AUGUST 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
West Sussex Gazette,
31 August 2009
A robber made threats until he
was given cash at a takeaway restaurant in Bracklesham, West
Sussex. It is believed a weapon, which may have been a handgun, was
produced. Money was handed over to the robber who ran off.
Sky News,
31 August 2009 *
One man has been killed and
another is in a stable condition after a shooting close to a popular
nightclub in Southwark, south London. Later reports indicate
that the dead man was deliberately run down by a car. Three men with
the victim pulled out guns and fired at the car. One man, who is
believed to have been in the car, was shot (Evening Standard, 1
September 2009). One man, who was shot in the incident, has denied
murder and another man who is alleged to have pulled out a gun and fired
several rounds denies attempted murder (Independent, 15 July 2010).
Northern Echo,
31 August 2009 *
A man was shot in the leg at a
house in Darras Hall, Northumberland. He was shot with a
double-barrelled shotgun. Two men have been
charged with conspiracy to wound and commit grievous bodily harm (Evening
Chronicle, 19 September 2009).
Daily Mirror,
31 August 2009
Six people were injured, three
with gunshot wounds, after a man opened fire in a nightclub in Muswell
Hill, north London. The shooting victims were all described as
stable.
BBC,
31 August 2009
A man has been shot in the leg
on Merseyside but is refusing to tell police what happened. It is
believed that the shooting took place in the Bootle area. The
victim is being treated in hospital for his injuries which are not
believed to be life-threatening.
BBC,
31 August 2009 *
Shots were fired during a
"confrontation" in Stanley, County Durham. One man, who was
being treated in hospital, is being questioned on suspicion of attempted
murder, and a second man has been charged with dangerous driving. A
shotgun has been recovered. A
man who owned the shotgun legally has been jailed for seven years after
admitting various firearms offences (see
February 2009 Incidents).
The Star,
29 August 2009
A gun was discovered in a
garden in Hillsborough, Sheffield, by police chasing a man
believing he may have been involved in burglaries.
Daily Echo,
29 August 2009
Richard Angel pointed an
imitation pistol at a security guard
during a robbery in Bournemouth, Dorset, in July 2009 (see
Incidents). He
has admitted robbery and having an imitation firearm and been jailed for
six years.
Bristol Evening Post,
29 August 2009
A man carrying a gun stole
cash from a bakery in Kingswood, Bristol. Throughout the
robbery he apologised for what he was doing.
BBC,
29 August 2009 *
A man has been found shot dead
at the wheel of his crashed car in Shirecliffe, Sheffield. A
murder inquiry has been launched. Three brothers have been charged
with conspiracy to murder (The Star, 2 September 2009). They
and three other men are on trial (The Star, 28 April 2010).
Whitby Gazette,
28 August 2009
A man has appeared in court
charged with possessing a loaded gun in a pub in Whitby, North
Yorkshire. He was allegedly found carrying a revolver together with
five live bullets.
Telegraph & Argus,
28 August 2009
Mohammed Shafiq gave himself
up eight years after using a blank-firing
revolver to threaten staff during two robberies in West
Yorkshire, at a bank in Bradford and a post office in Manningham.
He had pleaded guilty to two attempted robberies in 2001 but failed to
attend at court to be sentenced. He has now been jailed for nearly
seven years.
Shoreham Herald,
28 August 2009
A man held a gun to a
shopworker's head during a raid on a store in Haywards Heath, West
Sussex. £249 was stolen.
Romford Recorder,
28 August 2009
A barmaid was held at gunpoint
by a man who demanded she hand over cash from a pub in Upminster,
east London.
MK News,
28 August 2009
Two members of staff at a
supermarket in Milton Keynes were attacked by two men, one of whom
had a gun. They were tied up but managed to free themselves after
the offenders left empty handed.
Hackney Gazette,
28 August 2009
A woman was robbed and hit
with a gun during an attack outside her flat in Dalston, east
London.
Get Surrey,
28 August 2009
A drunk teenager fired a
sawn-off shotgun at a moving car after a
drugs deal went wrong in Woking, Surrey. Patrick Ryan, 18,
admitted charges of possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear and
possession of a firearm. He has been sent to a young offenders'
institute for five years.
Echo,
28 August 2009
Six men who were arrested on
suspicion of carrying a gun at an industrial estate in Southend,
Essex, were released without charge.
Echo,
28 August 2009
A couple were moved by police
after three men brandishing a gun kicked in the door of a flat in
Westcliff, Essex. They threatened a woman with a black handgun
and a baseball bat.
Bristol Evening Post,
28 August 2009
A teenage student who had been
expelled from a college in Bristol returned and pointed a
BB gun at a security guard in February
2009. Samia Shakoor, 18, pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm with
intent to cause fear of violence. She was jailed for six months.
BBC,
28 August 2009
A man on a moped fired
gunshots at a man in a street in Luton, Bedfordshire. No-one
was injured in the incident.
BBC,
28 August 2009
Gary Griffiths, a former
police officer, has been jailed for 42 months for robbing a betting shop
in Ilford, east London, in September 2008 (see
Incidents). He pleaded guilty to
two counts of robbery and possessing a firearm. Bradley Donovan also
pleaded guilty to one charge of robbery in relation to this case.
BBC,
28 August 2009
A teenager was shot shortly
after he had been abducted in Huyton, Merseyside, by a group of five men. The wounded man
was found by a passer-by in Stockbridge Village. He was taken
to hospital with a gunshot wound to his right leg. A man has been
arrested on suspicion of abduction and wounding (BBC, 29 August
2009).
Banbury Guardian,
28 August 2009
A man wearing a burkha pointed
a gun at staff in a jewellers in Banbury, Oxfordshire, during a
robbery in which watches worth £270,000 were stolen. CCTV footage
has bee released by the police.
This is Total Essex,
27 August 2009
A man armed with a
shotgun has stolen a cash box during an
armed robbery at a store in Wickford, Essex. The box,
believed to contain a five-figured sum was stolen from a security guard.
Southern Daily Echo,
27 August 2009 *
A teenage woman is alleged to
have threatened shop workers in Thornhill, Southampton, with a
handgun before stealing alcohol. She faces charges of robbery,
possession of a firearm, criminal damage, breach of an anti-social
behaviour order and two attempted robberies. She was armed with an
air pistol and has been jailed for
five years (see December 2009
Incidents).
Northern Echo,
27 August 2009
A teenage rat catcher has had
to forfeit two guns after he admitted charges of possession of an unloaded
air rifle and an unloaded
air pistol. Stephen Thompson was
spotted by police among a crowd in an alleyway in Darlington
smelling of alcohol. He was told by the judge that "People are
frightened of guns. To those of us not skilled in guns, from a
distance an air rifle with a telescopic lens is frightening".
Thompson was given a 12-month conditional discharge.
Local Guardian,
27 August 2009
A pregnant woman was
threatened with a gun during a raid on a tanning salon in Morden,
south London. The robber took £37. The victim was taken to
hospital suffering from shock.
Lancaster Evening Post,
27 August 2009
A man convicted for the rape
of a teenage girl had also robbed a taxi driver in Clayton Brook,
Lancashire, at gunpoint in July 2008 (see
Incidents). Jack Connolly pulled the
trigger on an empty gun in the man's face. He pleaded guilty to
rape, possession of a firearm, robbery and having a firearm and ammunition
in a public place and was given an indefinite sentence with a minimum
tariff of four years.
