with intent and robbery and
was given a three and a half year sentence.
Liverpool Echo,
17 April 2009
Brothers Peter Moogan and
Michael Moogan have both been jailed for eight years for storing a stash
of guns at a property in Haydock, Merseyside. The weapons
were recovered after police acted against underworld armourer Mark Watts,
who was jailed for 15 years in March 2008 (see
Incidents). The brothers rented the
property from Watts and their fingerprints were found on the guns.
Michael Moogan admitted seven firearms charges including selling and
transferring prohibited weapons, Peter Moogan pleaded guilty to possessing
a gun and ammunition. A fourth man Neil Johnstone who was arrested
with Watts had pleaded guilty to a number of offences and was jailed for
eight years last March.
Express & Star,
17 April 2009
Armed police went to a street
in the centre of Wolverhampton after witnesses reported seeing a
man brandishing a gun. Two men found with two plastic
BB guns were arrested. They have
been charged with possession of imitation firearms in a public place.
Exmouth Journal,
17 April 2009
Michael Densham from
Exmouth, Devon, has admitted possessing a 9mm
bolt action shotgun without authority. He pleaded not
guilty to a charge of possessing the gun with intent to cause fear of
violence to his wife in December 2008. His wife is refusing to help
the police and the charge has been dropped. Sentencing was deferred.
Evening Chronicle,
17 April 2009
An
air rifle, blue tablets and £600 cash were among property
recovered from a property at Swallwell, Gateshead.
Ealing Gazette,
17 April 2009
A church in Northfields,
west London, was attacked by a vandal armed with an
airgun. Six windows were damaged
and a ball bearing was found nearby.
BBC,
17 April 2009 *
A man is on trial over a
double murder in Southall, west London. The victims were shot
dead at a nightclub in 2002. The man, who denies two charges of
murder, was named as one of the gunmen by a criminal. Another gunman
alleged to have been involved has since been shot dead himself. The
man was found not guilty, the jurors rejecting the testimony of a witness
who claimed the two men had killed the two victims (BBC, 7 May
2009).
BBC,
17 April 2009
A gun and £30,000 of heroin
were seized by police during a raid at an address in Chapeltown,
Leeds.
BBC,
17 April 2009
Two men are recovering in
hospital after being shot in a car park at a leisure centre in Prescot,
Merseyside. Their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
BBC,
17 April 2009
A man has been arrested in
connection with a series of post office raids across Nottinghamshire, the
latest in Watnall when a man threatened staff with a
shotgun before escaping with cash.
Similar robberies have taken place in Trowell and Bleasby.
BBC,
17 April 2009
Engineers who turned up to fix
an electrical fault at a caravan site near Belbroughton,
Worcestershire, had to leave when a resident confronted them with an
air rifle. West Mercia Police
say that advice has been given to the air rifle owner. The engineers
returned later, but in the meantime up to 200 homes were without power.
Whitchurch Herald,
16 April 2009
A postman who helped track
down an armed robber is to be awarded a commendation. He noted the
registration number of a van whose driver was acting suspiciously.
The driver was about to rob a post office in Loppington,
Shropshire. The incident took place in November 2007. The
offender, Aaron Scane, who brandished an
imitation handgun and escaped with £760, admitted robbery and
possessing a firearm and was later jailed for six years (Whitchurch
Herald, 22 January 2008).
This is Walsall,
16 April 2009
Staff at a betting shop in
Walsall were threatened with a gun by a masked robber who demanded
money. He escaped with a quantity of cash.
This is Staffordshire,
16 April 2009
A firearms response was
deployed after a report was received of a teenage boy, dressed in combat
trousers, a khaki top and balaclava, carrying what was believed to be two
firearms in Stoke-on-Trent. Following enquiries it was
thought that the youth was involved in some kind of game using
realistic looking replica firearms.
The police have urged parents not to buy their children air weapons and
imitation firearms as toys.
Telegraph & Argus,
16 April 2009
A family in Low Moor,
Bradford, have had their windows blasted with a
shotgun after a row over a stolen bicycle. At least two
shots were fired at the house, and a motorcycle was seen speeding away
from the scene. The shooting followed shortly after a girl had
accused a member of the family of stealing a bike and said "He's had it".
Police recovered an air rifle but the
shotgun has not been found.
