MAY 2008
GCN compiles
an on-going list of incidents involving guns. Click on the relevant
date to view incidents reported during that period.
We know that our information
is incomplete. The number of incidents in our lists represents
less than 10 percent of the number of firearms offences recorded in Home
Office and Scottish Government figures. Your help in collecting more
information would be greatly appreciated. If you have any information
about an incident please contact us by email
contact@gun-control-network.org. There is now a separate
page for Personal
Accounts of Incidents.
From 1
October 2007 restrictions have been placed on the purchase of
air weapons and, with certain exceptions,
it will be illegal to sell, import or manufacture realistic
imitation firearms. To emphasise
the need for further legislation we had previously highlighted incidents
involving these weapons. Because as yet only limited measures, such as
amnesties or hand-ins, have been introduced to ensure a reduction in the
large numbers of these guns already in circulation, we will continue to
highlight such incidents. We do not, however, underestimate the
dangers posed by all other types of weapon, both legal and illegal.
Please note that GCN
describes the weapons used in each incident as they have been reported in
the relevant article. We are aware that the use of some terms can be
problematic. In particular, the term ball
bearing gun is being used to describe both (i) airguns firing
ball-bearing type ammunition and (ii) BB guns (defined on the basis that
they fire "BB" size pellets, but usually referring to low powered
imitation firearms that discharge plastic pellets (generally 6 mm in
diameter), "airsoft" guns). In some incidents in which a weapon
has been described as a handgun it will not be
known whether this was a real firearm or an
imitation gun.
ENGLAND
Warrington Guardian,
12 May 2008
A woman was held up at
gunpoint at a petrol station in Glazebury, Cheshire, although he
did not make any threats of demands. He had already paid her for
cigarettes when he pointed what appeared to be a black pistol at the
woman.
This is Local London,
12 May 2008
Two teenagers have been
sentenced for the rape of a 15-year-old girl at Woolwich Common,
south east London, in August 2007. The girl was also threatened
with a firearm. A 17-year-old was found guilty of rape and
possession of a firearm and sentence to seven years, and 18-year-old
Andrando Flowers who pleaded guilty to rape was sentenced to
five-and-a-half years.
Herald (Harlow),
12 May 2008
Armed police were called to
search for a gunman in Foldcroft, Harlow in Essex, after reports
from the public of a man with a gun. No one was found.
Gazette,
12 May 2008
A spate of incidents has
forced police in North Essex to warn police about using BB guns and
airguns in public. Officers were called on five different
occasions to reports of nuisance behaviour or criminal damage. In
Tiptree a ball-bearing gun
was fired at a garden, hitting someone standing inside. In
Colchester someone was seen firing a BB gun
into fence beside a house but pellets were flying through the
fence into a garden. Later a youth who was firing his
air pistol out of a bedroom window in
Colchester was "given advice" by police. It is thought he
was aiming to hit birds. There was a similar nuisance report in
Clacton as well as a report of criminal damage in the town that had
been caused by an airgun pellet.
BBC,
12 May 2008
A man has denied being part
of the largest crime network to supply guns to the criminal underworld
ever uncovered in Britain. He supplied handguns and ammunition to
gangsters across the UK. During one operation in Manchester
police seized 29 guns and 856 bullets. Many of the guns were
blank-firing weapons (Baikal
self-loading gas handguns sold legally in some European countries)
converted to fire live rounds. The trial continues.
BBC,
10 May 2008
Two men armed with a handgun
robbed a newsagents in Exeter, Devon. They entered the shop
and demanded money from members of staff. No-one was hurt in the
incident.
Liverpool Echo,
9 May 2008
Damage was caused to
shutters and a window when shots were fired at a row of shops in
Huyton, Merseyside.
Birmingham Mail,
9 May 2008
A security van driver has
been accused of making up a story of being kidnapped and robbed at
gunpoint in a country lane in Wishaw, West Midlands. He has
denied the charge of theft.
BBC,
9 May 2008
A man was arrested after
armed police were called to the Kingswood area of Bristol after
reports of a man wielding an air rifle.
Officers sealed off several streets having received calls from members
of the public.
BBC,
9 May 2008
Seventeen-year-old Junior
Glasgow has been found guilty of shooting dead an 18-year-old youth
worker in Brixton in August 2007 (see
Incidents). The motive appeared
to be revenge for the theft of a gold chain by a friend of the victims.
The judge told Glasgow that he would face a life sentence.
Argus Lite,
9 May 2008
Three 19-year-olds who
targeted victims in the centre of Brighton whilst armed with an
air pistol have all received
custodial sentences. They had been drinking and taking drugs when
they picked on people and stole a mobile phone and £10 before being
caught by police in December 2007. Dane Mouland and Luke Wells
were both sentenced to three years and four months, Gareth Buss received
a three year sentence.
Star (Sheffield),
8 May 2008
A woman has criticised
police after they took an hour to respond to shot being fired outside
her home in Gleadless, Sheffield. The shots were apparently
fired by a gang of youths as she got in a car, one shattering her rear
windscreen. It is believed that an airgun
pellet was responsible.
