JULY 2010
We prepare
a monthly review 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
Review was written are marked (*).
ENGLAND
The Star, 31 July 2010
A parish councillor from
Hatfield, South Yorkshire, who has campaigned against abuse of air
rifles believes that a gunman targeted his car. He found both the
windscreen and the rear window of the car smashed. He said he
thought holes in both sides of the car were entry and exit points of
either a bullet or a high power air rifle
pellet.
Press Association, 31 July 2010
*
Adamo Kizey, 18, has pleaded
guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life,
possession of ammunition with intent to endanger life, possession of a
silencer and possession of cannabis. He was caught carrying a gun
on college premises in Kingston, south west London, in February
2010 (see Incidents).
He has been jailed for five years (This
is Local London, 24 September 2010).
Manchester Evening News, 31 July 2010
A man who claimed that he
had acted in self-defence when a friend of his died after being stabbed
and shot at his home in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, in February 2010
(see Incidents)
has been cleared of murder after the case collapsed. The two men
had fought after the victim became angry and pulled out a 9mm Beretta.
Four shots were fired. Two bullets went into a protective vest the
victim was wearing and another into a bathroom wall. The fourth
went through the victim's brain and killed him.
Telegraph, 30 July 2010 *
Marc Branch has been found
guilty of having an imitation firearm in public. He is a police
memorabilia collector who put a blank-firing
imitation Glock pistol inside his jacket and arrived at an
incident in Streatham, south London, in October 2008 dressed in
uniform. Branch had been expelled from the Metropolitan Police
cadet scheme as a teenager. He was
handed a suspended nine-month prison sentence and ordered to do 40 hours
of unpaid community work. The weapon was bought online and cost
him £150 (Streatham Guardian, 10 September 2010).
Reading Post, 30 July 2010
A stash of guns has been
found at a property in West Reading. Seven weapons were
discovered and another was found buried in land in Whitley.
Two men have been arrested.
Hartlepool Mail,
30 July 2010
Anthony Errington fired at
his sister's partner with a lethal .177 air
rifle following a family feud. He narrowly missed him
when he fired from a bedroom window in Hartlepool, Teesside, in
February 2010 (see Incidents).
The shot hit the driver's side door. The two men had brawled
outside the house minutes before. He was convicted of possessing a
firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and affray and jailed for
a year.
Evening Telegraph (Peterborough),
30 July 2010
A jewellers in
Peterborough was raided by a gang of men armed with a gun, a hammer
and a crowbar. A 4x4 car crashed into the front of the building
and the men leapt out the car and threw a smoke canister into the
street. Two men were arrested in Leicester in connection
with the robbery (Leicester Mercury, 31 July 2010).
Coventry Telegraph, 30 July 2010
Gareth Fawkner armed himself
with a handgun and burst into a supermarket in Coventry, in April
2010 (see Incidents).
He demanded cash and when the shop assistant failed to open the till
drawer he smashed the man over the back of his head with the butt of his
gun. He stole alcohol and cigarettes. He admitted a charge
of robbery and of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of
violence and was sentenced to five years and four months in jail.
His accomplice has not been identified.
Bury Free Press, 30 July 2010
Farad Shabazz, one of two
men found guilty of kidnapping, blackmail and false imprisonment, was
also convicted of possession of a firearm. He was armed with an
imitation sawn-off shotgun when their
victim was kidnapped in Drinkstone, Suffolk, and taken to
Lewisham, south London. The man later escaped when his guards were
asleep. Shabazz was jailed for a total of eight years.
BBC, 30 July 2010
A 17-year-old boy was
threatened with a gun and knife before being stabbed in the leg and
stomach. The attack took place in Stockbridge Village,
Merseyside. A 16-year-old has been arrested on suspicion of
conspiracy to commit robbery and released on bail.
BBC, 30 July 2010
Police received a report
that gunshots were heard in the vicinity of a car wash in Dudley,
West Midland, where trouble flared between two groups of men. A
man was arrested on suspicion of violent disorder and possession of an
offensive weapon.
This is Total Essex,
29 July 2010
Two teenage boys threatened
a moped rider at gunpoint in Warley, Essex. The victim was
forced to hand over his scooter. Two suspects have been arrested
close to the scene and have been charged with one count of robbery and
one count of being in possession of an
imitation firearm.
News & Star,
29 July 2010 *
An armed robbery at a petrol
station in Maryport, Cumbria, was foiled by an off-duty police
inspector. A man who had pointed a gun at a member of staff was
tackled by him and wrestled to the ground. A man was arrested on
suspicion of attempted armed robbery. An
imitation firearm was recovered from the scene. A man
has been charged with attempted robbery and one count of possession of
an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence (News &
Star, 31 July 2010). He has admitted armed robbery and been
jailed for more than seven years (see
March 2011 Incidents).
News & Star,
29 July 2010
Tony Skillen from
Cockermouth, Cumbria, was jailed for a year for illegally owning a
shotgun. He had acquired the
gun five years ago from a friend who had died and had tried to get a
shotgun licence but was refused because he had a history of depression.
He kept the gun. He is now campaigning from his prison cell for a
Cumbria-wide guns amnesty.
News & Observer,
29 July 2010 *
A former American marine now
living in England has appeared in a US federal court accused of
smuggling 70 firearms to England over the last five months.
Sixteen firearms that had been broken down in various parts were found
in his checked luggage as he was trying to fly back to
Manchester. He claimed he had purchased the guns to sell
to employees of a maritime security company to protect ships travelling
through dangerous seas.
Morpeth Herald,
29 July 2010
A priceless medieval window
at a church in Morpeth, Northumberland, has been damaged by an
airgun shot which has put a hole
through the stained glass.
Keighley News,
29 July 2010
A man is to face trial
accused of possessing an air rifle
without a firearms certificate at a farm in Oldfield, West
Yorkshire, in December 2009. He is also accused of assault.
Haringey Independent,
29 July 2010 *
A student who hid a
Derringer-type handgun and 300 rounds of bullets in her home in
Tottenham, north London, has admitted unlawful possession of the
firearm and ammunition. Mary Boateng, 19, was caught following a
raid in April 2010 following a tip off in which the gun and ammunition
were found in a rucksack. It is believed she was holding the gun
for a north London gang. She has been jailed for five years.
The sentence was reduced to two years on appeal (The Voice, 14
March 2011).
Get Wokingham,
29 July 2010
Two men have denied raping
and sexually assaulting a woman in a pub in Checkendon,
Berkshire, in May 2009. It is alleged that the woman was too
afraid to fight because she thought one of the men owned an
air rifle which was in the property.
Coventry Telegraph,
29 July 2010 *
Benjamin Phillips has
pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He was at his friend's house
in Coventry in April 2010 (see
Incidents) where they were "messing
about" with the other man's semi-automatic self-loading 9mm pistol.
Phillips picked it up 'in jest' and pointed it at the other man and
pulled the trigger. The victim died shortly after arrival in
hospital. Phillips also admitted a second charge of possessing a
prohibited firearm. He has been
sentenced to five years in prison (Liverpool Echo, 26 August
2010).
BBC,
29 July 2010
Two men carrying handguns
burst into a post office in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, and
threatened security guards who were making a cash delivery. Police
are investigating reports that shots were fired but no one was injured.
A large amount of cash was stolen.
BBC,
29 July 2010 *
A man is being questioned on
suspicion of attempted murder after a gun was fired in Basford,
Nottingham. No-one was injured in the incident. A
19-year-old was also arrested and bailed on suspicion of possessing a
firearm. A man has been jailed for eight years after pleading
guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life (see
March 2011 Incidents).
This is Derbyshire,
28 July 2010
A 15-year-old entered six
homes in Normanton, Derby, during March 2010 and stole various
items including a BB gun. He
has been sentenced to a two-year Youth Rehabilitation Order.
Maidenhead Advertiser,
28 July 2010
Daniel Thurgood, who was
arrested in Burnham, Buckinghamshire, after reports of a man
carrying daggers and received a suspended jail sentence after admitting
possessing an offensive weapon, also received a conditional discharge
for 18 months for being in possessing of an
airgun.
Harrow Observer,
28 July 2010
A man snatched a cash box
from a security guard as he entered a bank in Pinner, north west
London. There were suggestions that the suspect was carrying a
gun, but police said they received no reports of him carrying such a
weapon.