London Daily News,
16 April 2009
Three men have been injured,
two seriously, in separate shootings in London. A man was shot in
his car on Parliament Hill, Gospel Oak, and is in a
life-threatening condition. The shooting is thought to be
drug-related. Another man was shot in the head in Thornton Heath
and is in a serious but stable condition. The third victim was a
teenager who was shot in an estate in Brixton.
Ilford Recorder,
16 April 2009
A 15-year-old boy was walking
with friends in Hainault, north east London, when he was shot in
the lower back. He was rushed to hospital where he is recovering
from serious injuries. A gang of youths is thought to have been
responsible for the shooting.
The Gazette,
16 April 2009
Ball
bearing guns were among items immediately taken off sale when
trading standards officers raided a market-style shop in South Shore,
Blackpool, and seized £20,000 worth of goods.
Daily Echo,
16 April 2009
Damage worth £35,000 has been
caused by slingshots and BB guns to a
school in Poole, Dorset. Around 40 panes of glass were
peppered with more than 100 holes and pock marks. An 11-year-old was
arrested at his home in connection with the incident.
Daily Echo,
16 April 2009
Wayne Osborn was drunk when
the landlord of a pub in Highcliffe, Dorset, told him his foul
language would not be tolerated. He returned to the pub with a black
handgun which he thrust into the landlord's face threatening "You're going
to die now". Following the incident in March 2009 (see
Incidents) Osborn
has admitted possessing an imitation firearm
with intent to cause fear of violence. He has been jailed for two
and a half years.
Bolton News,
16 April 2009
David Kay of Great Lever,
Greater Manchester, has been jailed for 240 days for attacking his partner
in August 2003. He admitted assault causing actual bodily harm and
three counts of failing to surrender. The attack occurred when Kay
became upset after his partner had confiscated an
air rifle he had bought for their son.
BBC,
16 April 2009
Drug dealer Andre Singh made a
woman who sold drugs for him kneel in woods near Banbury,
Oxfordshire, in March 2008, and then put a gun in her mouth before
wrestling her to the floor and cutting off part of her ear. She owed
him £10. He was convicted of wounding with intent, of having cocaine
with intent to supply and possession of a firearm without a certificate.
Last year he was also found guilty of shooting a man who owed him money
twice in the leg (see October
2008 Incidents).
BBC,
16 April 2009
Joseph Shaw, a former local
councillor, has been jailed for six years after police found an illegal
gun, a Smith & Wesson revolver with ammunition, and child abuse images at
his home in Standish, Greater Manchester. Five years of the
sentence were for the firearm offence.
BBC,
16 April 2009
Staff in a betting shop in
Worthing, Sussex, were threatened by a man with a handgun who made off
with a large amount of cash.
Shields Gazette,
15 April 2009
A man accused of stealing a
£3m book attempted to carry two guns into court in Consett, County
Durham, while dressed as Che Guevara. He was barred from entering
the court and took the air rifle and
air pistol back to the limousine he
arrived in.
BBC, 15 April
2009
A robber armed with what was
believed to be a gun and a container of liquid stole thousands of pounds
from a post office in Padstow, Cornwall. He threatened to set
fire to the building with staff in it. The members of staff were
shocked but unhurt in the incident.
BBC, 15 April
2009
A man was shot in the eye with
an airgun pellet as he was searching
for his dog in a park in Luton, Bedfordshire. The pellet is
lodged in his eye and he will have to undergo an operation to remove it
later. Police said he would require further treatment for several
months.
BBC, 15 April
2009
Two gunmen raided a bookmakers
in Shaw, Greater Manchester, and stole all the money from the till.
They made off with the cash in a car driven by a woman.
This is Scunthorpe,
14 April 2009
A pair of
shotguns were stolen from a car in
Owston Ferry, Lincolnshire. They were unloaded at the time and
no ammunition was stolen. A pair of binoculars was also taken.
The guns were stolen from a secured vehicle whilst the owner went away
pigeon shooting.
Lancaster Guardian,
14 April 2009
A gun collection has been
stolen from the cellar of a remote farmhouse near Wray, Lancashire.
The six guns, two shotguns and four
rifles, were worth over £8000.
Grimsby Telegraph,
14 April 2009
A man was arrested in
Grimsby after police received a call from the public reporting a man
seen getting into a car with what looked to be a firearm. An
air weapon was recovered.
Farsley Today,
14 April 2009
Two men armed with what was
believed to be a shotgun and a handgun
followed two security guards into a bank in Pudsey, West Yorkshire,
before threatening them and escaping with a cash cassette containing cash.