Hastings and St
Leonards Observer,
27 August 2009
Josee Hylton-Reid has been
found guilty of attempted murder. He shot at four men with a Mac-10
sub-machine pistol as they sat in a parked car in Brixton, south
London, in October 2008. He has been jailed for life.
BBC,
27 August 2009 *
A man has been arrested after
an M3 sub-machine gun and a sawn-off shotgun
were discovered under a bed during a police raid at a flat in
Burmantofts, Leeds. He has pleaded guilty to possession of both
weapons (see February 2010
Incidents).
BBC,
27 August 2009
A man entered a bureau de
change in Brighton, Sussex, showed a member of staff a gun and
asked for money. He left with cash. Similar robberies have
occurred at two newsagents in the same area in the last two weeks.
Winsford Guardian,
26 August 2009 *
Seven men have been arrested
after a gun was fired during a fight in Winsford, Cheshire.
Nobody was harmed in the incident. Six men have appeared in court in
connection with the incident and formally charged with possession of an
imitation firearm with intent to cause
two men to believe that violence would be used against them (Winsford
Guardian, 20 January 2010).
Wandsworth Guardian,
26 August 2009 *
A man was
bundled into his own car at gunpoint in Mitcham, south London. He
was driven towards Wimbledon but managed to escape and was chased and
caught by the two assailants. He was injured before he managed to break
free and call the police.
This is Crawley,
26 August 2009
Dog walkers at a beauty spot
in Ifield, Sussex, are being disturbed by gunfire and men wielding
rifles. Empty gun cartridges have been found lying around. A
spokesperson for a local landowner said that whilst control of pests and
vermin was allowed by the farmer it did not allow any unauthorised
shooting of pests or game.
Sunderland Echo,
26 August 2009
A high-powered
air pistol was recovered by police after
a pursuit through Sunderland. The weapon was found on
derelict land. The find followed an alleged break-in. A man
has appeared in court charged with possession of a firearm with intent to
cause fear of violence.
The Star,
26 August 2009
Thomas Wright handed himself
into the police and confessed to holding up a shop assistant in
Doncaster, South Yorkshire, with a fake gun.
He stole £200 in cash. He was jailed for four years for the robbery
and a further year for possessing an imitation firearm. The Recorder
said that "The very fact that you had access to an imitation gun is an
aggravating feature".
Shields Gazette,
26 August 2009
A man has been given a police
caution for being in possession of a firearm in a public place after being
spotted with an air rifle in
Whitburn, Sunderland. Hours later another man was arrested after
being spotted at a quarry with an air weapon.
Milton Keynes Citizen,
26 August 2009
A young woman has been shot by
an airgun sniper in Woburn Sands,
Bedfordshire. The pellet penetrated the victim's neck next to the
carotid artery and lodged itself just short of her spinal cord. Its
position is so risky that doctors dare not remove it.
Haringey Independent,
26 August 2009
Gunshots were fired in
Tottenham, north London. A man was taken to hospital with a
wound to his thigh.
Fenland Citizen,
26 August 2009
Two youths sparked an armed
response in Benwick, Cambridgeshire, after it was thought they had
guns in their pockets. A member of the public called police after
noticing they had firearms sticking out of their pockets. The
weapons were BB guns. The guns
were seized and the boys cautioned.
Express & Star,
26 August 2009
Daniel Thompson, 19, kept a
Colt automatic pistol locked in a safe at his Wolverhampton home.
Police also discovered drugs and paraphernalia. The court heard that
the pistol had been a present from his father four years ago. He has
been found guilty of possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply and
possession of a prohibited weapon and having ammunition without a licence.
He has been sent to a young offenders institution for five-and-a-half
years.
This is Wiltshire,
25 August 2009
Two teenagers have been
arrested in Calne, Wiltshire, on suspicion of firing a
BB gun at two men. The youths
were interviews and released on bail.
Shields Gazette,
25 August 2009
Craig Richardson, a former
soldier from Jarrow, Tyneside, attempted to buy a .50 calibre
Wolverine 209 Muzzleloader rifle over the internet from America but the
weapon was intercepted by British Customs. He claimed he believed it
was an airgun. He has been given a suspended 36-week jail sentence
after pleading guilty to purchasing a firearm without a licence and
producing cannabis for his own consumption.
The Press,
25 August 2009
David Eden has pleaded guilty
to robbery and possessing an imitation firearm
with intent to commit robbery after he held up a jewellers' in York
in March 2009. Two other men alleged to have acted as look-outs were
formally acquitted. Eden also pleaded guilty to a house burglary and
an attempted theft at a store. He has been jailed for eight years (The
Press, 29 August 2009).
Kent News,
25 August 2009
Akili McLean has been
sentenced to 12 years in jail for possession of a firearm with intent to
endanger life and possession of ammunition. A revolver containing
four bullets was found hidden under a parked car in Erith, Kent,
after McLean had been seen to duck down behind it.
Guardian (Epping
Forest, Waltham Forest, Wanstead & Woodford),
25 August 2009
A gang of robbers burst into a
post office in Woodford Green, Essex, and threatened the
postmistress with a gun. One man said he would shoot her but fled
empty handed. In October 2008 the premises were raided by two men
armed with a gun and £200 was stolen.
Guardian,
25 August 2009
A 5-year-old boy has died
after being shot in the head with an air rifle
in the grounds of a house in Fovant, Wiltshire. It is
reported that the owner of the house helped the victim's brothers and his
own two grandsons set up a firing range and that the range had been
supervised at all times. Despite this alleged supervision the boy
got caught in the crossfire (Sky News, 27 August 2009).
Get Surrey,
25 August 2009 *
A man armed with a
double-barrelled shotgun raided a convenience store in Salfords,
Surrey. He demanded money from a shop assistant who was ordered to
put the contents of the till into a rucksack. Four men have been
arrested in connection with this and another recent robbery in
Felbridge (Get Surrey, 1 September 2009).
BBC,
25 August 2009
Three teenagers have
apologised to the police after sparking a police search when they drove
through Kent wielding a toy gun, a
silver plastic PlayStation gun. A woman who alerted police saw them in a
car in Minster pointing what looked like a handgun at
passing traffic. An 18-year-old received a police caution, a
15-year-old was reprimanded and the 17-year-old was released without
charge.
BBC,
25 August 2009
Two men have been arrested
following a drugs raid at a property in Reading, Berkshire, during which
ammunition was discovered. One of the men was arrested during the
raid, the second man was held in Shinfield, Berkshire, for a
firearms offence.
BBC,
25 August 2009 *
Two men armed with a machete
and a long-barrelled gun stole the till drawer from a petrol station in
Felbridge, Surrey. The cashier was threatened before the men
fled the scene. Four men have been arrested in connection with this
and another recent robbery in Salfords (Get Surrey, 1
September 2009).
BBC,
25 August 2009
Several shots were fired at a
property in Broughton, Preston. Minor damage was caused to a
bungalow and a caravan. Five men are being sought by police.
Northampton Chronicle
& Echo,
24 August 2009
Nathan Herbert has been jailed
for three-and-a-half years after he admitted possessing a firearm without
a certificate. A sawn-off double barrelled
shotgun was found hidden in a garden shed in Northampton
by a specialist police sniffer dog. Herbert claimed he had been
given the gun to look after by someone he was not prepared to name.
Liverpool Echo,
24 August 2009
Shots were fired in two
incidents in Merseyside. Police were called to Knowsley
village after being woken up by the sound of gunfire. In a separate
incident a resident in Old Swan reported finding a garage door
damaged after hearing gunshots.