Haringey Independent,
28 July 2010
A woman was walking through
a park in Hornsey, north London, when she was stopped by a young
suspect carrying what appeared to be a handgun. As he tried to
wrench her purse from her arms she refused to let go even when he
battered her wrists with the butt of the gun. A passer-by came to
her rescue and her attacker ran off empty-handed. A 16-year-old
man has been arrested on suspicion of robbery.
Evening Courier,
28 July 2010
An
imitation firearm was discovered in a massive haul of suspected
stolen goods found by police during a raid on a house in Boothtown,
West Yorkshire.
Diss Express,
28 July 2010
A man entered at a post
office in Hopton, Suffolk with a handgun and a knife and
threatened staff. He stole cash before escaping in a vehicle with
a driver and a woman passenger. Two men and a 17-year-old girl
have been arrested (BBC, 6 August 2010).
BBC,
28 July 2010 *
A man has been charged over
six robberies which took place in Sneinton, Sherwood and
Radford in Nottinghamshire between November 2009 and June 2010.
He has also been charged with two counts of possessing a handgun to
commit robbery and one count of actual bodily harm against a shop
worker. At his trial he pleaded not guilty to eight robberies,
three charges of possessing an imitation
firearm and one of assault causing actual bodily harm
(see March 2011 Incidents).
Shropshire Star,
27 July 2010
Julian Danks kept an illegal
gun and ammunition in a bedroom drawer at his home in Shifnal,
Shropshire. He admitted possessing a firearm without a certificate
and possessing a prohibited firearm and ammunition without a firearm
certificate. His partner told police he owned an illegal handgun
when they were called to a domestic incident in September 2009. A
single barrelled shotgun was seized
and the handgun was seized a day later after his partner said she had
found it.
Islington Gazette,
27 July 2010
Four men are believed to
have converted more than 80 Olympic starting pistols into lethal weapons
in an operation in Islington, north London. Guns in the
process of being converted were found at the home of Darius Lester in
November 2009. Lester was jailed for three years, John Fletcher
for six years, Tyrone Bryan for seven years and Barry Johnson for four
years and they were convicted of conspiracy to convert
imitation firearms into guns. A
fifth man, Lawrence O'Brien, was jailed for six years for possession of
firearms, ammunition and cocaine. From 4 June 2010 Olympic
starting pistols became prohibited weapons (see
News Items).
BBC,
27 July 2010
A 16-year-old boy was shot
in the leg by a gunman on a motorbike in Norris Green, Liverpool.
The victim was standing with four other youths at the time of the
shooting. He was treated in hospital and his condition is not
thought to be serious. Three teenagers, aged 15, 16 and 18, are
being held on suspicion of wound and on suspicion of possessing a
firearm (BBC, 28 July 2010).
The Argus,
27 July 2010
Two men attacked a member of
staff at a store in Worthing, West Sussex, before stealing £200
in cash. One of the men had what appeared to be a handgun and the
other man produced what he said was a canister of CS spray. A
reward of £500 has been offered for information leading to a conviction
(BBC, 10 August 2010).
Get Reading,
26 July 2010
Martin Wynne has been jailed
for 12 months for brandishing a gun in a bar in West Reading.
He got involved with another group of customers and went home and
collected a ball-bearing handgun
that looked like a genuine weapon. He returned to the bar and
confronted the barmaid and threatened to shoot a man he had grabbed
earlier. He admitted one count of having an imitation firearm with
intent to threaten.
Sunday Mirror,
25 July 2010
Six puppies were stolen at
gunpoint by two intruders at a house in Luton, Bedfordshire.
Telegraph & Argus,
24 July 2010
A quantity of jewellery was
snatched from a shop in Girlington, Bradford, by a gang believed
to have been carrying a sledgehammer, pickaxe handles and at least
firearm, thought to have been a shotgun.
The police are linking the suspects to two other raids in Bradford in
the last five months.
Liverpool Echo,
24 July 2010
Louis Wilkie was caught with
a sawn-off shotgun when police
raided his home in Wavertree, Liverpool, in March 2010. The
gun was found with a cartridge in a wheelie bin in the yard. He
admitted possessing the weapon and ammunition and was jailed for six
years. He had previously been jailed for five years in 2004 after
shooting himself in the leg.
The Argus,
24 July 2010
A car was damaged by an
airgun shot in Whitehawk,
Brighton. Two teenagers were spotted firing an airgun in the area.
Thurrock Gazette,
23 July 2010
Two men burst into a
telephone store in a shopping centre in Thurrock, Essex, and
threatened staff with a stun gun.
They forced staff to fill bin bags with phones before fleeing.
This is Sutton Coldfield,
23 July 2010
Two men, one aged 17, have
been arrested in Leicester on suspicion of possessing a firearm
with intent to endanger life in connection with an incident in
Handsworth Wood, Birmingham. Both men have been released
without charge. Police are investigating reports that shots were
fired by people leaning out of a moving vehicle. A bullet ridden
car has been examined by forensics experts (Birmingham Mail, 24
July 2010).
This is Nottingham,
23 July 2010 *
A second member of a
South Derbyshire gun club has been jailed for firearms offences.
After his friend Colin Cheetham, who was convicted of murder in June
2010 (see Incidents),
was arrested Andrew Brough told police how Cheetham had a shortened
smooth bored rifle and that he had worked on the weapon so a silencer
could be fitted. Brough pleaded guilty to four charges of unlawful
possession of ammunition without authority. The ammunition
included cartridges loaded with hollow-point bullets. He also
admitted possession of a Muscat Martini 1411
shotgun which he had no firearms certificate for. He
was sentenced to 21 months in prison. He has also been ordered to
forfeit more than £3,000 allegedly earned from illegal firearms work (Matlock
Mercury, 6 October 2010).
Northampton Chronicle & Echo,
23 July 2010
A man was threatened with a
gun while behind the wheel of a van belonging to the newspaper in
Northampton. Three men, two of whom were brandishing guns,
were involved in the incident. A man has been apprehended.
Manchester Evening News,
23 July 2010
A gang of between eight and
ten youths threatened to shoot two 16-year-old boys in a park in
Salford. The victims were with three girls at the time.
One of the gang had a handgun and repeatedly hit one of the boys over
the head. The other victim was attacked when he went to help his
friend.
Get Reading,
23 July 2010
Alan Sawyer from
Southcote, Berkshire, has admitted possessing pepper spray and a
stun gun and has also admitted one
charge of possessing cannabis with intent to supply. He was
arrested in June 2009. He has been served with a two-year
community order with 12 months supervision.
Evening Telegraph (Peterborough),
23 July 2010
Police believe that a gun,
described as a BB air rifle, may
have been used to smash a car window in Stanground, Peterborough.
The vehicle was parked outside the owner's home at the time. She
saw a group of youths after hearing a noise.
Burnley Express,
23 July 2010
Armed response teams went to
a house in Brierfield, Lancashire, where a man was threatening to
shoot himself. A man was later arrested and an
air weapon was found at the address.
BBC,
23 July 2010
Two men, one carrying a
handgun and the other a sawn-off shotgun, raided a bookmakers in
Westwood, Peterborough. The men threatened customers and staff
and fled the shop with a large bag of money.
Avon and Somerset Constabulary,
23 July 2010
A man was arrested on
suspicion of possession of a firearm after a suspected handgun was found
in a van stopped by police in the Brislington area of Bristol.
A second man was arrested on suspicion of supplying a firearm.
The Argus,
23 July 2010
Police seized a
stun gun when five people were arrested
after a suspected kidnapping. A man was apparently bundled into a
car in St Leonards, East Sussex. A man later called the
police saying he had been beaten up by people who were trying to get
into a house in Hastings.
Waltham Forest Guardian,
22 July 2010
A man threatened a shop
worker in Leytonstone, north east London, with a gun before
making off with a bag of cash.
This is Tamworth,
22 July 2010
Armed police were called out
following reports of a man in the street brandishing a handgun in
Tamworth, Staffordshire. A man was arrested but has not been
charged. No firearm was recovered.
This is Lancashire,
22 July 2010 *
A gang of robbers raided
several flats at a hostel in Blackburn, Lancashire, threatening
residents with a stun gun-type
weapon. They managed to escape with around five mobile phones.