Huddersfield Daily Examiner,
8 May 2008
A shopkeeper in
Huddersfield chased a would-be robber from his shop, despite being
threatened with a silver handgun. The man waved a gun and demanded
money, but the shopkeeper grabbed a pole and he ran off.
Daily Mail,
8 May 2008
Antonio Wint has pleaded
guilty to possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life and has been
jailed for a minimum of four years and 250 days. Andre Marshall
pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited firearm and assault causing
actual bodily harm and was jailed for seven years. Along with a
17-year-old the two men had been involved in an incident at a gym in
Moss Side, Manchester, in July 2007 where they pulled out a 9mm
Scorpion machine pistol. A man was punched, threatened with the
gun and pistol whipped. Wint had already been jailed for 20 months
after two members of a rival gang were admitted to hospital with gunshot
wounds.
Argus Lite,
8 May 2008
Three men were arrested
after holding up a cash delivery at a garage in Gossops Green,
Sussex. The police recovered a firearm along with the stolen cash.
This is Gloucestershire,
7 May 2008
An engineering trying to
restore power to more than 1000 homes in Coleford,
Gloucestershire, had to abandon work after being shot with an
airgun. The victim was left with
a cut neck. A local man was later given a caution for assault
occasioning actual bodily harm.
Northern Echo,
7 May 2008
A court has heard that a
farmer pointed a shotgun at his estranged wife in a showdown after
accusing her of having an affair. The incident took place in
August 2007 in Great Stainton, County Durham. The defendant
has pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm without a certificate but denies possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
Huddersfield Daily Examiner,
6 May 2008
A masked man brandishing a
gun escaped with cash during a robbery at a store in Linthwaite,
Huddersfield. The weapon is believed to have been a
double-barrelled shotgun. The cashier emptied the till into a bag
and the robber escaped.
Evening News (Edinburgh),
6 May 2008
Police marksmen fired rubber
bullets to end an armed siege at a flat in Cotgrave,
Nottinghamshire. The man, allegedly armed with an
airgun, was taken to hospital.
Police had been called to reports of a disorder at the flat involving
the man and another man and woman.
Daily Echo,
6 May 2008
Vandals have been driving
around Bransgore, Hampshire, firing
airgun pellets at car windows. Fourteen vehicles have
been shot at so far. The residents want police to take action.
National Media,
6 May 2008
Armed police officers
responded after members of the public reported gun shots being fired near
the King's Road in Chelsea, London. The officers were fired
at and they "discharged their weapons". The gunman was
subsequently found shot dead at the scene, and the Independent Police
Complaints Commission is now investigating. It is reported that
the gun fired by the dead man was 'lawfully held'. At the inquest
it was revealed that Mark Saunders had been shot five times by police marksmen (Times,
9
May 2008).
BBC,
6 May 2008
A man is on trial accused of
firing seven shots from a pump action shotgun into the home of his
former landlord in Raunds, Northamptonshire, in October 2007 (see
Incidents).
He had been evicted from the snooker club he rented. Steve Ford
was found not guilty of attempted murder, attempted grievous bodily harm
with intent and possession of a firearm with intent to commit an
indictable offence, but had pleaded guilty to having a firearm with
intent to cause fear. He will be sentenced in June (Northampton
Chronicle & Echo, 8 May 2008).
BBC,
6 May 2008
Armed police were deployed
in Cippenham, Slough in Berkshire, following reports of a man
roaming the streets with a gun. It is believed the man made
threats to a number of people.
BBC,
5 May 2008
A man has been arrested
after a police firearms team entered a house in Ivybridge, Devon,
following reports a person was being threatened with a gun. A
broken knife and an air pistol were
found at the scene.
BBC,
5 May 2008
An area in Stoke-on-Trent
was sealed off after a weapon was fired near a house. Police have
not said what the firearm was, but armed officers were sent to search a
house.
News Shopper,
4 May 2008
Three men who targeted
victims in Abbey Wood and Thamesmead in south east London
during a spate of robberies in November 2007 have been jailed.
Victims were threatened at gunpoint and had credit cards, cash and other
valuables stolen. The men were convicted of robbery and possession
of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. Sheku Kamara, 20,
was sentenced to eight years in prison, Alieu Jallow, 19, also to eight
years and Olatokunbo Fasina, 18, to five years.
Echo (Essex),
4 May 2008
A man robbed a convenience
store in Vange of £200 after threatening the cashier with a gun.
Manchester Evening News,
3 May 2008
Four handguns were seized by
police during a police drugs raid on a property in Salford in
which they discovered cannabis plants and £10,000 in cash. Two men
and a woman were arrested after this raid and another in Fallsworth.