Lancashire Telegraph,
24 August 2009
A man who was boarding up a
window on the back of a property in Burnley, Lancashire, was shot
in the face with an airgun. The
pellet hit him in the face and lodged in his temple. The pellet has
yet to be removed while doctors decide what action to take.
Evening Courier,
24 August 2009
A gun was allegedly pulled
during a street disturbance in Halifax, West Yorkshire.
Police are investigating.
Evening Chronicle,
24 August 2009
Robert Collard, a drug dealer,
was found with a loaded gas powered airgun
and shotgun cartridges at his home in Newcastle in October 2008.
He had already served a prison sentence after he was caught with a haul of
weapons, including a revolver, pistols, a double-barrelled shotgun and
several airguns, in 2002. He admitted firearms offences and intent
to supply amphetamine. He has been given a 12 month sentence.
Echo,
24 August 2009
Tony Tiller fired a
BB gun at another man's eye during a bust
up outside a pub in Basildon, Essex. He was convicted of one
count of assault and one count of possessing an imitation gun in a public
place. The weapon, an imitation M84 gun, was described by the judge
as very realistic. He was jailed for two-and-a-half years. His
accomplice, Sean Flynn, was given a 13 week sentence, suspended for nine
months and ordered to perform 100 hours community service.
BBC,
24 August 2009
Two men who were believed to
be armed with a gun targeted three people sitting in a car outside a club
in Gloucester. It is believed shots were fired. The men
stole mobile phones and jewellery.
BBC,
24 August 2009
Two firearms, a Baikal
semi-automatic pistol and a key fob-style gun capable of firing .22
ammunition were found in a bag on a piece of grassland in Preston,
Lancashire. A 9mm live bullet was also found.
BBC,
23 August 2009
A man was shot in his right
arm in Nether Edge, Sheffield. A taxi driver took the victim
to hospital but his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
Western Morning News,
22 August 2009
Corey Jennings, 19, launched
two brutal attacks on another man, threatened him with an imitation gun
and threatened to blow his brains out. Trouble flared during a party
in Plymouth, Devon, in February 2009. After the first
attack Jennings went back to his home in Efford, Plymouth and
collected a BB gun from his bedroom
and waited for his victim to leave the party when he accosted him again.
He pleaded guilty to assault causing grievous bodily harm, possession of
an imitation firearm and possession of an imitation firearm with intent to
cause fear. He was sent to a young offenders' institution for four
years.
News & Star,
22 August 2009
A 5-year-old girl who was shot
in the head with an air rifle in
Workington, Cumbria, is lucky to be alive according to her mother.
The shot hit her above her ear as she was playing within shouting distance
of the house. She was taken to hospital but was able to return home after
treatment.
St Helens Star,
21 August 2009
William Chorlton has been
given a 12-month community order for carrying an
air weapon in a public place and at a later date failing to
report to the authorities. He had been found with the weapon in
St Helens, Merseyside, in April 2009.
Guardian (Epping
Forest, Waltham Forest, Wanstead & Woodford),
21 August 2009
An
air rifle was fired in a store at a petrol station in
Chingford, north east London. The armed man fled the scene.
No one was injured.
BBC,
21 August 2009
A gang armed with hammers, a
knife and possibly a handgun raided a jewellers in Colchester,
Essex. Three men grabbed watches and other valuable items.
BBC,
21 August 2009
A teenager has been arrested
after a firearm and "substantial" amount of ammunition was found in the
back garden of a house in Old Swan, Liverpool. The weapon was
a loaded shotgun (Liverpool Echo,
24 August 2009).
Lancashire Telegraph,
20 August 2009
Irfan Mahmood was found in
possession of an air pistol at a
quarry in Rossendale, Lancashire. He was also convicted of
handling a stolen motor vehicle and jailed for five years.
BBC,
20 August 2009
Eight men have been arrested
on suspicion of firearms offences. Police stopped two cars in
Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, and a handgun was recovered from one of
the vehicles.
BBC,
20 August 2009
An armed robber escaped on a
motorbike with £88,000 worth of watches from a jewellers in Harrogate,
North Yorkshire. He brandished a silver-coloured handgun during the
robbery. A 14-year-old boy is one of two people who have been
arrested and two of the stolen watches have been recovered (BBC, 24
August 2009).
Whitehaven News,
19 August 2009
Carl Elliott, 18, has pleaded
guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm and admitted having a loaded
firearm in a public place without lawful reason following an incident in
which a man walking with others at North Shore in Whitehaven,
Cumbria was shot in the knee with an airgun
pellet. Sentencing was deferred.
Leicester Mercury,
19 August 2009
A train being driven by a
driver from Shearsby, Leicestershire, had a window shattered by an
air rifle pellet. The dangers posed by trespassing and vandalism on
the railway were being highlighted at a Network Rail roadshow being held
in Wigston.
Express & Echo,
19 August 2009
Stephen Jackley has admitted a
series of armed raids in Devon, Worcestershire and Herefordshire. He
admitted 18 offences, including five robberies, three attempted robberies,
seven offences of possessing a firearm, assault occasioning actual bodily
harm, burglary and attempted burglary. In September 2007 he was
armed with a knife and gun during an attempted robbery at a bank in
Exeter. In December 2007 during an attempted raid on a building
society in the city he pointed a gun at a cashier. He used a
BB gun but then went to the USA where
he was jailed for trying to buy a firearm from a gun store with a fake ID.
He has been jailed for 13 years (BBC, 21 August 2009).
BBC,
19 August 2009 *
Dell Miller has admitted three
charges of robbery at businesses in Brighouse, West Yorkshire.
He also admitted carrying a firearm with intent to commit an offence of
robbery and a charge of handling stolen goods. The robberies were at
a jewellers in April 2008 and pubs in October 2008 by a gang armed with
crowbars, an axe and an imitation firearm. He
was sentenced to a minimum of five years and 44 days in jails (Huddersfield
Daily Examiner, 15 October 2009).
BBC,
19 August 2009
Two men raided a store in
Chellaston, Derby, and threatened a cashier with what was believed to
be a gun. They took cash from the till and also stole cigarettes.
This is Nottingham,
18 August 2009
A 16-year-old boy is
recovering in hospital after he was shot, probably with an
air rifle, in Mansfield Woodhouse,
Nottinghamshire. He was walking with friends when he felt a pain in
his back. A hospital examination showed that an object, suspected to
be a pellet, had lodged close to his kidney. Police are warning
anyone with an air rifle or pellet gun that shooting at someone can have
potentially life threatening consequences.
Loughborough News,
18 August 2009
A man has appeared in court
charged with possessing of a firearm. The weapon was found at a
property in Loughborough, Leicestershire, after ammunition had been
found in a vehicle the police had stopped. Another man has also been
arrested.
Lancaster & Morecambe
Citizen,
18 August 2009
Three men who were hunting
sparked a major operation after a member of the public reported seeing
them with a firearm in fields near Warton, Lancashire. The
men had an air rifle and the
permission of the landowner so no action was taken.
Haverhill Echo,
18 August 2009
Damage was caused to a window
of a home in Haverhill, Suffolk, with a BB
gun.
Coventry Telegraph,
18 August 2009 *
A man has been charged with
robbery and two counts of possession of an
imitation firearm after robberies at a bank (see Rugby
Advertiser, 3 August) and at a newsagents
and post office in Bilton, Warwickshire. He has pleaded
guilty and been sentenced (see
December 2009 Incidents).