No shots were fired and no-one was injured in the incident.
BBC,
14 April 2009
Staff at an estate agents in
Kingswood, Surrey, were told to get on the floor during an
attempted robbery as security guards filled a cash machine. The
guards locked themselves in the room with the machine and the suspects
left empty handed. The car was found later along with the gun used.
Harwich & Manningtree
Standard, 13
April 2009
A woman was shot in the head
with an airgun pellet in Harwich,
Essex. At the time she was with her husband and son, a parliamentary
Labour candidate. She was taken to hospital and needed stitches
after the pellet was removed.
BBC,
13 April 2009
A historic cross on a hill at
Stocksbridge, South Yorkshire, which is lit up every Easter had its
bulbs shot out twice. It has been suggested that the damage was
probably done by a shotgun.
Fenland Citizen,
12 April 2009
Glass in a number of shops in
Chatteris, Cambridgeshire, has been smashed or damaged. It is
believed that a group of youths were responsible and that the damage could
have been caused by an air rifle.
BBC,
12 April 2009 *
A gunman who escaped an armed
police cordon in Shoebury, Essex, has apologised to the town on the
local paper's website. Officers had gone to an address in Shoebury
to arrest the man but set up a cordon around the area when they discovered
he had a gun. A man is now due to appear in court accused of using
an imitation firearm to resist arrest
(BBC, 28 April 2009). He has pleaded guilty (see
July 2009 Incidents).
BBC,
12 April 2009 *
Parts of Coventry city
centre were sealed off by police after shots were fired from a handgun at
a taxi. The incident occurred after a dispute at a nightclub in the
Burges area which spilled out into the street. No-one was injured.
A man is on trial and has pleaded not guilty to two counts of attempted murder and
has denied an alternative charge of possession
of a handgun with intent to endanger life (Coventry Telegraph, 5
November 2009). He has been found guilty and jailed for 11 years
(see December 2009 Incidents).
Derby Evening Telegraph,
11 April 2009
Gun collector Clive Hadley has
been given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years after
admitting three offences of possessing a firearm without a certificate and
one of possessing ammunition without a certificate. He had been
charged after his wife handed police a loaded revolver at an antiques fair
at the University of Derby. Two flare guns and 96 rounds of
live ammunition were found at his home in West Bridgford,
Nottingham, for which he did not have certificates.
BBC,
10 April 2009
A teenager suffered a gunshot
injury to his face in a shooting in Luton, Bedfordshire. The
incident happened as the victim and two friends were getting out of a
taxi.
This is Bristol,
9 April 2009
An armed robber who was caught
on CCTV brandishing a toy gun, which
he claimed he had bought for his son, whilst demanding cash from a
receptionist at his uncle's massage parlour in Brislington,
Bristol, in 2003 has been given concurrent jail sentences of seven years
and two-and-a-half years for this and other raids. Two years later
Kurt Scarlett had carried out a similar raid on a supermarket in
Bristol. He admitted another armed robbery on a second massage
parlour in Bedminster.
Lancashire Telegraph,
9 April 2009
Jamie Smith was one of three
men who burst into a shop in Barnoldswick, Lancashire, in November
2008 and demanded that the proprietors open the till. His face was
revealed when his hat was pulled off in a struggle. The gang fled
empty-handed. Smith, who was wielding a
fake military semi-automatic rifle, has been sent to a young
offenders' institution for five years.
Hemel Today,
9 April 2009
A rucksack containing a
Stanley knife and a ball-bearing gun
was discovered in a car park in Tring, Hertfordshire.
Doncaster Free Press,
9 April 2009
Suspected shots were fired at
a bungalow in Dunscroft, South Yorkshire, while the occupants were
at home. The front pane of a double-glazed window broke. The
holes were consistent with damage from a shotgun.
BBC,
9 April 2009
A man was arrested after a car
which was stolen at gunpoint in Anfield, Liverpool, crashed into a
lamppost in Walton. The car was taken by a group of men, one of whom
threatened the owner with a handgun.
BBC,
9 April 2009
A man has been arrested on
suspicion of attempted murder after gunshots were fired during a
disturbance in a pub in Didsbury, Greater Manchester, in September
2008.