A youth and a man were arrested on suspicion of robbery but they were
later released without charge. A man has been charged with three
offences of robbery and one burglary (Lancashire Telegraph, 25
August 2010).
This is Bath,
22 July 2010
Pagan Taylor of Keynsham,
Bristol, has been given a community order, curfew and an electronic tag
for possession of an air weapon when
prohibited from owning one for five years.
Press Association,
22 July 2010
Iain Davis has been
convicted for the second time for the murders of two men who died after
being shot with the same bullet at a party in Hackney, east
London, in January 2002 (see
Incidents). He was originally jailed for life in 2004
and a jury in the retrial had failed to reach a verdict, but he has now
been found guilty of the two murders. He was again given two life
sentences.
Peterlee Mail,
22 July 2010
A stun gun and a haul of
cannabis were found when police raided a house in Hartlepool,
Teesside, in March 2010. The gun did not work. Dean Temple
admitted producing cannabis and possessing a
stun gun. He has been given a 12-month community order
with supervision and order to pay £85 costs.
Northampton Chronicle & Echo,
22 July 2010
Stephen Hart has admitted
unlawfully wounding his cousin at his home in Daventry,
Northamptonshire. He had previously denied the charges. In
May 2010 when the two were sharing a spliff he pulled a
.22 air rifle from behind the sofa
and fired the weapon at a wall. A second shot was fired which hit
the victim in his left foot. Hart has been sentenced to 30 weeks
in prison, suspended for two years. He was given a 12-month
community order, a 10-day employment course and told to do 100 hours of
unpaid work. He will also pay his cousin £600 in compensation.
Guardian,
22 July 2010
Declan Duffy, a former INLA
member, has been sentenced to 24 years for the murder of an army
recruitment sergeant who was shot dead in a car park in Derby in
April 1992. He pleaded guilty to murder. Under the terms of
the 1998 Good Friday agreement he will also serve two years.
Another man, Joseph Magee was jailed in 2004 after pleading guilty to
his murder.
Express & Star,
22 July 2010
Kieran Kelly, 19, was
charged with possession of a fighting dog in Stourbridge, West
Midlands, and with having an unloaded air
pistol in the style of a 9mm silver Walther handgun. He
was sentenced to six months detention suspended for two years for
possession of the airgun along with a three-month curfew, a 12-month
supervision order and £200 costs. The gun had been found hidden
inside a glove beneath the engine of his car.
Evening Post (Bristol),
22 July 2010
Armed police surrounded a
house in Fishponds, Bristol, amid fears that a man would shoot
himself. A man was brought out of the property but it is unclear
whether he had a gun.
Derbyshire Times,
22 July 2010
James Fletcher from
Shirebrook, Nottinghamshire, was arrested after police received a
tip-off that a man was carrying a handgun. His rucksack was
searched and a pistol and a tin of pellets were recovered. He has
admitted possessing an unloaded air weapon
and been ordered to do 70 hours unpaid work, with £85 costs.
The pistol must be forfeited.
Derbyshire Times,
22 July 2010
A man has been arrested and
charged after police discovered a stun gun
and a lock knife in a vehicle in Matlock, Derbyshire.
Bolton News,
22 July 2010
Two boxes containing 18
replica shotguns have been stolen from
an industrial unit in Westhoughton, Greater Manchester. The
airsoft guns are realistic-looking weapons, one model was a sawn-off
shotgun and a second an AGM M300 shotgun, and the police are concerned
that they could be used by criminals.
BBC,
22 July 2010 *
A man went into a post
office in St Mary's Bay, Kent, armed with what was believed to be
a gun and demanded money. An elderly man was hurt when he was
pushed to the floor but no shots were fired. The man fled the
scene on a motorbike driven by another suspect. An 18-year-old has
been charged with robbery, possession of a
shotgun while committing an offence and possessing a shotgun
while prohibited to do so. He has also been charged in relation to
a robbery at a bookmaker's in New Romney. Another man has been
charged with robbery (Kent News, 26 July 2010). It was also
reported that the 18-year-old was charged with possessing an
imitation firearm (BBC, 25 July
2010). Two men have been convicted (see
March 2011 Incidents).
Yorkshire Evening Post,
21 July 2010 *
Lloyd Randall was jailed for
life over the shooting of a man who was injured in the leg with a
sawn-off shotgun in Leeds in May
2009. His brother Leyon had requested the attack and both men were
convicted of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent in
December 2009. Lloyd Randall has lost an appeal in which he
challenged the jury's guilty verdict. Rajveer Duggal has been
jailed for 12 years after being found guilty of conspiracy to cause
grievous bodily harm. He acted as the getaway driver during the
incident (Yorkshire Evening Post, 4 September 2010).
Another man, Nathaniel Wilkinson, has been jailed for four years for
giving false evidence at the trial that he shot the victim (Yorkshire
Evening Post, 9 February 2011).
Northampton Chronicle & Echo,
21 July 2010
John Blythe, an ex-soldier,
was armed with a gas-powered air pistol
when he tried to steal cans of beer from a shop in Northampton in
April 2010 (see Incidents).
The shopkeeper resisted and he left empty-handed. Blythe has pleaded
guilty to attempted robbery and possession of an imitation firearm and was
jailed for four years.
News Shopper,
21 July 2010
Two youths and a man are being
held by police and questioned about a robbery in Bromley, south
London. Three men burst into a shop brandishing a handgun and ran
out of the door with two bags of cash. The contents of one of the
bags spilt on the ground during the getaway.
Liverpool Echo,
21 July 2010
Police search team scoured a
street in Dovecot, Liverpool, looking for guns. They were
acting on "community intelligence" and found one gun hidden in a garden.
Daily Mirror,
21 July 2010 *
Christine Stafford had been
drinking and was waving two fake handguns
around in her garden in Exeter in June 2010 (see
Incidents) when
armed police arrived. She was just seconds away from being shot by a
police marksman. She admitted possessing a firearm with intent to cause
fear or unlawful violence. Sentencing was adjourned. The
weapons were described a replica baby Browning and a replica Beretta which
the public would have believed to be real (Express & Echo, 21 July
2010). She was sentenced to nine months in jail, suspended for two
years, with a two year supervision order, an alcohol treatment requirement
and a tagged curfew for six months (Express & Echo, 25 August
2010).
Cornishman,
21 July 2010
In May 2010 Zacharia Howse,
18, was found with a BB self-loading pistol
in a recreation ground in St Austell, Cornwall. A month later
he assaulted a police officer and used threatening and abusive language
during an incident in the town centre. He pleaded guilty to the
charges relating to the assault and admitted using threatening, abusive,
insulting words or behaviour or disorderly behaviour on an earlier
occasion. He also admitted having the imitation firearm. He
has been issued with a six-month detention and training order.
Telegraph & Argus,
20 July 2010 *
Hugh Munro and Mark Reynolds
have been found guilty of attempted robbery and having an
imitation firearm with intent. The
two men threatened a shop manager and postmaster during a botched armed
robbery at a post office in Thornton, West Yorkshire, in October
2009. They fled empty handed after the panic alarm went off.
Munro has been jailed for 11 years and
Reynolds for eight years (Telegraph & Argus, 27 October 2010).
Shropshire Star,
20 July 2010
A fight involving at least
eight people broke out in Telford, Shropshire. There were
reports that one of the men involved had been carrying an
air pistol. No arrests have yet
been made.
Liverpool Echo,
20 July 2010
A house in Old Swan,
Liverpool, was placed under siege by armed police after reports that a man
was inside with a firearm. A man was arrested on suspicion of
possessing a firearm.
Evening Telegraph (Peterborough),
20 July 2010
A man shot and wounded his
ex-girlfriend before shooting himself dead in Feltwell, Norfolk.
He suffered gunshot wounds to the head. The woman was with a baby at
the time of the incident. Her condition is not thought to be life
threatening. It is understood that the dead man had appeared in
court in January 2009 after attacking another ex-partner and was given a
suspended prison sentence. Police said investigations were underway
to establish how the man came to have gun. They are not looking for
anyone else in connection with the incident. The police have said
that the dead man did not have a gun licence but had previously been
considered eligible for a firearms licence and had voluntarily surrendered
a shotgun licence. His victim was shot with a
shotgun and a .22 single-shot pistol was found by his body (East
Anglian Daily Times, 21
July 2010).