Manchester Evening News,
3 May 2008
Three men have been jailed
for a total of 19 years following their arrest during Operation
Werewolf, a series of police raids targeting gun crime. Jahangar
Majid was sentenced to five years for keeping a pistol and ammunition in
his flat in Bury. Michael Pearson from Flixton
pleaded guilty to two charges of possessing a firearms, ammunition and
cannabis, and Mazhar Mohammed from Old Trafford pleaded guilty to
two charges of possessing a firearm and ammunition. Both were
jailed for seven years.
News Shopper,
2 May 2008
Ian Pearson will have to
serve at least three years in jail after he pulled a
ball bearing gun on two police officers
who found him near Eltham Hill after he had caused a disturbance
outside a pub. He pleaded guilty to possessing an imitation
firearm, possessing a bladed article and possessing cocaine.
Citizen (Blackburn),
2 May 2008
Barry Kirk and James Hurst
have pleaded guilty to stealing a woman's car at gunpoint after posing
as prospective buyers. The pair met the woman in Accrington,
Lancashire, in October 2007 to take the car on a test drive.
Sentencing has been adjourned.
Times,
1 May 2008
Five women were held hostage
at gunpoint for more than three hours in Stanstead Abbots,
Hertfordshire. A delivery driver held a pistol to a woman's head
after he entered a small business unit. The hostages were released
unhurt, and a man was arrested on suspicion of false imprisonment.
Stourbridge News,
1 May 2008
A resident in Kempsey,
Worcestershire, has raised concerns about clay pigeon shooting in the
locality in which shots were fired across a public footpath.
BBC,
1 May 2008
A disabled man from
Ironville, Derbyshire, will not now be prosecuted for allegedly
threatening a group of teenagers with an
imitation gun in September 2007. The trial was
scheduled to start in April but was dropped at the last minute.
The man bought the handgun over the internet six weeks before the
incident, but has now agreed to sign the weapon over to the police.
SCOTLAND
BBC,
8 May 2008
The son of a man who had gun
certificates revoked after threatening an advocate has been refused
permission to store firearms at his home in Ross-shire. The
father, Michael Campbell, had his shotgun and firearms certificates
revoked in 2004 following an incident in the Court of Session in
Edinburgh. His son has been required to keep his rifles with a
registered firearms dealer when not in use because police were concerned
that Michael Campbell would get access to the guns if kept in the family
home.
BBC,
7 May 2008
It is reported that a
youngster was suspended after one pupil was hit in the neck and another in
the hand at a primary school in Dundee. Police have said they
expect to take possession of a toy pellet gun
as part of their investigation. An 11-year-old boy has been reported
to the Children's Panel following the incident (BBC, 8 May 2008).
BBC,
2 May 2008
Raymond Anderson and James
McDonald have been found guilty of shooting dead a man at a garage in
Lambhill,
Glasgow, in December 2006 (see
Incidents). They were also found
guilty of attempting to murder two other men. Both were told they
must serve 35 years before being eligible for parole, the longer
sentences ever passed by a Scottish court.
WALES
Daily Post,
9 May 2008
A prisoner at St Asaph
police station was able to keep a gun in a cell for two days. An
investigation has been launched into how the man, who had been arrested
in connection with a shoplifting offence, was able to have the
ball-bearing gun which was only found
when offices from the security firm which transports prisoners to and
from court realized his jacket was unusually heavy. Wayne Harding
was charged with possessing a firearm and after pleading guilty was
jailed for seven days.
INCIDENTS INVOLVING ANIMALS
Evening Star,
12 May 2008
A cat owner from
Stowmarket, Suffolk, is disgusted at an attack on his pet which
result in the cat being blasted with 15 shotgun pellets. The cat
survived as, amazingly, the pellets had all avoided the cat's internal
organs.
Burton Mail,
12 May 2008
A cat has been left
partially paralysed after it was hit twice in the hip with pellets from
an air rifle. The injured cat
was found in a garden in Farnworth, Bolton. The RSPCA
funded the operation needed to remove the pellets.
Burton Mail,
9 May 2008
Local people who enjoy the
tranquillity of the Burton Mail Centenary Woodland at Burton,
Staffordshire, have been shocked to see a man carrying an
air rifle which he has been using to
take pot shots at birds nesting in the woods.
Pontypridd Observer,
8 May 2008
The paper has reported a
number of instances of airgun abuse.
In April a cat in Pontypridd was found with airgun pellets
hanging out of its neck and chin. The owner said that this was the
fourth attack on the cat in one year. In March and April two cats,
a horse and a bird were shot with airgun pellets resulting in two of the
animals having to be put to sleep because of the seriousness of their
injuries.
Northumberland Gazette,
2 May 2008
A cat has been shot dead
with an airgun in the garden of his
home in Hartlepool, County Durham.
Bearsden Herald,
1 May 2008
Two
airgun attacks on cats in less than 24
hours in Bearsden, East Dunbartonshire, have led to calls for the
weapons to be restricted. One of the attacks left one cat writhing
in agony after being shot at close range in the chest. In another
attack, which happened earlier in April a cat lost an eye after a pellet
embedded in its skull.