Swindon Advertiser,
8 April 2009
Two teenagers, Ryan Thomas and
David Barnes, were found with hundreds of pounds of cannabis and cocaine
when they were stopped in a car in April 2008. A Taser
stun gun was found in the boot. The men from Pinehurst,
Swindon, pleaded guilty to drugs charges and Thomas admitted having a
prohibited weapon. They were jailed for a year and 14 months,
respectively.
BBC,
8 April 2009
Two men have been charged
after police seized millions of pounds of drugs and two firearms at five
addresses in Carlton, Bestwood and Broxtowe in
Nottinghamshire.
BBC,
8 April 2009
Shots were fired at a house in
Wavertree, Liverpool. No-one was injured.
Manchester Evening News,
7 April 2009
Police have recovered drugs, a
stun gun and cash during a raid on a
house in Wigan, Greater Manchester. A man and a teenage girl
were arrested on suspicion of possessing heroin with intent to supply and
possessing a firearm without a certificate.
Harrow Times,
7 April 2009 *
A man survived being shot in
the head when he was gunned down at close range in Harrow, north
west London. Three bullets were fired in the attack. An
18-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of carrying out the shooting but
was released without charge (Harrow Times, 11 December 2009).
Enfield Independent,
7 April 2009 *
A man was admitted to hospital
in a critical condition after he suffered gunshot wounds in Edmonton,
north London.
This is the West
Country, 6 April 2009
Armed police have arrested a
man after reports he was taking potshots with a
BB gun and wielding a samurai sword in the Keyham area
of Plymouth. Other weapons were seized during a search of the flat
from which the shots were reported to have been fired.
This is Bath,
6 April 2009
Paul Holcombe handed himself
in to the police nearly 10 years after he held up a shop in Bath
and terrified a 15-year-old female shop assistant with a gun.
Holcombe was 16 at the time and was with another teenager. He
pleaded guilty to charges of robbery and possessing a firearm and sentence
to a two-year jail sentence.
Lancashire Evening
Post, 6 April 2009
Police in Preston have
seized two genuine guns and eight imitation weapons since January. A
.38 blank firing Brocock revolver was found partly buried and wrapped in a
plastic carrier bag in woodland, close to a location where a teenager was
shot in July 2007. They also recovered a live
shotgun cartridge, components parts of a
Glock 9mm handgun and a magazine containing live ammunition.
Fenland Citizen,
6 April 2009
A man threatened post office
staff with a shotgun during a robbery
in Bleasby, Nottinghamshire. He stole cash before escaping on
a motorbike ridden by another man. A man has been arrested in
connection with this and other raids in Nottinghamshire (see above).
Express & Star,
6 April 2009
An education boss has only
just found out that an air pistol was
confiscated from a girl at a school in Sandwell, West Midlands,
following an incident in January 2009.
Coventry Telegraph,
6 April 2009
Paul Turner has pleaded guilty
to possessing a weapon while prohibited. Police found an
air pistol with ammunition, gas
cartridges and a holster whilst searching his apartment in Rugby,
Warwickshire. He claimed that he bought the gun for target practice
in his garden, but he was banned from possessing any type of firearm as a
result of previous criminal convictions. He has been jailed for ten
months.
The Comet, 6
April 2009
Treymaine Davis has been
jailed for seven years for a robbery on a pizza delivery driver in
Stevenage, Hertfordshire, in May 2008 in which the victim was pistol
whipped. Davis stole £15, a sat nav system and a mobile phone.
Four days later he also robbed a young clubber. He was convicted of
two offences of robbery and possessing a firearm.
BBC, 6 April
2009
A number of men have been
convicted of murder and attempted murder following the deaths of two men
who were shot dead in Manchester in 2007 (see
Incidents). Colin Joyce and Lee
Amos were convicted of the murder of one victim who was killed at the wake
of the first victim. Joyce was found guilty of murdering the other
man. Both of the convicted men were involved with the Gooch Gang who
were rivals of the Longsight Crew with whom the murder victims had links.
Senior Gooch Gang members Aaron Campbell, Narada Williams and Ricardo
Williams were also found guilty of murder and attempted murder. Six
other men were convicted of a range of gang-related offences including gun
possession and drug dealing. The men have been sentenced to lengthy
minimum jail terms, Joyce (minimum 39 years), Amos (minimum 35), Campbell
(minimum 32), Narada Williams (35) and Ricardo Williams (34). The
other men were given sentences of between five-and-a-half and 13 years (BBC,
7 April 2009).
BBC, 6 April
2009
One of two men wanted in
connected with a robbery in Thornaby, Teesside, where security
guards were threatened with a handgun, was arrested at the Trafford Centre
in Manchester after the pair were chased there by police. The
men had stolen a quantity of cash. The second man was still at
large.