BBC,
20 July 2010
Ashley Clarke and Alexander
Valensky have admitted charges of kidnapping and blackmail, wounding with
intent, false imprisonment and attempted blackmail. They bundled a
businessman into a car at gunpoint whilst he was visiting family in
Salford in November 2009. During the incident the victim was
punched, threatened and bitten and then driven to an address in
Ashton-under-Lyne. Clarke was jailed for 11 years, Valensky for
seven-and-a-half years.
BBC,
20 July 2010
A pistol and a
sawn-off shotgun were found buried in the
grounds of a country park in Poole, Dorset. Forensic
examination of the weapons is continuing.
BBC,
20 July 2010
A family was threatened at
gunpoint by four or five men at their home near Fishburn, Country
Durham. One of the men had a shotgun.
They stole a four-figure sum of cash.
The Argus,
20 July 2010
Three teenagers, one a woman,
have been arrested in connection in which a young woman was shot in
Brighton. The victim received a small arm injury after being
shot with what it thought to have been an air
rifle. They were suspected of burglary and possession of
an imitation firearm. All three have been released on bail.
Evening Standard,
19 July 2010
Two 17-year-olds admitted
armed robbery and a 15-year-old has admitted robbery and possessing an
imitation firearm following a gems raid in Hatton Garden, central
London. One of the teenagers, who was dressed as a woman, was
allowed into the shop and then let in three accomplices dressed as
workmen. The 15-year-old was armed with a
fake Mac-10 machine gun. A fourth suspect has never been
traced. They will be sentenced later.
Crewe and Northwich Guardian,
19 July 2010
Armed robbers armed with
spring loaded bolt guns smashed the window of a jewellers in Nantwich,
Cheshire, and escaped with watches worth around £120,000.
Coventry Telegraph,
19 July 2010
A bar in the centre of
Coventry may have its licence suspended following a spate of serious
assaults and suspected gun crime. In one incident in June police
were called over reports of two rival gangs in the pub with firearms.
No suspects were caught.
Birmingham Mail,
19 July 2010
A Baikal pistol was seized
from an 18-year-old man who was stopped in Edgbaston, Birmingham.
In a separate raid on a house in Blakenhall, Wolverhampton,
detectives recovered a revolver and arrested a man.
Birmingham Mail,
19 July 2010
A
shotgun was fired at a passenger in a car after another car
mounted a pavement in Chelmsley Wood, Birmingham. Nobody was
injured and no arrests were made.
BBC,
19 July 2010
A man has been charged with
making threats to kill after armed police were called to a street in
Louth, Lincolnshire. A number of firearms were seized from a
home in the town.
This is Kent,
18 July 2010
An armed response unit was
called to a primary school in Seal, Kent, after a parent was
threatened with being shot. A man has handed himself to the police
and been arrested on suspicion of threatening behaviour. Searches
have been carried out but no firearm was found.
Sunday Mercury,
18 July 2010
A 16-year-old girl was one of
four victims shot outside a pub in Bordesley Green, Birmingham.
Three men were also injured and all four were taken to hospital.
BBC,
18 July 2010
Three men, two of them
teenagers, were arrested shortly after staff at a pizza restaurant in
Gloucester were threatened with what was believed to be a handgun.
A "small quantity" of cash was stolen.
North-West Evening Mail,
17 July 2010 *
Michael Crook was seen by bus
passengers walking over a bridge in Barrow, Cumbria, with a gun.
Later he took the weapon, an air pistol,
into a bar, cocked it and waved it around. The barman confiscated
the gun. He was too drunk to know remember if it was loaded.
The gun had been a spontaneous purchase bought the same day from a fishing
shop where Cook had gone to buy a fishing rod. He had fired it into
his own arm at his flat to test how dangerous it was. He pleaded
guilty to carrying an air weapon in public. He has been given a
12-month community order with 12 months supervision and a three-month
curfew order (North-West Evening
Mail, 11 August 2010).
News & Star,
17 July 2010
Roy Tuddenham brandished a
starter pistol at four youths who arrived
at his home in Irthington, Cumbria. He lived in a remote
location and became frightened when the group arrived. When the
police arrived he resisted attempts to resolve the situation and was
abusive towards the officers. He pleaded guilty to affray and was
given a six-month suspended sentence and placed under a 12-week curfew
order.
This is Exeter,
16 July 2010
Alex Downes has admitted
possessing an imitation firearm, an M4 carbine BB
gun, and also possessing mephodrone. He was arrested
after he was spotted crouching in combat gear with the gun in woods near a
Royal Marine training base in Lympstone, Devon, in April 2010.
He was sentenced to a year's community order involving 80 hours of unpaid
work.
Express & Star,
16 July 2010
Five men wielding a handgun
and a knife threatened staff and customers at a newsagents in
Amblecote, West Midlands. They fled empty-handed after an
intruder alarm was set off. Two 17-year-olds were arrested on
suspicion of attempted robbery.
Cambs Times,
16 July 2010
An
air rifle and pellets have been stolen from an address in
Farcet, Cambridgeshire, from where chickens and a cockerel have also
been stolen.
Birmingham Mail,
16 July 2010
Amandip Maheri ran out of his
house in Wolverhampton and used a gun to threaten bin men because
he felt they had failed to take away his rubbish. The weapon was a
BB gun. Police investigating the
incident recovered another airgun in
his kitchen. He admitted possessing an imitation firearm and was
made subject to a hospital order.
BBC,
16 July 2010
Justin Jack has been jailed
for five years after a loaded sawn-off shotgun
was found hidden in his wardrobe in Top Valley, Nottingham, in May
2010 (see June 2010 Incidents).
He had shotgun pellets and gunpowder in his jeans' pockets when he was
arrested.
BBC,
16 July 2010
The police were called
following the discovery of bullet casings at a site in Elephant and
Castle, south London. They discovered that they were blanks left
by actors shooting a film.
BBC,
16 July 2010
Two men arrested after
firearms officers were called to a block of flats in Leicester were
released without charges after the report that a person had been seen with
a gun turned out to be unfounded.
BBC,
16 July 2010
Ciaran McGrath discharged an
imitation firearm during an attempted
robbery at a bookmakers in Bedford in October 2009 (see
November 2009 Incidents). He had
denied attempted robbery and possessing an imitation firearm with intent
to commit robbery but was convicted by a jury. He has been
jailed for 11 years.
BBC,
16 July 2010
A .22
air rifle was among items stolen during a burglary at a
university rifle range in Swathling, Southampton. The weapon
is described as "sniper-style" which could prove extremely dangerous in
the wrong hands.
BBC,
16 July 2010
A handgun, ammunition and cash
were seized by police investigating an armed robbery at a casino in
Edgbaston, Birmingham. Six men and a woman have been arrested.
Wembley & Kingsbury Times,
15 July 2010
Three men are on trial accused
of conspiracy to murder a man who was gunned down outside a house in
Stonebridge Park Estate, north west London, in May 2004. Gavin
Grant and Gareth Downie have been found guilty of murder. Damien
Williams was convicted of conspiring to murder (BBC, 23 July 2010).
All three men were given minimum 25-year terms for their involvement.
Detectives believe the murder led to up to 30 further shootings (Guardian,
26 July 2010).
This is Lancashire, 15 July 2010
A
stun gun was among items seized by police during raids in
Bolton, Greater Manchester, in which they also recovered a Samurai
sword and drugs.
Maghull and Aintree Star, 15 July 2010
A group of youths brandished a
BB gun and pointed it at passengers on a train bound for
Aintree, Merseyside, in June. Police are appealing for witnesses
to come forward. A 12-year-old boy has been bailed.
Liverpool Echo, 15 July 2010
*
A 14-year-old boy and a woman
have been arrested after police recovered a handgun and ammunition at an
address in Toxteth, Liverpool. The woman has been jailed for
five years for minding a pistol (see
December 2010 Incidents).
Kent Online, 15 July 2010
Among a shocking catalogue of
crimes youngsters have committed on railway tracks in Kent was the firing
of a
pellet gun at a train at
Birchington-on-Sea. There was also a report than an
air rifle had been fired at trains at
Hilsea and Winchester in Hampshire
(BBC, 16 July 2010).