Cambridge News,
18 August 2009
Police have seized two replica
guns from teenagers who were playing with then in a public area in
Huntingdonshire. The airsoft guns
looked like an Armalite M15 assault rifle and a long barrelled snipers
rifle. A police spokesman said that the guns were "two of the most
realistic imitations I have ever seen".
BBC,
18 August 2009
A woman was shot in the
shoulder in Barton, Salford. She underwent emergency surgery
but the injury is not believed to be life-threatening. A man has
been charged with attempted murder and five other firearms offences (BBC,
19 August 2009).
Oxford Times,
17 August 2009
A man from Witney,
Oxfordshire, has been arrested and charged with possession of an offensive
weapon, possession of an imitation firearm
in a public place, possession of a knife in a public place and a public
order offence.
Kent Online,
17 August 2009
Two men armed with a knife and
an air weapon burst into a store in
Tonbridge, Kent. One member of staff was punched in the face
before the men escaped with cash and bottles of alcohol.
Get Surrey,
17 August 2009
A cyclist riding in Titsey,
Surrey, was apparently shot at with an air rifle
and struck in the neck. The victim was then passed by a car
containing three men whom he heard laughing.
Ely Standard,
17 August 2009
A man has been charged with
possessing a loaded firearm in Haddenham, Cambridgeshire, in June
2009. He is alleged to have had a
gas-operated handgun and suitable ammunition. He is
further charged with damaging a window. Shane Stevens took a pot
shot at his ex-partner's home and smashed a window as their daughter slept
upstairs. He has admitted possessing a loaded "shotgun" and
ammunition and causing criminal damage. The gun was bought two or
three days before the incident. In mitigation the weapon was
described as "a leisure use pistol, the sort that can be bought
legitimately from sports stores" (Ely Standard, 26 August 2009).
Cambridge News,
17 August 2009
A roofer was struck in the
head by a pellet fired at him as he was stripping the roof of a house in
Cambridge. He says he was lucky he did not lose his balance
and fall. The pellet was removed in hospital under local
anaesthetic. It is believe that shot was fired from a
BB gun or similar weapon.
BBC,
17 August 2009 *
A man was in a
life-threatening condition after he was shot in the head in a street in
Rotherhithe, south east London. He later died of his injuries (BBC,
18 August 2009). The victim was chased and beaten before he was
forced to kneel and shot in the head. Police have said that the
victim was an "innocent man" wrongly targeted in a gang feud (BBC,
28 September 2009).
BBC,
17 August 2009
Three men held a gun to the
head of a 14-year-old boy as they raided a pub in Withington,
Manchester. They fled with a large quantity of cash after assaulting
the teenager and a man.
North-West Evening
Mail,
15 August 2009 *
Four people were arrested
after police were called to a street in Barrow, Cumbria, after
reports of a fracas. An air weapon was seized during the incident
and two women were taken to hospital with minor head injuries. The
two women and two men were arrested, one of the men for possession
of a firearm, namely an air rifle.
A man has pleaded guilty to one offence of possessing a firearm when
prohibited from doing so and also having a firearm with intent to cause
fear of violence (see January
2010 Incidents).
Manchester Evening
News,
15 August 2009
A man has been charged with
two counts of robbery after staff at a bar in Didsbury, Greater
Manchester, were forced to the floor by three men with a gun in July 2009.
The gang stole mobile phones and personal belongings.
Evening Courier,
15 August 2009
A teenager was punched and
pistol-whipped with the butt of an airgun during an attack on Beacon
Hill, Halifax, West Yorkshire. He had been approached by a gang
of five teenagers, one of whom was holding what is believed to have been
an air rifle. When he tried to
calm the situation he was hit with the butt end of the weapon.
Dorset Echo,
15 August 2009
Shane Townsend and Keith
Longhurst have been jailed after robbing a couple in their home in
Weymouth, Dorset, in December 2008. They forced their way into
the house armed with an imitation handgun
and a knife. Longhurst stabbed the woman as she tried to escape.
He was jailed for seven years and Townsend, who was found guilty of
possessing an imitation firearm was given a six year sentence.
BBC,
15 August 2009
A man was shot by men who
forced their way into his home in Huyton, Merseyside. The
victim was hit once in the leg with a handgun and was taken to hospital.
The injury is not believed to be life-threatening.
BBC,
15 August 2009
Two security guards locked
themselves into a room behind a cash machine when they were attacked by
two masked men, armed with a gun, at a service station in Dargate,
Kent. The raiders fled empty handed.
Teletext,
14 August 2009
A bus driver has been shot
with a bolt gun as he drove his vehicle in Henbury, Bristol.
The Sentinel,
14 August 2009
Alan Busby has been jailed for
four years and ordered to serve an extended period of four years on
licence after carrying out a robbery at a shop in Blurton,
Staffordshire, in June 2009. He pointed a
BB gun at a shop worker. He pleaded guilty to robbery and
possessing of an imitation firearm.
St Albans & Harpenden
Review,
14 August 2009
Daniel O'Diffley has been
jailed for six-and-a-half years after threatening four victims with a
gas-powered pellet gun as they sat in
their cars in London Colney, Hertfordshire, in December 2008.
He admitted robbery, breach of bail, assault causing actual bodily harm
and possessing a firearm for this incident and another in which a woman
was assaulted.
Rochdale Observer,
14 August 2009
Barry Fitzsimmons, a former
British soldier accused of murdering two colleagues in Iraq, had pulled a
gun on children while at his home in Rochdale, Lancashire. In
April 2009 he was convicted of a public order offence after he pulled a
flare gun and fired it in the air. Also, in November 2008, he had
been given a suspended sentence for firearms offences after being found in
possession of prohibited ammunition, believed to be 5.5mm tapered NATO
issue bullets.
Independent,
14 August 2009
Two men have been arrested
over the theft of 12 handguns from a Ministry of Defence property in
Wiltshire. Eleven of the weapons were recovered from a house in
High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. One man was arrested on
suspicion of theft and the other was arrested for handling a firearm.
The MoD has confirmed that one of the arrested men is a serving soldier (Telegraph,
15 August 2009).
Huddersfield Daily
Examiner,
14 August 2009
An
airgun was used to cause three holes in the outer pane of a
front window in Dalton, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.
Get Reading,
14 August 2009
A jailed man is on trial
accused of arranging for a group of men to hold a gun to the head of his
then girlfriend when they visited her home in Reading, Berkshire.
He and four other men all deny one count of conspiring to possess a
firearm to cause fear of violence. All five men have been acquitted
(Get Reading, 21 August 2009).
Fleetwood Weekly News,
14 August 2009
Three men, including one
teenager, have been arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm with
intent to cause fear of violence after police were called to the Werneth
area of Oldham, Greater Manchester. Men in a car were
reportedly threatening people with a gun.
BBC,
14 August 2009
Two men burst into a home in
Beccles, Suffolk, and attacked a teenage boy and a man and
threatened a teenager woman. The men who were armed with handguns
and a stun-type device forced the man to hand over cash.
This is Lincolnshire,
13 August 2009
A 13-year-old was left shaken
after older boys fired at him with a BB gun
in a village in Lincolnshire. One pellet hit his back tyre,
another narrowly missed him.
Spenborough Guardian,
13 August 2009
A man was shot in the leg with
an air rifle and beaten unconscious as
he walked home with his wife at Liversedge, West Yorkshire.
After he was shot he shouted to see if anyone was in nearby undergrowth
and two youths ran out and beat him over the head with what he believes
was the butt of the gun.