BBC, 6 April
2009
Four men have been arrested
after a shotgun was reportedly fired
from a car in Woking, Surrey. The car was followed by an
armed response vehicles and a police helicopter to the Hog's Back where
the occupants ran into woodland. They were all located and arrested
on suspicion of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.
BBC, 5 April
2009
Two men have been shot in
separate incidents on Merseyside. A man was shot when a gunman went
into a house in Kensington, and three men who went into a pub in
Croxteth shot a 19-year-old man. The police be said both were
"targeted" shootings. The injuries to neither victim are thought to
be life-threatening.
BBC, 5 April
2009
A man escaped injury after his
car was shot at as he waited to collect his wife in Prestwich,
Greater Manchester. He was unhurt, but is car was damaged.
Northampton Chronicle
& Echo, 4 April 2009
A man has been cleared of
keeping a .22 air rifle without the
required firearms certificate. He told the jury that he had
previously been cautioned for possessing it but that police officers had
handed it back to him, without checking to see if a certificate was
required. He assumed none was necessary, but a firearms specialist
concluded that it was classed as "specially dangerous". The rifle
was used to shoot a passer-by in the thigh in Long Buckby,
Northamptonshire, in July 2007.
BBC, 4 April
2009
Three people have been
arrested after police found drugs and heard reports of a gun being fired
in Lee Bank, Birmingham. The gunshot may be linked to a man
arriving a hospital with wounds from a gun.
Halstead Gazette,
3 April 2009
The windows of buses have been
shot out in Stanway, Essex, showering passengers with glass two
nights in a row. One driver felt that impact marks left on the
window suggested that it was not just an airgun, but something "more
serious".
Bury Times, 3
April 2009
Two boys aged 17 and 10 have
been arrested for causing grievous bodily harm with intent after a woman
was shot in the hand with an air weapon.
The victim was taken to hospital where surgeons removed a pellet from her
finger. She says she feared for her baby's life when the gun was
fired at them whilst she stood at a bus stop in Rainscough, Greater
Manchester. The boys have been bailed pending further inquiries (BBC,
4 April 2009).
BBC, 3 April
2009
A man has been charged with a
public order offence after allegedly making threats with a firearm near a
school in Hooke, Dorset. A legally-held firearm was seized by
police.
BBC, 3 April
2009
A man has been shot dead in a
targeted attack in the Thornton Lodge area of Huddersfield, West
Yorkshire. He was a back seat passenger and died of his injuries
after being taken to hospital. A second man in the back of the car
suffered injuries in the attack. Two men have been arrested on
suspicion of murder (BBC, 20 April 2009).
BBC, 3 April
2009
A young girl was shot in the
leg with an "air rifle-style pellet"
while walking with her mother in Frimley, Surrey. She was
taken to hospital where an x-ray revealed the pellet.
BBC, 3 April
2009
A coroner has recorded that
Christopher Foster killed his wife and daughter by shooting them in the
head while they slept before killing himself at their home in Maesbrook,
Shropshire, in August 2008 (see
Incidents). Contrary to earlier
reports Foster died as a result of smoke inhalation, but a loaded rifle
was recovered from near his body. His brother said the family were
"shocked" that police were not informed about the mental state of his
brother who held a firearms licence. The inquest heard that ACPO and
the BMA were planning guidelines to improve communication between GPs and
police forces.
Yorkshire Evening Post,
2 April 2009
Nicholas Webb who was shot on
his street in Chapeltown, Leeds, in September 2008 fired back with
a sawn-off shotgun. Four shots
from a handgun had been fired at his car and one bullet hit him. He
was wearing a bullet proof vest at the time. He hid the shotgun in
his back garden. Webb admitted possession of a prohibited firearm
and has been jailed for five years.
Wirral Globe,
2 April 2009
Two cousins who forced an
elderly pensioner to the floor during a robbery at a bank in Bebington
have both been jailed for seven years four months. Andrew Colley
admitted buying a ball bearing gun for
the robbery and throwing it in the River Mersey. He and Samuel
Horner both pleaded guilty to robbery and possessing an imitation firearm.
The Sentinel,
2 April 2009
Armed police were dispatched
after a passer-by reported seeing a small black handgun being carried by a
group gathered in a street in Stoke-on-Trent. A number of men
were searched but no weapon was found.