Hartlepool Mail, 15 July 2010
A roadside search for what was
believed to be a firearm in a lay-by on the outskirts of Hartlepool,
Teesside, was part of an on-going case according to police.
Harrow Observer, 15 July 2010
Four men attacked another man
after he was forced by another vehicle to stop his car in Edgware,
north west London. One man pointed a pistol through the window of
the victim's car and held it to his head. When he got out of the car
he was hit with wooden sticks.
North-West Evening Mail, 14 July 2010
*
A man has been charged with
attempted armed robbery and possession of a firearm with intent to commit
an indictable offence. The charges follow an incident in which three
males are believed to have broken into a house in Burneside,
Cumbria, and threatened the occupants with a handgun and knives. The
police believe that nothing was stolen during the incidents. A man
has pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and having an
imitation handgun with intent to commit a robbery
(see September 2010 Incidents).
Manchester Evening News, 14 July 2010
A man was bundled into a car
and assaulted at gunpoint while his girlfriend and young child were kept
hostage at home after robbers broke into their house in West Didsbury,
Greater Manchester. The victim suffered facial injuries.
Bedford Today, 14 July 2010
Two youths have been arrested
on suspicion of possessing an imitation firearm in a public place after
reports that a group were firing BB gun
pellets at passers-by in Bedford.
Warrington Guardian, 13 July 2010
A 16-year-old has been charged
with possessing an imitation firearm
with intent to cause fear of violence. The charge follows an
incident in which a gun was allegedly aimed at another teenager through a
car window in Stockton Heath, Cheshire.
The Citizen (Burnley), 13 July 2010
A motorcyclist brandishing
what was believed to be an imitation firearm
demanded money at a petrol station in Colne, Lancashire. The
man fled the scene with an amount of cash.
Click Liverpool, 12 July 2010
A man brandishing a handgun
carried out a raid on a bookmakers in Old Swan, Liverpool. He
ordered a member of staff to hand over cash and left with a small amount
of money. A CCTV image has been released.
Sunday Mirror, 11 July 2010
Landlord Christopher Green was
spotted by two policemen with a gun sticking out of his back pocket at his
pub in Blidworth, Nottinghamshire. He was arrested and has
now been given a 16-week suspended sentence. He claimed he had it to
put off troublemakers.
Given the
sentence imposed it must be assumed that the
gun, described in the article as a pistol, was an
imitation.
BBC, 11 July 2010 *
A cashier at a post office in
Denton, Greater Manchester, was threatened with violence and forced
to hand over cash by a man armed with what appeared to be a gun. The
man escaped on a bicycle. It is believed the same man was
responsible for a robbery at a bookmakers in Denton five days earlier.
A man has been jailed after pleading guilty to two charges of robbery and
two counts of attempted robbery (see
November 2010 Incidents).
BBC, 11 July 2010
Several vehicles were damaged
in a shooting in Streatham, south London. Police are looking
for a youth in his late teens in connection with the shootings.
Shropshire Star, 10 July 2010
Three men from Telford,
Shropshire, Jamie Rowland, 20, Alexander Baker, 20, and Thomas Seymour,
19, shot a number of pedestrians out of the window of a car with an
air pistol. They admitted assault
occasioning actual bodily harm. Rowland and Bakers were sentenced to
34 weeks in a young offenders institution, suspended for two years and
ordered to carry out 250 hours unpaid work. Seymour was sentenced to
a 12-month community order with 150 hours unpaid work. They were all
ordered to pay compensation to their victims.
Leicester Mercury, 10 July 2010
Four men who attacked and
robbed a shopkeeper in Leicester in June 2009 (see
Incidents) have been jailed.
Zaydene Shahadat received a seven year sentence, Jason Wright, who
pistol-whipped the shopkeeper, was jailed for five years and look-outs
Sanchez Zampaladus and Judah Hunte received four year sentences.
Shahadat and Wright admitted possessing imitation firearms. The
weapons they used were an air pistol
and a blank-firing handgun that looked
menacing enough to terrify the victim.
Independent, 10 July 2010
A former gamekeeper has been
charged with the murder of a retired colonel who was shot dead with a
shotgun as he answered his front door in
Furneux Pelham, Hertfordshire, in January 2004 (see
Incidents). He
has also been charged with having a shotgun with intent to commit an
indictable offence (Mercury, 21 July 2010).
BBC, 10 July 2010
The body of a man was found
with bullet wounds in Upton Park, east London. The shooting
has been linked to the death of a man in Cricklewood, north west
London (see below), and another shooting in Hornsey, north London.
The Hornsey victim has been discharged from hospital. A man has been
charged with two murders, three counts of possession of a firearm with
intent, possessing a 9mm handgun and possessing a silencer (BBC, 12
July 2010).
BBC, 10 July 2010
A man has been injured with a
shotgun in the Matson area of
Gloucester. A man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder has
been released on bail and two others on suspicion of assisting an
offender. The victim remains in hospital awaiting plastic surgery (BBC,
21 July 2010).
BBC, 10 July 2010
Five men have been injured in
a multiple shooting in Brixton, south London. Police officers
found four men with bullet wounds in a street and a fifth man attended a
hospital later. Three victims have been treated and discharged but
two others remain in hospital in a stable condition.
Shields Gazette, 9 July 2010
A farmer from South Shields,
Tyneside, owned two illegal and "dangerous"
airguns which were found by police when they called to his home
on two separate occasions in January and November 2009. On the first
occasion there had been a disturbance at the house and his girlfriend told
the police that he was hiding "dangerous" guns. Both airguns had
muzzle energies exceeding the legal power limit of 12. Keith
McAlpine was spared jail because the judge ruled he would not abuse the
guns, which he used shoot rabbits, in an inappropriate manner. He
was given a 12-month community order and a 12-month supervision order.
Local Guardian, 9 July 2010
Three teenagers, one a woman,
were arrested when two guns were found during a police raid in
Leytonstone, north east London. The two converted handguns were
both loaded with live ammunition. One of the suspects was also
arrested for possession of drugs with intent to supply.
Evening Standard, 9 July 2010
A mounted police officer has
described how in September 2009 he chased a burglar in Lewisham,
south London, and grabbed a pouch fearing it could be a weapon. He
found a black handgun inside and threw it out of reach. The gun was
an imitation. The officer has
been given a commendation for bravery and the man was later jailed fro
three and a half years.
BBC, 9 July 2010
Police have arrested 15 people
in connection with a number of recent shootings in Birmingham.
Four people have been charged and nine firearms were seized.
BBC, 9 July 2010 *
Armed response teams were
called to a block of flats in Lincoln after reports that shots were
fired. Three men were arrested and two weapons were confiscated.
Two men and a teenager were charged with firing an
airgun in public but the case was dismissed on a
technicality (see October 2010
Incidents).
BBC, 9 July 2010
Phillip Hopkins has admitted
rape and having a firearm with intent to commit an offence. In
September 2009 his victim was driven around Peterborough to the
scene of the attack where he threatened her with a gun, put tape across
her mouth, tied her up and assaulted her. The weapon was a
ball bearing gun which the victim
believed was real (Evening Telegraph
(Peterborough), 11 July 2010). Hopkins, an ex-soldier, has been given an
indeterminate prison sentence and will serve at least four years and 78
days.
Worcester News, 8 July 2010
A BB
gun was found during a series of raids by police in
Worcester aimed at seizing dangerous dogs.
Times Series, 8 July 2010
A man has died after being
shot multiple times in Cricklewood, north west London. The
incident happened by the side of a major road which was closed to through
traffic after the shooting.
This is Lancashire, 8 July 2010
Jiten Patel from Daubhill,
Greater Manchester, has admitted possessing cannabis and an electric
stun gun which were found on January
2010. He was given a 12-month community sentence and ordered to
complete 150 hours of unpaid work.
Richmond & Twickenham Times, 8 July 2010
Leon Morris pointed an
imitation pistol at a 15-year-old and
his friends. He held the boy captive for five hours and demanded
£10,000 ransom. The incident took place in Brentford, west London,
in January 2010. He was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in
prison after pleading guilty to possession of an imitation firearm with
intent to cause alarm or distress.