Rochdale Observer,
13 August 2009
A gunman fired shots through a
bedroom window in Milnrow, Lancashire, just two feet away from a
baby lying in his cot. Police later recovered six 9mm cartridges
from a handgun. They also removed 50 cannabis plants found in the
cellar of the house.
Herald (Plymouth),
13 August 2009 *
Mark Gazey has been sentenced
to a total of seven-and-a-half years in prison for three offences,
including his part in a burglary in Efford, Plymouth, in January
2009 in which a family were held captive and a
stun gun was held to a baby's back. He was one of four
accomplices alleged to have been involved and the gang was armed with two
stun guns and a knife. Three other men will stand trial for
aggravated burglary later this year. Connar Symons, 18, was sent to
a young offenders' institution for three years less the time he spent on
remand, Stephen Sefton was jailed for five years less 200 days spent on
remand or tagged and James Bound for five years less 197 days on remand or
tagged (Herald (Plymouth), 23 January 2010).
Haringey Independent,
12 August 2009
A man has been charged with
conducting a menacing campaign of car and motorcycle thefts in north
London. He is accused of robbery and gun charges. It is
alleged that in December 2008 he used a replica
firearm to threaten a man in Hackney as he robbed him
and a similar incident took place in Barnet in March 2009. He
is also accused of stealing three cars.
Echo,
12 August 2009 *
Richard Gladwin of Southend,
Essex, has admitted dragging a schoolgirl into bushes and groping her
during an attack in March 2009. He admitted one count of false
imprisonment, one count of sexual assault and one count of possessing an
imitation firearm. He has been
jailed for five years (Southend Standard, 14 November 2009).
Birkenhead News,
12 August 2009
Mfingo Ntaka, 18, from
Birkenhead, Merseyside, has been sent to a Young Offenders' Institute
for three years after he revealed a gas-powered
pistol when threatening a woman and demanding cash in April
2009. He had targeted her in the mistaken belief that a man who owed
him money lived at her home. He pleaded guilty to criminal damage
and possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
This is Crawley,
11 August 2009
Karim Bahaji, 17, has been
jailed for threatening a policeman with an
imitation Walther PPK. The incident occurred in
Bewbush, West Sussex, in January 2009. He was convicted of
possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and has been
given a 12-month detention and training order, with the first six months
to be spent in a young offenders unit.
Southern Daily Echo,
11 August 2009
Two men pointed a pistol at a
shop worker during a robbery at a store in Portswood, Hampshire.
Police believe the two were part of a gang of four who also tried to rob
bookmakers in Lyndhurst and Hedge End where they threatened
staff before leaving empty-handed. A 19-year-old has appeared in
court charged with one count of robbery and one of attempted robbery.
Shropshire Star,
11 August 2009 *
Terence Ecclestone has
admitted robbing a petrol station in Newport, Shropshire, in March
2009 (see Incidents).
He was armed with an imitation firearm, a black
cap gun, when he stole £140. He admitted robbery and
possession of an imitation firearm. He has been jailed for three
years (Shropshire Star, 8 September 2009).
Manchester Evening
News,
11 August 2009
A man was ambushed as he and
his girlfriend were getting out of his car in Denton, Greater
Manchester. An attacker fired a stun gun
at him, took his car keys as he fell to the ground in pain and then stole
the car.
Lancashire Telegraph,
11 August 2009 *
Andrew Tomlinson has been
found guilty of attempted robbery and possessing an
imitation firearm. He attempted to
rob an off licence in Leyland, Lancashire, in August 2008 (see
Incidents).
The shop assistant refused to hand over money and Tomlinson left empty
handed. He also attacked his partner with a claw hammer while he was
on bail pending the trial and has now been jailed for a total of 12 years
for robbery, possession of a firearm and assault occasioning grievous
bodily harm (Leyland Guardian, 4 November 2009).
Echo,
11 August 2009
In June 2008 David Aitken was
caught with two air rifles and cannabis at his home in Vange,
Essex. He was subsequently banned from owning an airgun for five
years. However, in March 2009 he was spotted by a neighbour with an
air rifle and the police found
cannabis plants, an airgun and cartridges. He admitted two drug
offences, three counts of possessing an air weapon when prohibited from
doing so and one count of possessing ammunition for an air weapon while
prohibited from doing so. He has been jailed for two years.
Dorset Echo,
11 August 2009
An 18-year-old was walking
with a friend along a trail in Weymouth, Dorset, when he was shot
in the leg with an airgun. It is
believed that more shots may have been fired as he fled. He was
taken to hospital. There appeared to be a pellet under his skin.
Chad (Mansfield),
11 August 2009 *
A young woman was left
bleeding when she was shot with an air rifle
as she waited for her boyfriend near a taxi rank in Mansfield,
Nottinghamshire. She has been left with a broken arm and suspected
nerve damage. A 16-year-old has admitted the shooting and been given
a community order and will be electronically tagged. His parents
have been ordered to pay £1000 in compensation to the victim (see
December 2009 Incidents).
Tamworth Herald,
10 August 2009
Police are trying to trace a
woman who, in June 2009, called to report that she had been shot by an
air rifle while walking through a park
in Tamworth, Staffordshire. She said she had been shot in the
arm.
Guardian (Epping
Forest, Waltham Forest, Wanstead & Woodford),
10 August 2009
Two men who fired an
air rifle in a park in South Woodford,
north east London, had their weapon seized. Children were playing in
the area.
Derby Evening
Telegraph,
10 August 2009
A
replica handgun was used by a gang of youths to threaten a
pizza delivery driver in Mickleover, Derby. The three
offenders were aged around 17.
BBC,
10 August 2009
A man stole £6500 from a fast
food shop in Witney, Oxfordshire. He entered the living
quarters above the shop and threatened a man with a gun.
BBC,
10 August 2009
An 18-year-old man has been
charged with two counts of attempted murder after shots were fired at a
car in Moss Side, Manchester. The occupants of the vehicle
escaped unhurt.
BBC,
10 August 2009
Two men were discovered with
gunshot wounds in a street in Erdington, Birmingham. One
victim had been shot in the back, the other in the lower leg. Their
conditions were described as stable and not life threatening. A man
has been arrested (BBC, 11 August 2009).
Western Gazette,
8 August 2009
Two sex offenders who admitted
a sexual assault on a teenage boy have been attacked by vigilantes in
Crewkerne, Somerset. They have been subjected to stone throwing
and vandalism and their double glazing has been broken with what appeared
to be an airgun pellet.
Northern Echo,
8 August 2009
Andrew Hall terrified shop
staff and pedestrians when he committed two armed robberies in
Darlington in January 2009 (see
Incidents). On both occasions he
used an imitation firearm, with the
appearance of a handgun, to threaten his victims. He has been jailed
for nine years after pleading guilty to the two offences and other
separate offences of false imprisonment and affray.
Northampton Chronicle
& Echo,
8 August 2009
Robert Griffiths, 18, hid two
airguns, an
imitation firearm and a knife in some bushes before setting up
camp in a park in Northampton. He was inspired by television
extreme survival shows. He had found the weapons in his parents'
loft. He admitted two charges of possessing an airgun in a public
place and one of possessing and imitation firearm, as well as one of
possessing a knife. He has been warned he was facing a possible
custodial sentence.