BBC, 2 April
2009 *
A police officer in County
Durham has been arrested during an inquiry into the sale of
firearms that were handed into the force to be destroyed. The
investigation began after a gun was stolen during a burglary at a farm in
Derwentshire. It is believed that more than 100 weapons are
involved, mainly shotguns but also
rifles (Sunday Sun, 3 April 2009). A second police who has
worked in firearms licensing has been suspended and will be questioned on
suspicion of the theft of shotguns (BBC, 22 April 2009). Both
men have pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office, and one of them
faces further firearm charges (see
January 2010 Incidents).
BBC, 2 April
2009
The bodies of a man and a
woman have been discovered in a garden at a property in Dousland,
Devon. They had both been shot dead. The deaths are being
treated as suspicious, but no-one else is being sought in connection with
the incident. Police have recovered four guns from the property, a
Smith and Wesson Magnum pistol, two other pistols and a rifle (BBC,
3 April 2009).
Telegraph & Argus,
2 April 2009
A third man has been jailed
after an innocent family were caught up in a gun ordeal outside a pub in
Elland, West Yorkshire, in September 2008 (see
Incidents). A sawn-off
double-barrelled shotgun was pointed
at the family's car. Paul Murphy has been jailed for six years and
nine months after he admitted possessing a prohibited weapon and
possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. In
January Shaun Harper and John Kerry were jailed for seven years each.
Huddersfield Daily
Examiner, 1 April 2009
An alcoholic who was found
collapsed in the car park of a supermarket in Aspley, West
Yorkshire, had an air pistol in a bag.
He said he had bought the gun in a pub that day. He admitted being
drunk and disorderly but was found not guilty of carrying an air weapon in
public without reasonable excuse.
Huddersfield Daily
Examiner, 1 April 2009 *
A
shotgun and shotgun cartridges were recovered during a search
of houses in Dalton and Crosland Moor, West Yorkshire, by
the Kirklees Drugs and Gun Crime Team. An explosive device was also
seized. A man has admitted a firearms offence and been sent to jail (see
October 2009 Incidents).
Epsom Guardian,
1 April 2009
Police seized two
BB guns after two boys were seen waving
the weapons in Epsom, Surrey, by a member of the public. The
boys admitted carrying a BB gun.
BBC,
1 April 2009
A woman was taken to hospital
for treatment after she was shot in the head in her garden in Lincoln
with what police believe was an air rifle.
It is not believed her injuries are life-threatening.
SCOTLAND
Paisley Daily Express,
27 April 2009
A man presented what appeared
to be a firearm at another man who was about to withdraw cash from an ATM
in Paisley. The robber demanded cash then grabbed the
victim's bank card before any money had been withdrawn and ran off.
BBC,
27 April 2009 *
A teenager who has been
charged with the murder of his girlfriend, who died following a fire at a
flat in Arbroath, has also been charged with assault and
discharging a firearm. He is alleged to have committed a breach of
the peace by pointing an air rifle at
two men and repeatedly pulling the trigger (BBC, 21 April 2009).
He was found guilty of murder, assault and pointing an air rifle at two
men and placing them in a state of fear and alarm and committing a breach
of the peace (see December 2009
Incidents).
BBC, 25 April
2009
Several gunshots were fired in
the Possilpark area of Glasgow. Detectives believe two men
fired the weapon before running off. They said there was nothing to
suggest the weapon was aimed at anyone in particular. No-one was
reported injured.
Teletext, 23
April 2009 *
A woman has been treated in
hospital for a facial injury after an airgun
was fired at her in Aberdeen. The victim who still has a
pellet lodged in her cheek has urged people who own airguns to hand them
into the police as part of a campaign (Press & Journal, 10 October
2009).
BBC,
14 April 2009
A man threatened a female
member of staff at a convenience store in Drumchapel, Glasgow, with
a gun. He stole a two-figure sum of cash.
BBC,
12 April 2009
Police are looking for two men
after reports of a gun being fired in a street in the Gilmerton
area of Edinburgh. No-one was injured, but the men were seen running
from the street wearing scarves pulled up over their faces. The
intended target is said to have slammed the door on the gunmen moments
before they opened fire. Neighbours have suggested that a
shotgun was used (Evening News, 14
April 2009).
Hamilton Advertiser,
9 April 2009
A man has appeared in court
charged under the Explosive Substances Act 1883 and the Firearms Act.