Manchester Evening News, 8 July 2010
A bar in Chorlton,
Manchester, was raided last month. The owner was struck with a gun
and locked inside by two men. It was one of a number of bars
targeted in the area in recent weeks.
Crosby Herald, 8 July 2010
A man is being questioned
following the shooting of a man in Bootle, Merseyside. The
man had been shot in the buttock in a car which had a bullet hole in the windscreen.
His condition is described as stable.
Bootle Times, 8 July 2010
A loaded revolver was thrown
into a back garden after police stopped a taxi in Bootle,
Merseyside. Three men were caught and were arrested on suspicion of
possessing a firearm. A man and a 17-year-old have been charged with
possession of a firearm and ammunition (Liverpool Echo, 28 July
2010).
BBC, 8 July 2010 *
Paul Smith has been found
guilty of shooting a driver in the stomach with a homemade gun during a
road rage incident in Alkham, Kent, in October 2009 (see
Incidents). He
was convicted of wounding with intent but cleared of attempted murder.
He had admitted possession of a firearm. His victim suffered
life-changing injuries. The weapon was a flare gun adapted to carry
a single .22 round. He has been jailed for 10 years and given an
extended licence of five years (Kent News, 29 September 2010).
BBC, 8 July 2010
A man was held up at gunpoint
and his car stolen in Belle Vue, Greater Manchester. The
victim and a friend were getting into the car when a man got out of a van
and pointed a black handgun at them.
BBC, 8 July 2010 *
A man has been arrested in
connection with an armed robbery at a bank in Cromford, Derbyshire,
which took place in 1985. A security guard was hit in the face with
a shotgun. The man has been
charged with robbery, wounding with intent and possession of an
imitation firearm. He has admitted
the offences and been jailed for 10 years (see
December 2010 Incidents).
Yeovil Express, 7 July 2010
Ben Doxey, 21, was given 120
hours community work for possessing a loaded air
rifle in Yeovil Country Park, Somerset. Gerald
Ryder, 20, was also guilty of possession of a loaded
air rifle at the same location and given
a community order. In both cases the rifle will be destroyed.
Uxbridge Gazette, 7 July 2010
Two men threatened staff at a
travel agents in Hayes, west London, with what is believed to have
been a small handgun. The pair made off with cash.
Times Series, 7 July 2010 *
Two men brandishing what
police believe to be an imitation gun
raided a post office in East Barnet, north London, and made off
with thousands of pounds in cash. One of the shopkeepers was taken
to hospital following the incident. A man has been jailed after
pleading guilty to being involved in the robbery and possessing an
imitation firearm (see
October 2010 Incidents).
Rochdale Online, 7 July 2010
Two armed robbers, armed with
a hammer and a handgun, threatened a member of staff at a convenience
store in Middleton, Greater Manchester, and demanded cash from the
till. They fled with cash, drinks and cigarettes.
News & Star,
7 July 2010 *
A man with learning
difficulties was shot three times with a BB gun
when he visited a neighbour in Workington, Cumbria, to borrow some
milk in June 2009. The neighbour Paul Goddard has pleaded guilty to
common assault. He shot the man in the foot. Andrew Carney who
fired the other two shots admitted grievous bodily harm. Goddard was
given a two-year supervision requirement. Carney has been sent to
prison for two years (News & Star, 4 August 2010).
Manchester Evening News,
7 July 2010 *
Three men have denied charges
of possessing a prohibited firearm and possession of a firearm with intent
to commit robbery after a 9mm Reck Miami and silencer were recovered from
a car used by a gang in a raid at a store in Haslingden, Lancashire, in
September 2009 (see Incidents).
They say they did not know an accomplice had brought a gun to the scene of
a raid. William Moore, Richard Walsh and Jonathon Walsh
have admitted conspiracy to commit robbery and handling stolen goods.
The fourth man, Gavin Noakes, has also admitted conspiracy to commit
robbery as well as firearms offences and dangerous driving. The
Walsh brothers have been found guilty of taking a gun to the raid (Lancashire
Telegraph, 15 July 2010). William Moore was also convicted of
possessing a firearm (BBC, 19 July 2010). Noakes will serve a
minimum of eight and a half years, Richard Walsh, who was also convicted of
possessing an imitation firearm,
was ordered to serve a minimum of ten-and-a-half years, Jonathon Walsh was jailed
for 14 years and Moore for seven years and nine months (Key103, 2
September 2010).
Local Guardian, 7 July 2010
Two men have jailed over the
shooting of a man in Leyton, north east London, in July 2008.
Jonathan Lawrence and Nathan Fellows will serve at least six and a half
years after being convicted of grievous bodily harm and possessing a
firearm and ammunition. Lawrence was shot by police after he
resisted arrest. A loaded gun was found in his car. Their
victim had refused to testify against them.
Liverpool Echo, 7 July 2010
Two 10-year-old boys were held
up at gunpoint by bike thieves in a park in Belle Vale, Liverpool.
Police think that the weapon was probably a BB
gun. One bike was stolen but later recovered. A
15-year-old was arrested on suspicion of possession of an imitation
firearm and theft of a pedal cycle.
Burton Mail, 7 July 2010 *
Three men, two aged 18, have
been accused of possessing imitation firearms.
The men were detained after officers stopped a car in Barton-under-Needwood,
Staffordshire. Two teenagers and another youth have been given
custodial sentences (see October
2010 Incidents).
BBC, 7 July 2010
Three boys have been shot at
with a BB gun while playing on a green
in Exmouth, Devon. One boy was hit in the stomach and another
on the hip. It is believed that the perpetrator was standing in the
communal area of nearby flats.
This is Hampshire, 6 July 2010
Karl Powell, who was high on
drink and drugs, threatened to use a gun he had tucked into the waistband
of his trousers at a nightclub in Southampton. He terrified a
doorman and a woman he was trying to chat up. The gun was a
gas-propelled BB gun. He has
admitted two counts of possessing an imitation firearm with intent to
cause fear of violence and been jailed for four years.
Shropshire Star, 6 July 2010
Two Shropshire police officers
who were threatened by a man they believed to have a real gun are in the
running for a national bravery reward. They were making inquiries
about damage to cars in Bridgnorth when a suspect produced a
revolver-type weapon. In April 2009 Barry Preece admitted affray,
criminal damage and possession of an imitation
firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and was jailed
for one year.
Shropshire Star, 6 July 2010
A man brandishing a handgun
demanded cash at a petrol station in Donnington Wood, Shropshire.
He fled empty-handed after the cashier withdrew from the glass screen
where he was pointing the gun. CCTV images of the getaway car have
been released.
Mail, 6 July 2010
A child who dropped a
toy gun in a bank in Maldon,
Essex, sparked a mass evacuation. The gun was spotted by a customer
who thought it was real.
Express & Star, 6 July 2010
A man has been shot dead at a
house in Chasetown, Staffordshire. He was pronounced dead at
the scene. He died from a gunshot wound to the chest. Two men
have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder (BBC, 21
July 2010).
Epsom Guardian, 6 July 2010
Two men claiming to have a gun
robbed a travel agency in Epsom, Surrey. No one was injured.
No gun was actually seen or identified (Epsom Guardian, 7 July
2010).
BBC, 6 July 2010
Four
shotguns and a rifle have been stolen in a burglary at a farm
in Murrow, Cambridgeshire. A gun cabinet was forced open.
Other items were also taken.
BBC, 6 July 2010
A man with a handgun
approached a security guard at a supermarket in Stevenage,
Hertfordshire, and demanded cash bags. He made his getaway in a
stolen car.
BBC, 6 July 2010
A man has died after being
shot in Walthamstow, north east London. He was pronounced
dead at hospital. A man has been arrested and is in custody (BBC,
13 July 2010).
The Sentinel, 5 July 2010
Three masked men armed with
air rifles demanded money from a man in
Rode Heath, Stoke-on-Trent.
Northern Echo, 5 July 2010
Carl White appeared to be
pointing a rifle towards people at a community fireworks display in
Middlesbrough in November 2009. He drove off before police
officers could catch up with him but was stopped a short while later.
They found an unloaded air rifle, a
knife and diazepam pills. He admitted possessing an air weapon in a
public place and other offences and was given a 12-month community order
with Probation Service supervision.