Express & Star,
8 August 2009
Darrin Fraser took potshots at
children with an airgun while being
encouraged by his wife, Angela Fraser. He used pellets made from
paper, tin foil or cat litter. His targets were youngsters he felt
were behaving badly in Tipton, West Midlands. Both of them
admitted five counts of child cruelty and five of assault causing actual
bodily harm. Darrin Fraser was jailed for three-and-half-years his
wife for two years.
Derby Evening Telegraph,
8 August 2009
Three teenagers, Che McLeod,
Lewis Saccone and Troi Brown, have been jailed for kidnapping a youth,
putting an imitation firearm in his
mouth and telling him he was going to die. The 17-year-old victim
thought the gun was real. The incident took place in Sinfin,
Derby, in March 2009. All three admitted kidnap and possessing a
handgun with intent to endanger life. McLeod was sentenced to
three-and-a-half years, the other two offenders to three years each.
BBC,
8 August 2009
Staff at a bank in Coventry
were threatened with a gun by three men who demanded money. The gang
escaped with a large quantity of cash. No shots were fired.
Wiltshire Times &
Chippenham News,
7 August 2009
A farmer from Southwick,
Wiltshire, appears to have taken his own life. Police were called to
an incident in which a man had died from an apparent self-inflicted
gunshot wound.
Sheffield Telegraph,
7 August 2009
Shamraze Bashir has been
jailed for 16 years after being found with
sawn-off shotguns and more than half an million pounds stashed
in carrier bags. Police were tipped off after sawing was heard
coming from his garage in Norwood, Sheffield. Bashir admitted
money-laundering, being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs,
possessing a firearm without a licence and shortening a shotgun.
Daily Mail, 7
August 2009 *
A sales assistant at a store
in Mayfair, central London, was grabbed by two smartly dressed men
who produced a handgun. They grabbed gems and fled with the woman,
firing into the floor. She was dumped unharmed in the street.
Another shot was fired at customers from a nearby pub who gave chase.
Items valued at £40m were stolen. One man has been arrested (BBC,
12 August 2009) and a loaded firearm has been recovered (Times, 13
August 2009). Nine men will go on trial. All are charged with
conspiracy to rob and two of them, one of whom has also been charged with
kidnap, are charged with possessing a handgun and a
sawn-off shotgun (Press Association, 19 April 2010).
One man has been convicted (see
June 2010 Incidents).
Cumberland News,
7 August 2009
A 14-year-old and an older man
have appeared in court charged with trespassing on land with a firearm and
firing a .22 calibre Norica air rifle
beyond the boundaries of the premises. The man also pleaded not
guilty to assaulting two men. The offences are all alleged to have
been committed on farmland in Aspatria, Cumbria.
Cumberland News,
7 August 2009
Children as young as six
playing on wasteland in Houghton, Cumbria, have been threatened by
youths with air rifles. This
follows the shooting of a cat in the area (see below).
BBC,
7 August 2009
Four gang members have been
jailed for life for the murder of a teenager who was shot in Burngreave,
Sheffield, in July 2008 (see
Incidents), whilst he was carrying a handgun. Michael
Chattoo, Nigel Ramsey, Denzil Ramsey and Levan Menzies, 17, were found
guilty and will serve at least 30 years, 35 years, 25 years and 20 years,
respectively. Chattoo, Nigel Ramsey and another man were also found
guilty of the attempted murder of the victim a few days before he was
killed.
BBC,
7 August 2009
A man was shot in the head
during a robbery in Finsbury Park, north London. Two men with
handguns assaulted him, stole three mobile phones and his car keys and
then shot him. He is said to be out of danger after surgery to
remove a bullet.
Telegraph & Argus,
6 August 2009
Four men have been jailed for
their roles in the torture, abduction and murder of a man from Bradford.
Anthony Davies recruited Decosta Daniel, Errol Witter and Robert Cameron,
who were armed with an imitation gun
and a wrench when they broke into the victim's house in August 2007 and
attacked him. They had been jailed for life in August 2008 for
murder and conspiracy to rob. Davies and his subordinate Darren
Martin, Johnny Daniels and Anthony Neale were jailed for a minimum of 35
years, a minimum of 24 years, 13 years and 12 years, respectively.
Lancashire Evening
Post, 6 August 2009
Kyle Bruney has been jailed
for five years after a gun stashed in his bedroom in Fulwood,
Preston, by his half-brother was found by police. The ME38 Compact
Revolver was originally manufactured to fire blanks and gas but had been
modified to fire .38 rifle ammunition. He admitted possession of a
prohibited weapon. His cousin, Karl Bruney, from Ribbleton,
whom police were investigating when they found the gun, was sentenced to 26
months in a young offenders institution after admitting riding a stolen
motorbike unlawfully and threatening a rival with a replica gun, a
BB gun, in December 2008.
This is Nottingham,
5 August 2009
Steven Church, 18, and Dylan
King, 17, drove around Nottingham in a stolen car in March 2009 and
carried out a series of attacks. They were armed with an
imitation gun. They used it to
threaten a man walking in the street and to rob a milkman in Arnold,
and in Netherfield they forced a man out of his car and put the
barrel of the gun into his mouth before stealing cash and his wallet.
Church was locked up for seven and a half years and King was given nine
years in a young offenders' institution. King had also been involved
in a robbery in Sneinton when a group of three threatened a man
with a ball bearing gun.
Northern Echo,
5 August 2009
A teenager was shot in the
head with an air rifle as she walked
with her friend in the Skerne Park area of Darlington, County
Durham. She was hit in the forehead and the pellet narrowly missing
her eye socket.
The Journal,
5 August 2009
Raido Raaga has been jailed
for 11 years after he admitted robbery and possession of
imitation firearm. He terrorised
staff at a jewellers in Newcastle in August 2008 but was caught
when he attempted a similar raid in Windsor, Berkshire.
Valdeko Kallaste was given a seven-year jail sentence for his part in the
raids.
Hemel Today,
5 August 2009
Christopher Mace, 18, was
drunk when he armed himself with an imitation handgun and went on a
rampage through the station at Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire.
He pointed the weapon at his girlfriend, himself, three men in a car and a
taxi driver. He also damaged four rental vehicles by smashing
windows. He pleaded guilty to possessing an imitation firearm with
intent to cause fear of violence, criminal damage and assault on police.
The weapon was a gas-powered airgun.
BBC,
5 August 2009 *
Two police officers have been
injured in a shooting incident after they were called to a bar and
restaurant near Waterloo station, central London. They were
fired upon when a man they approached fled from the scene.
They had approached a suspect to speak to him about an allegation that two
weeks earlier he had threatened a woman at gunpoint and demanded money.
Callum Hall has admitted two charges of having a gun and ammunition but
has denied attempted murder and other firearms charges. He and
another man also face charges in relation to the earlier incident.
Three others also face charges (BBC, 27 July 2010).
BBC,
5 August 2009 *
A man has been charged with
firearm and ammunition possession and trying to sell a firearm after a
loaded firearm, manufactured to look like a pen, was recovered in
Rusholme, Greater Manchester. A man was been jailed for five
years (see November 2009
Incidents).
Wiltshire Times &
Chippenham News,
4 August 2009
Max Weston from Melksham,
Wiltshire, has admitted actual bodily harm and possessing a firearm at the
time of committing an offence. He had an
imitation firearm as he committed an attempted robbery.
He also admitted being in possession of a knife.
Telegraph,
4 August 2009
In recent months GCN has been
highlighting the use of shotguns in
incidents as it appeared that their use in criminal activity was
increasing. The Metropolitan Police has now recorded a 57 percent
rise in the use of shotguns in the past year. Shotguns, often stolen
from middle class homes, are being used as police successfully take
hundreds of submachine and handguns off the streets. A total of 45
shotguns have been recovered by police in London since January,
many of which were taken from areas such as Kensington and
Chelsea.