The charges follow an incident in Motherwell after police received
a report of a man carrying a firearm outside a tower block. The man
was said to be in possession of several bottles containing fluid and an
airgun.
Evening Telegraph & Post,
9 April 2009
Police carried out
house-to-house inquiries following a report of a man seen brandishing an
air weapon in Dundee. He was seen in a grassy area near a
roundabout with what appeared to be an air rifle
with an orange strap.
BBC,
9 April 2009
Billy Mills, who was jailed
for a bank robbery in Partick in May 2007 during which a masked man
pointed a handgun at staff and customers, has had his conviction quashed
after it was ruled he had suffered a miscarriage of justice. In his
defence he linked a convicted criminal Michael Absalom to the robbery.
In March 2008 (see
Incidents) Absalom was jailed for eight
and a half years for two robberies in Glasgow and Troon,
Ayrshire.
BBC,
8 April 2009
A man was seriously injured
after he was shot on the doorstep of his home in Gallowhill,
Paisley. He was approached by a lone gunman while he was letting his
dog out. Detectives are treating the incident as attempted murder.
A man has been charged and is expected to appear in court (Paisley
Daily Express, 10 April 2009).
Stirling Observer,
3 April 2009
Martin Campbell fired an
air rifle at a house name sign in
Callander, Perthshire, in June 2008. The sheriff deferred
sentence and said that the Crown's request for the weapon to be forfeited
would be dealt with at the time of sentencing.
Paisley Daily Express,
3 April 2009
Two men repeatedly fired a
ball bearing gun at a man on a street in
Auchenback in Barrhead, Renfrewshire. The victim took shelter
at a house and further shots were fired at a number of window panes.
Daily Record,
2 April 2009
Ex-soldier Anthony Connelly
fired an air rifle at a neighbour in
Castlehill, Dumbarton, and then shot at police during a four-hour
siege. He had been drinking a day after leaving the army. He
admitted recklessly discharging an air weapon and was given a 40 months
prison sentence.
BBC,
1 April 2009
A man was arrested following
an incident at a house in Girvan, Ayrshire. The police
received a report that a man, who may have been armed with a gun, had
barricaded himself into the loft area.
WALES
BBC,
24 April 2009
Robert Davies has admitted
robbery and possession of an imitation firearm
after he held up a bookmakers in Newport. He and his
accomplice Colin Chapman made off with £200. Chapman, the getaway
driver, was found guilty of the same charges. Their weapon was a
metal bar. Davies was jailed for four years, Chapman for six years.
Wales on Sunday,
19 April 2009
A 14-year-old boy from
Pentre, Flintshire, has suffered serious burns after an aerosol
canister exploded. He had shot the aerosol with an
airgun in his back garden.
Tivy-Side Advertiser,
19 April 2009
Robert Lech was spotted by
police in a car park in Cardigan with a loaded
.22 calibre air rifle in his hands.
He was accompanied by four youths and his three-year-old daughter.
He told then he was shooting at a marker in the river. He had
purchased the air rifle a few days previously and "nobody told him he
couldn't use it in public". He pleaded guilty to a charge of
possessing a loaded air weapon in a public place and was given a six
months Community Order.
BBC,
11 April 2009
A man armed with what appeared
to be a long black handgun demanded money from a shopkeeper in Cardiff.
He fled the shop with the money with an accomplice who had been standing
outside the shop. The man, who said he was armed with a
replica gun, gave himself up to the
police and has been sentenced to five years in jail (see
June 2009 Incidents).
BBC, 6 April
2009
One footballer was shot in the
neck and another in the stomach with airgun
pellets at the end of a cup match between Gwent League sides New Inn
and Sebastopol.
INCIDENTS INVOLVING ANIMALS
Oxford Mail,
28 April 2009*
A farmer, said to be at his
wit's end, has admitted shooting two swans at his farm in Appleford,
Oxfordshire, in November 2008 after the birds caused crop damage worth
thousands of pounds. He admitted one charge of killing two wild
birds and was given a six-month conditional discharge with £1,093 costs.
Sussex Express,
27 April 2009
A family was left distraught
after their pet cat was shot in the leg with an
airgun in Newhaven, Sussex. After hearing a scream
her owner found her injured on the sofa. A metal pellet was found in
her leg by an emergency vet. The vet bill looks set to cost over
£2,500.