Evening Gazette, 5 July 2010
Steven Gregory imported 18
stun guns into the UK from Thailand but
claimed that he did not realise that they were illegal. Some of the
guns were intercepted by HM Revenue and Customs and three were found at
his address in Eaglescliffe, Teesside. He confessed to having
the weapons imported and the judge accepted that he did not know they were
illegal.
BBC, 5 July 2010
Two men have been arrested
after people reported hearing gunshots near a block of flats in Anfield,
Liverpool. A window at a car dealership had been shot at and
damaged. No-one was hurt.
Mail, 4 July 2010
Two primary school children
were injured in a playground shooting in which two boys were armed with an
airgun. The incident occurred in
Little Harrowden, Northamptonshire. One of the boys had fired
the gun after a friend carried it into school. Both were immediately
excluded but police officers were not called to the school. The two
victims had minor injuries.
BBC, 3 July 2010 *
A man died and his partner was in a critical condition in hospital after
they were shot in Birtley, Tyneside. It is believed that
the man responsible was the ex-boyfriend of the woman and that he had
just been released from prison. The gunman has been named as Raoul
Moat. A man believed to be Moat also shot a police officer on duty
in East Denton (BBC, 4 July 2010). Police are
investigating an armed robbery of a fish and chip shop near Blyth
by a man with a similar description to Moat (Guardian, 6 July
2010). Police searching for Moat sealed off the town of
Rothbury, Northumberland (BBC, 7 July 2010). Moat, who
is still on the run, has made threats to the wider public (BBC, 8
July 2010). Two men believed to be part of Moat's conspiracy to
hunt down and kill policemen have been charged with conspiracy to commit
murder and possessing a firearm with intent (Mail, 8 July 2010).
It is suggested that they got hold of a
sawn-off shotgun before Moat was released from jail and
helped him find food and supplies when he went on the run (Daily
Mirror, 9 July 2010). Moat died after shooting himself
following a six-hour stand-off in a field Rothbury (BBC, 10 July
2010) Two
Taser guns were fired at him
but his wounds were consistent with a weapon he was carrying (BBC,
11 July 2010). It has since been revealed that neither of the
Taser rounds fired at Moat by the police hit him (Telegraph, 5 January 2011).
Another man has been arrested on suspicion of firearms offences (Guardian,
19 July 2010). Two men have appeared in court charged with
conspiracy to commit murder and possessing a firearm with intent (The
Journal,
1 November 2010) and both have now been convicted of a number of
offences (see
March 2011
Incidents).
BBC, 3 July 2010
A 19-year-old shot at armed
police with an airgun in Oldham,
Greater Manchester. The officers had been called to the area after
receiving reports that a man, armed with a handgun, had threatened people
nearby. A man is in custody on suspicion of possession of a firearm
with intent to cause fear of violence.
Herts Advertiser, 2 July 2010
Four victims have been shot at
with a BB gun in St Albans,
Hertfordshire, in the last two weeks. A 12-year-old boy was walking
along a street when he was hit in the neck and five days later three men
were shot at, one of whom was hit on the head and another suffered minor
swelling and bruising to his face. Three teenagers have been
arrested (St Albans & Harpenden Review, 2 July 2010).
Express & Star, 2 July 2010
Gareth Ranger has been given
an eight-and-a-half year sentence for firing a single shot into the door
of a nightclub in Bilston, West Midlands, in June 2009. The
nightclub had been the scene of at least three shootings in recent years
including a murder.
BBC, 2 July 2010
Two men thought to be armed
with a gun robbed a Post Office van in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
They assaulted the driver and demanded money. Arrests have been
made.
BBC, 2 July 2010
Kieron Lawrence, 19, Kallum
Morris, 19 and Paul Stoby, 18, have all been convicted of murdering a man
who was shot dead in Hackney, east London, in September 2009 (see
Incidents). It is believed that the murder was a case of mistaken
identity. All three teenagers have been jailed for life with a
minimum of 27 years (BBC, 23 July 2010).
BBC, 2 July 2010
British Transport Police are
investigating whether a firearm was fired at trains in Steventon,
Oxfordshire. A train windscreen and passenger window were damaged
during the incidents.
BBC, 2 July 2010
A man has been shot in the leg
in West Derby, Liverpool. The victim was in a stable
condition in hospital.
Staffordshire Newsletter, 1 July 2010
A teenager was rushed to
hospital after being shot in the head with an
airgun pellet. The incident occurred between Handsacre
and Hill Ridware in Staffordshire.
The Press, 1 July 2010
A woman has been left afraid
to walk down the road after being shot in the face with an
air rifle in Acomb, York, in March
2010 (see Incidents).
Two 15-year-old boys were playing with the gun when it went off
accidentally. Both pleaded guilty to firing an air rifle in public,
assaulting a third boy, and charges of criminal damage by air rifle pellet
to a car and a window. The victim required a local anaesthetic to
remove a pellet from her head. Both boys were given referral orders,
one for nine months the other for six months and told to pay £246.25 in
compensation to the other victims. One of the boys was told to pay
£350 to the woman.
Derbyshire Times, 1 July 2010
Colin Cheetham has been
convicted of murdering a man whose body was found in Cromford,
Derbyshire, in September 2009 (see
Incidents). He apparently executed
his victim, whom he did not know, for his own pleasure and gratification.
He was given a life sentence and will serve at least thirty years.
Cheetham was a member of Swadlincote Rifle and Pistol Club (Burton Mail,
1 July 2010). He had admitted he was interested in shooting and
owned eight weapons and that he provided the murder weapon (BBC, 24
June 2010).
Clacton and Frinton Gazette, 1 July 2010
A man has been shot in the
head with an air pistol pellet in
Jaywick, Essex. It is believed that an individual had been
firing pellets at various stages prior to the shooting and that the
victim's car also sustained damage.
Citizen, 1 July 2010
The window of a car has been
shot through in Gloucester. It is feared that the gunman may
have been aiming at its owner. Police believe a high velocity
air rifle was used. The incident
may be linked to a similar incident the previous week.
Bury Times, 1 July 2010
A man is recovering in
hospital after being shot with an air rifle
in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester. He was walking along a
canal when he was shot in the back and a pellet became lodged in his lung.
He remains in a stable condition.
BBC, 1 July 2010
Four men have been arrested on
suspicion of firearms offences after reports that a man was chased by a
man with a gun in Abington, Northampton.
SCOTLAND
Lennox Herald, 30 July 2010
Douglas Harkin who admitted
jumping out at police with a dangerous weapon (a set of nunchucks) at his
ex-girlfriend's house had previously admitted possession of an
imitation gun in Dumbarton in July
2009. He had already spent 64 days in jail and was sentenced to a
further 60 days for all his crimes.
BBC, 30 July 2010
An
air weapon has been fired on a street in Portgordon,
Banffshire. No-one was injured.
Shetland News,
23 July 2010
A
replica handgun was seized from a teenager in the centre of
Lerwick, Shetlands.
Paisley Daily Express,
22 July 2010
An armed response unit
attended an incident in Howwood, Renfrewshire, after a report of a
gunman. A woman saw a man stop his car, get out and pick up an air
rifle lying at the roadside. The man was detained and later a house
was raided and police confiscated an air weapon.
The man faces a breach of the peace charge.
BBC,
19 July 2010
A man was shot in the leg with
an airgun pellet while out walking on
a cycle path in Dumfries. He felt a sharp pain in his leg.
He was taken to hospital where the pellet was removed and the wound
treated.
Wee County News,
15 July 2010 *
Scott Barclay had a six-hour
stand-off with armed police after threatening them with a
.22 air rifle in Tullibody,
Clackmannanshire, in October 2009. He has pleaded guilty to
possessing a firearm with intent of causing a person to believe violence
would be used against them, to committing a breach of the peace by locking
himself in a flat for around six hours, pointing an air rifle towards
police offices and throwing household items from a window.
He has been jailed for six months. During a
search of the premises an "upgrade kit" for the air rifle was found.
The weapon had been modified with a result that it was turned into "a
lethal barrelled weapon" for which a licence was required (stv,
19 August 2010).
Press & Journal,
8 July 2010 *
Neal Todd pointed a
toy gun which could fire small ball
bearings at people outside a pub in
Kinloss, Moray, and threatened to turn the town into Afghanistan.