Telegraph,
4 August 2009
Colt Welch hit a patrol car
with shotgun pellets after police
tried to stop the vehicle he was travelling in in Stroud Green, north
London, in November 2008 (see
Incidents). The shots were fired in Highgate,
after the vehicle had sped off. Welch eventually ran off and was
discovered still clutching the loaded shotgun and a black holdall.
The weapon had been stolen in a burglary from a licensed holder in Surrey.
Welch admitted having a firearm with intent to resist arrest, possessing a
firearm with intent to cause fear or violence, possessing a firearm when
prohibited and possessing a shortened shotgun. He was given an
indeterminate period of imprisonment with a minimum term of five years.
News & Star,
4 August 2009
Staff at a supermarket in
Workington, Cumbria, were shot at as they unloaded a delivery.
It is believed they were targeted with pellets from an
air rifle.
London Paper,
4 August 2009
A man was shot in the street
in Lewisham, south London. He was taken to hospital where he
was in a stable condition.
Derby Evening
Telegraph,
4 August 2009
A pellet fired from an
airgun at a pensioner in Littleover,
Derby, narrowly missed the man's head. The police took the pellet
away.
Derby Evening
Telegraph,
4 August 2009
A landlord was threatened with
what is thought to be a handgun during an armed robbery at a pub in
Alvaston, Derby. A significant amount of cash was stolen.
A man was later arrested.
Cumberland News,
4 August 2009
A man was in a critical
condition in hospital after a shooting in Dearham, Cumbria.
Police were called after a firearm was discharged. They are not
looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.
BBC,
4 August 2009
Three men threatened staff at
a jewellers in Lutterworth, Leicestershire. They were armed
with what is though to have been a handgun. They left the shop with
jewellery and cash.
BBC,
4 August 2009
Two men armed with what was
believed to be a handgun threatened staff at a store in Kings Sutton,
Northamptonshire, before making off with an unknown quantity of cash.
Yorkshire Evening Post,
3 August 2009
A man has been rushed to
hospital with serious injuries after being seen collapsed in a street in
Chapeltown, Leeds. He had been shot in the leg. Two
shots had been fired. A man has been arrested and charged with
attempted murder (BBC, 7 August 2009).
Watford Observer,
3 August 2009 *
Paul Wakenshaw has pleaded
guilty to robbing two security guards at a newsagents in Watford,
Hertfordshire, in October 2008 and a jewellers in Stanmore, north
London, in December 2008 (see
Incidents). He also admitted having an
imitation firearm on both occasions.
Five other charges have been left on the file. He has been given an
indeterminate prison term and will serve a minimum of six years (Watford
Observer, 23 October 2009).
This is Sussex,
3 August 2009
A man, described by his own
counsel as "obsessed with shooting and fishing", has been cleared of the
charge of possessing a loaded air weapon in a public place. He had
been arrested in March 2009 when a police patrol spotted him concealing an
air rifle behind a tree on the edge of
Tunbridge Wells Common, Kent. He had been shooting squirrels
to feed his pet ferrets. He admitted he had been shooting on the
common as friends had told him it was allowed by the Lord of the Manor of
Rusthall under ancient by-laws. The landowners denied such
permission existed. He was given a non guilty verdict by the
magistrates as it was accepted that he was "an experienced user of airguns
and has demonstrated a good knowledge of gun safety".
Rugby Advertiser,
3 August 2009 *
A man entered a bank in
Bilton, Warwickshire, and threatened a member of staff with what is
believed to have been a small firearm. He stole and quantity of cash
before escaping. A man has pleaded guilty to two charges of robbery
and two of possessing an imitation firearm (see
December 2009 Incidents).
BBC,
3 August 2009
A man has been arrested on
suspicion of firearms offences after a number of properties were searched in
Preston, Lancashire.
BBC,
3 August 2009
Nicholas Bidar shot at police
who were following the car he was in at Ladbroke Grove, west
London, in December 2008 (see
Incidents). No-one was hurt in the incident which
followed a robbery. Bidar admitted two robberies and using a firearm
to resist arrest. Christopher Ryan, 19, who was also in the car was
given a six-month suspended sentence for handling stolen goods.
BBC,
3 August 2009
An elderly couple were
subjected to two robberies at their home in Kempston, Bedfordshire,
on the same night. In the first incident one of three men claimed he
had a gun, although one was not seen, and said he would use it.
Their holiday savings were taken. Later they were tied up and robbed
of £400 in a second robbery.
The Sentinel, 1 August 2009
Ashley Woolley was drunk when
he picked up a toy gun he found
outside a newsagents and went inside and tried to rob the shopkeeper in
Burslem, Staffordshire, in April 2009. He was joined by another
man and the two men repeatedly punched the victim. Woolley pleaded
guilty to attempted robbery possessing an imitation firearm with intent
and common assault. He was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in
custody.
BBC, 1 August 2009
Two men were injured in a
shooting incident in Coventry. Both men were taken to
hospital with gunshot wounds to the legs. One of the victims was in
a stable condition the other received superficial injuries. A
19-year-old has been arrested.
The Argus, 1 August 2009
Joshua Haggart has pleaded
guilty to
a botched armed raid in Brighton in April 2009 (see
Incidents) in which
he was cuffed with his own weapon, an imitation
gun. He admitted three armed robberies, two attempted
robberies and three counts of possessing an imitation firearm. He
has been sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment (The Argus, 21 August
2009).
SCOTLAND
Hawick News,
31 August 2009
Jason Hook from Hawick
has been admonished for having an air pistol
on him without reasonable excuse in December 2008 (see
Incidents).
The weapon has been confiscated.
BBC,
31 August 2009
John Wallace left a Webley
MKIV hinged frame revolver, the cylinder and barrel from a Smith and
Wesson style revolver, ammunition and gunpowder lying about his flat in
Stranraer, Wigtownshire. They were found when police forced
entry into the property in October 2007 to investigate a water leak.
He has held a firearms and shotgun certificate since 1968 and had a
longstanding interest in guns. It was claimed he had forgotten about
the gun because he was out of the country for two thirds of the year.
Wallace has admitted three breaches of the Firearms Act and one of the
Explosives Act. He was fined £7,500.
Perthshire Advertiser,
28 August 2009
Callum Gordon from
Blairgowrie, Perthshire, has been fined £400 after failing to notify
the police that he had removed a .410 small bore
shotgun from his father's house for "safety reasons". He
had discovered unsecured and removed it to his home address to his own
secure, locked gun cupboard. The gun was found when police were
checking his gun cupboard in connection with an unrelated matter.
BBC,
27 August 2009 *
A couple from Kilmarnock,
Ayrshire, have admitted using air weapons
to confront revellers during a neighbour's Hogmanay party after guests let
off fireworks. They armed themselves after they had complained to
police but the police said they would not be attending because it was
Hogmanay. Armed officers later called to the scene found an air
rifle and a number of air pistols. James Howat-Hurst admitted
committing a breach of the peace by attending a party in possession of a
firearm and a bottle of methylated spirits, threatening people, assault by
striking a man on the neck with the butt of a gun and having a firearm
with intent to commit an offence. Sandra Howat-Hurst pleaded guilty
to having a firearm with intent to cause people to believe that unlawful
violence would be used against them. She was given 250 hours
community service whilst her husband was sent to jail for two years (stv,
7 October 2009).
BBC,
25 August 2009
A man was detained for misuse
of drugs and firearms offences and another for an alleged robbery after an
armed robbery at a pharmacy in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, during
which drugs were taken.