Evening Express
(Aberdeen), 27 April 2009
A cat was left howling in pain
after being shot twice in an airgun
attack in Aberdeen. The pellets will have to be removed by a
vet.
Derby Evening
Telegraph,
25 April 2009 *
A cat was shot with an
air rifle in Derby and had to be
put down after being paralysed when the pellet hit its spine.
This is Nottingham,
24 April 2009
Police and the RSPCA are
hunting thugs who have been shooting at cats with
airguns in The Park, Nottingham.
There have been three incidents in the last six months, two of which
involved the same cat.
Thanet.co.uk,
24 April 2009
A cat was shot twice with an
air rifle in two separate incidents in
Ramsgate, Kent. The RSPCA is appealing for information.
This is Lancashire,
22 April 2009
A cat in Little Lever,
Lancashire, has survived horrific injuries after being shot with an
airgun. The pet is recovering
after an operation to remove a pellet, which pierced his stomach and
intestines.
Coventry Telegraph,
22 April 2009
A cat is slowly recovering
after being shot with an air rifle in
Chapelfields, Coventry. The pet had to undergo a life saving
operation after the pellet went through her body and lodged in her spine.
BBC, 21 April
2009
RSPCA inspectors in Cornwall
are investigating several incidents involving cats. In one of these
a cat from Menheniot has had one of its back legs amputated after
it was shot with an airgun.
BBC, 21 April
2009
A pet cat may need to have one
of his legs amputated after being hit with what is believed was an
airgun pellet near his home in
Allhallows, Kent.
This is Wiltshire,
17 April 2009
A pet cat in Mildenhall,
Wiltshire, was shot and injured by an airgun.
His owner found his crying to be let in and in obvious pain. An
x-ray showed he had an airgun pellet embedded in his side.
This is Nottingham,
16 April 2009
A cat was nearly killed after
it was shot in the head with an airgun
in Gedling, Nottingham. He was found unconscious with a large
cut on his head in a neighbour's garden. An X-ray revealed an airgun
pellet lodged in his skull.
This is Hull and East
Riding, 17
April 2009
A cat has lost its eye after
being shot with a pellet in west Hull. Initially staff at the
PDSA hospital thought he had been dealt a heavy kick or blow to his face
but an x-ray revealed an airgun pellet
was lodged in his face.
Express & Echo,
15 April 2009
A cat has been shot in
Exmouth, Devon. The family pet lost a leg in the shooting and is
being cared for by its owners. A spokesperson from the RSPCA
comments that "incidents of animals being shot with
air rifles are more common than you would
think".
BBC, 14 April
2009
It is thought that a cat
belonging to singer Sandi Thom has been shot dead. Pet detectives
Animal Search UK have been tipped off that the cat, which disappeared from
Edzell, Angus, has been shot by a local person and the body
disposed of. The singer is said to be devastated.
Western Daily Press,
7 April 2009
A charity-run animal care
complex is appealing for help with the cost of treating a dog which had
received severe gunshot wounds to her head and back and was riddled with
airgun pellets. The dog was
found wandering as a stray and was taken to the home at Claverton Down,
Bath.
Daily Echo, 7
April 2009
A cat has died in agony a week
after she was shot with an air rifle
in Poole, Dorset. Her owners spent £800 trying to save her
after finding her in pain and bleeding. She had been playing in
their garden just minutes before.
The Sentinel,
3 April 2009
An x-ray of a goose which had
to be put to sleep after being attacked by a dog near
Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, revealed five
airgun pellets in her body.
BBC, 3 April
2009
A swan rescued after a fishing
hook became embedded in its cheek was later found to have been shot with
an airgun five times. The RSPCA said
the bird, which was found in Newton Longville, Buckinghamshire, had
been used for "target practice".
Weston & Somerset
Mercury, 2 April 2009
A cat was shot in the face in
Weston Village, Somerset, and a pellet went through his eye.
It is thought that a child with an airgun
probably took a pot shot at the pet.
Reading Evening Post,
2 April 2009
A 13-year-old boy has been
convicted of repeatedly shooting at two dogs and a cat with a
ball-bearing gun during a dispute with a
neighbour in Whitley, Reading. He laughed as he took pot
shots at the pets from his bedroom window. The cat was hit on one
occasion. The boy was ordered to return to court later this month
for sentencing.
BBC, 2 April
2009
A cat will have to have its
right leg amputated after it was hit with an
airgun pellet in Hinton, Herefordshire.