He has been convicted of possessing an imitation weapon and making others
believe he would use it against them. He was also found guilty of
breaking the peace, making threats of violence and shouting during the
incident in March 2010. He has been
jailed for two-and-a-half years (BBC, 7 October 2010).
Highland News,
8 July 2010
Alexander Thomson has been
jailed for two years for keeping two shotguns
in his loft in Inverness. He claimed to have hidden them
after finding them outside his home following a break-in. Both guns
were forfeited.
Paisley Daily Express,
7 July 2010
Armed police surrounded a man
as he walked through a housing scheme in Paisley and later raided a
nearby house in search of a lethal firearm. The incident occurred 24
hours after reports that a man was armed and had pulled a gun on another
man. A man has been accused of a breach of the peace. It is
believed no weapon was found but a bag of pellets for an
airgun were discovered.
Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser,
7 July 2010
Gordon McGuire sparked an
armed siege after local residents saw him in the street with a rifle in
Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, in April 2010. When the gun was
recovered it was discovered to be a .22 calibre
air rifle. McGuire was ordered to carry out 90 hours of
community service and the sheriff ordered the air rifle to be forfeited
and destroyed.
BBC, 6 July 2010
A 18-year-old is due to appear
in court in Aberdeen charged with possession of a
shotgun. He is also accused of a
"catalogue of crimes" committed over a 10-month period.
Stirling Observer, 2 July 2010
Kieran McColl was drunk when
he lifted a gun over his head as the harbour master on Loch Venachar,
Perthshire, went to his rescue in May 2010 (see
Incidents). He had been firing an
air rifle from the boat. McColl
pleaded guilty and was fined £750.
WALES
South Wales Echo, 28 July 2010
The rear window of a parked
car in Kenfig Hill, Mid Glamorgan, was shattered when an
air rifle was shot from a house.
The Leader, 27 July 2010
At least four parked cars have
been targeted in two separate drive-by shootings in Gresford,
Clwyd. In the first attack one car was left with a smashed side
window, another with a broken windscreen and bodywork pocked with pellet
marks and a third vehicle was damaged. The following evening another
car had its rear screen shattered. It was later suggested that these
and other incidents in which property was damaged in the Wrexham area may
have been caused by ball bearing fired from a catapult (The Leader,
29 July 2010).
Oxford Mail, 24 July 2010
A pensioner has appeared in
court accused of two double murders in Pembrokeshire. All
four victims suffered fatal shotgun
wounds. A brother and sister were killed at a mansion in Milford
Haven in December 1985 and the bodies of a married couple were found
on a coastal footpath in June 1989.
South Wales Echo, 20 July 2010
A powerful S410
air rifle was stolen from a car in
Cyncoed, Cardiff. Police are concerned as the gas-powered weapon
can cause significant injury.
Daily Post,
17 July 2010 *
Three men have been arrested
following a raid on a post office in Cefn Mawr, Wrexham. A
gang threatened the postmaster with a blade and a gun. The victim
struggled with the men and tried to stop their getaway. A man has
been charged with robbery and with carrying an
imitation handgun with criminal intent (The Leader, 20
July 2010). Two men have admitted
staging the robbery and a third man has been charged with robbery (see
September 2010 Incidents).
North Wales Chronicle,
9 July 2010
Villagers in Aberffraw,
Anglesey, have accused police and authorities of staggering indifference
after taking hours to respond to reports of 500 live
shotgun shells being dumped in the River
Ffraw. Between 20 and 25 boxes were discovered at low tide.
Milford & West Wales Mercury,
8 July 2010
A man has appeared in court
charged with possession of an imitation firearm
with intent to cause fear of violence following an incident in Hakin,
Pembrokeshire.
This is South Wales,
5 July 2010
A family have been thrown off
a campsite in Port Eynon, Swansea, after police investigating a
possible air rifle incident found a
camper with weapons. A resident living close to the site discovered
a window had been broken by what they believed to have been a pellet.
South Wales Echo,
3 July 2010
A firefighter was shot in the
face with an air rifle as a crew was
driving through Abercwmboi, Mid Glamorgan. The pellet
narrowly missed his eye.
INCIDENTS INVOLVING ANIMALS
Express & Star, 30 July 2010
A pet cat has been shot with
an airgun in an attack in Ashmore Park, Wolverhampton. Her
owner discovered a small hole in her chest and found a pellet from a
.177 airgun in the cat's bed. The
pellet may have been lodged in her chest for up to 10 days before it fell
out causing an infection.
Evening Courier, 30 July 2010
A heavily pregnant cat was
shot in the leg with what is believed to have been an
air rifle in an attack in Sowerby
Bridge, West Yorkshire. Fortunately the mother and her litter
survived and five kittens have been born. The cat is unable to use
one of her legs and it may have to be amputated.
BBC, 30 July 2010
Two cats have been shot with
an air weapon in Findochty,
Banffshire. Both needed treatment from a vet.
Shields Gazette,
26 July 2010
Several dead rabbits, some of
which have been shot, have been found in recent weeks at a local nature
reserve in South Shields, Tyneside. There have also been
reports of men with dogs and guns entering the site, usually at night or
very early morning. The local authority does not permit any kind of
hunting activity on its land.
Campaign,
26 July 2010
A cat was wounded when he was
shot with a pellet gun in Trethomas,
Mid Glamorgan. The pellet went through his body but he survived.
Another of the owner's cats had previously been shot.
BBC,
23 July 2010
A horse was shot at in a field
in Newsham, Northumberland, but did not appear to have suffered any
injuries. Two youths, both aged 17, have been charged with
possessing an air weapon and one with
possession of cannabis. Two air weapons were seized at the scene.
The Press,
22 July 2010
A seal was put down after
being found with multiple gunshot wounds in the River Ouse near York.
It had suffered injuries to its head, neck and upper chest.
BBC,
22 July 2010
A horse has been shot in the
head with an air weapon in County
Durham. He was found badly injured in a field between Shincliffe
and Bowburn. It is not yet known if he will survive.
This is Nottingham,
21 July 2010
A family cat has been left
paralysed with life threatening injuries after being shot with an
air rifle in Cropwell Bishop,
Nottingham. It was initially though he had been hit by a car but a
pellet was found in his spine.
Coventry Telegraph,
21 July 2010
A cat has died after being
shot with an air rifle in Keresley,
Coventry. It is believed she was shot at close range and left in
agony. She had been shot through the leg and a pellet had become
lodged in her spine, paralysing her. The pellet was impossible to
remove.
BBC,
17 July 2010
A cat has died after being
shot in the eye with an air rifle or
catapult in the latest in a spate of attacks in Surrey. The animal
was found by its owners in Virginia Water. The injuries were
so severe it could not be saved. Earlier this month a cat was
blinded in one eye after being shot with an air rifle in Englefield
Green and another cat was found in Addlestone with a pellet
wound to its neck.
Shropshire Star,
16 July 2010
A kestrel found in
Uffington, Shropshire, with a leg injury that led to its death was
illegally shot. It appeared to have been shot with a
.22 airgun.
This is Sussex,
15 July 2010
A family from Felbridge,
West Sussex, face as vets bill of £1200 after their pet car was shot with
what is thought to be an air rifle
pellet. The cat was found a week after she had gone missing and has
had a series of supportive joints inserted to help repair the damage done
to her.
Rhyl Journal,
14 July 2010
A pet cat has been shot with a
pellet gun in Kinmel Bay,
Clwyd. Vets pulled a pellet out of his scalp.
Crawley Observer,
14 July 2010
A cat from Pound Hill,
West Sussex, who was suffering from cancer has been shot. An
airgun pellet lodged in his chest.
Vets and his owner took the decision not to bring him round from a biopsy.
News Shopper,
12 July 2010
A kitten was attacked with an
airgun in Kidbrooke, south east
London. He slumped down at the feet of his owner who rushed him to a
pet hospital. He is still limping.
Todmorden News,
10 July 2010
A cat has been shot four times
with an airgun in Todmorden,
West Yorkshire, and has three pellets lodged in its body. The
shootings have taken place over the last six months.
Morpeth Herald,
9 July 2010
It is feared that song birds
in Morpeth, Northumberland, are being picked off with an
airgun. Several dead birds have
been found beside the River Wansbeck in recent weeks, along with a box of
airgun pellets.