Evening Express,
19 August 2009 *
A teenager from Aberdeen, who
was 15 at the time, has been accused of attacking three men with a
taser gun. He has denied the
allegations. One of the victims of the attack is said to have been
severely injured and permanently disfigured. He has received a
two-and-a-half year custodial sentence (see
October 2009 Incidents).
Evening Times,
14 August 2009
A man terrorised shop workers
and customers when he fired a weapon in a takeaway in Possilpark,
Glasgow. He made no demands for money before fleeing. The
police later said that the gun was an imitation
and that it was believed blanks were fired.
Evening Express,
14 August 2009
A man who had a
stun gun in Aberdeen was caught
after he showed it to a friend and fired it. Russell Donaldson, who
bought the weapon over the internet, has been warned he could face a long
jail sentence.
BBC, 13 August 2009
*
Paintball guns and pellets
were among items stolen after a break in at an adventure centre in
Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire. A man has been jailed for 14
months (see May 2010 Incidents).
BBC, 5 August 2009
Christopher McGovern, 19,
robbed two security guards of £40,000 in cash as they were re-filling a
cashpoint in Glasgow in November 2008. He pointed what
appeared to be a gun at them. He has pleaded guilty to assault and
robbery. Another teenager, Andrew Paton, had also been accused of
the theft but instead pleaded guilty to being in possession of a
sawn-off
shotgun in Glasgow in March 2009.
Airdrie & Coatbridge
Advertiser, 5 August 2009
An
air rifle was found in the parked car of Kevin Rafferty when
police investigated his erratic behaviour in Caldercruix, North
Lanarkshire, in May 2009. He was three times the legal limit for
driving. He admitted possessing the air rifle in a public place
"without lawful authority or reasonable excuse" and was admonished on
condition that he signed a disclaimer agreeing for the weapon to be passed
to safety at the Procurator Fiscal's office. He was also
disqualified from driving for two years.
WALES
Western Telegraph,
24 August 2009
Thieves have stolen four
BB guns, a Colt MK IV handgun, a Taurus
Millennium gun, a Smith and Wesson M3000 gun and a Fames Tactical Version
Gun, from a shop in Saundersfoot, Pembrokeshire, where the
items were in the window display.
News Wales,
20 August 2009
Police are hunting for four
robbers who attacked a security guard as he delivered cash to a bank in
Flint. Two of the men carried shotguns
and the others had baseball bats.
BBC,
7 August 2009 *
A man who has been accused of
possession of a firearm and offering it for sale without proper authority
has been sectioned under the Mental Health Act. The man from
Llantwit Major, Vale of Glamorgan, is on hunger strike in protest at
being refused permission to appear in court. The case concerns a
decommissioned and triggerless Lewis machine gun which came with a replica
World War One biplane he had bought. He is on trial accused of
owning an illegal machine gun (Daily Mirror, 30 January 2010).
INCIDENTS INVOLVING ANIMALS
This is Crawley,
28 August 2009
A cat was shot in an
air rifle attack in Crawley,
Sussex. Vets removed a pellet but were left with no choice but to
amputate his leg. They believe he must have been shot from very
close range to cause such damage to his leg.
Daily Post,
28 August 2009
Three kittens have been shot
with an airgun and left for dead in an
attack in Llanfigael, Anglesey. One of them survived despite
being shot in the neck and sustaining a broken leg, but another was
already dead when they were discovered and a second who was seriously
wounded is believed to have crawled away to die.
Bolton News,
27 August 2009
A cat was shot four times with
a pellet gun in Barrow Bridge,
Bolton. At first his owners thought he had been attacked by a dog
but X-rays revealed four pellets. One has been removed but the other
three had to be left. Similar incidents had occurred in Harwood
earlier in the month.
Berwickshire News,
26 August 2009
A cat has been shot in
Eyemouth, Berwickshire. She arrived home limping and in pain and
has had to undergo extensive reconstructive surgery to her right leg as
her femur was completely smashed by the airgun
pellet.
Skegness Standard,
25 August 2009
A cat has had to be put to
sleep after being shot with an air weapon
in Alford, Lincolnshire. Several pellets were found in
his body, including one which had penetrated his head.
News Shopper,
24 August 2009
A cat had to undergo an
emergency operation after she was shot in the right shoulder by an
airgun in Orpington, south east
London. The vet who treated her said she was the fourth cat he knew
of which had been shot by an airgun recently.
Leicester Mercury,
19 August 2009
It is believed that a fatal
injury to a pet cat whose body was discovered in fields behind her home in
Syston, Leicestershire, may have been caused by a
shotgun.
Wortley Today,
18 August 2009
A family's dog found cowering
in pain and covered in blood in their garden in Bramley, West
Yorkshire, has had to be put down. The dog had been shot with an
air rifle,
and although a pellet was removed he could not be saved.
BBC,
18 August 2009
Anthony Rodgers from Moffat,
Dumfriesshire, has received a record £3,500 fine after he pled guilty to
killing four badgers by capturing them in snares and shooting them in the
head.
BBC,
17 August 2009
A cat has had her eyesight
saved after being shot with an airgun
in St Cyrus, Angus. A pellet was removed from behind her eye
and she is said to be making a good recovery.
Sun,
13 August 2009
A cat was recovering after
being found injured in Alloa, Clackmannanshire. She had
suffered a badly broken leg after an airgun
attack and a pellet was lodged in her back leg.
Echo,
13 August 2009
A cat was almost blinded when
it was shot in the face with an air pistol
in Canvey, Essex. The cat had been on the front porch of his
home. Vets managed to find the pellet and remove it from his eye.
Cambridge News,
8 August 2009
A pensioner has been left
devastated after his cat was shot dead with an
airgun in Shepreth, Cambridgeshire. He believes
his pet may have been the victim of a "drive-by" attack which left his
paralysed after a pellet went through his spine.
Milton Keynes Citizen,
7 August 2009
A heavily pregnant cat thought
to have been involved in a road traffic accident was found to have been
shot with an airgun pellet lodged in
her spine. She was found paralysed and traumatised in Milton
Keynes. She is now receiving specialist surgery.
BBC,
7 August 2009 *
Four youths have been arrested
after cats were shot with air rifles
in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire. Two owners had reported
incidents. Other cat owners are being urged to check their pets for
any unexplained injuries. Four male youths have now been charged
with firearm offences (Milford & West Wales Mercury, 8 October
2009).
News & Star,
6 August 2009
A cat is recovering after
being shot in the face with an airgun
in Houghton, Cumbria. Vets removed a pellet from his jaw.
BBC,
6 August 2009
Police are investigating
reports that a beaver reintroduced to the wild in Knapdale Forest,
Argyll, has been shot. An adult female went missing after gunshots
were reported in the area.
This is Lancashire,
5 August 2009
A cat was discovered dead
alongside a footpath in Blackmoor, Lancashire, the latest victim of
an airgun shooting. His owner
had heard a couple of air rifle shots and found his pet after being tipped
off by a dog walker.
Lincolnshire Echo,
3 August 2009
A cat which had been missing
for nearly two weeks from his home in Waddington, Lincolnshire,
returned with a serious leg injury. An X-ray showed he had been shot
and that an air rifle pellet had
shattered his front left leg.
