SEPTEMBER 2007
We prepare
a monthly summary of gun incidents, focussing on those that raise key
issues about the nature of gun crime and the adequacy of gun legislation. Items that
have been amended or added to the list since the
Summary was written are marked (*).
ENGLAND
BBC,
30 September 2007
A 16-year-old was arrested after
reports that a man had been seen with a gun in the centre of Nottingham.
Armed police were called and the youth handed over the gun, an
imitation firearm, after negotiations with
officers.
BBC,
30 September 2007
Police are investigating reports
of shots being fired at a car in Liverpool. A man was seen
leaning out of a vehicle and firing at a nearby car.
Times,
28 September 2007
A man was arrested in
Brighton for pulling out a gun after he ordered a bowl of soup in a
restaurant. The police said that a weapon had been recovered and was
being viewed by armourers to establish if it is a replica or
genuine.
BBC,
28 September 2007
Three shotguns and other items
were stolen when robbers raided a property in Kingston near Ringwood
in Hampshire.
BBC,
28 September 2007
A 15-year-old boy has been
charged with possession of a firearm after he was searched by police in
Cheetham Hill, Manchester. He has also been charged with
possession of ammunition and possession of cannabis. Three other
teenagers were arrested at the same time and were released on bail after
questioning.
Reuters,
26 September 2007
An 18-year-old has been charged
with the attempted murder of two police officers in the Kirkdale area
of Liverpool. Both officers escaped injury when the teenager shot at
them.
Herald Express,
26 September 2007
An
airgun sniper caused £600-worth of damage by taking a pot shot at
a bus in Dartmouth, Devon. The pellet shattered a middle window
on the vehicle. No passengers were on the bus at the time.
BBC,
26 September 2007
Armed police officers were sent
to a house in Norwich after reports of a man with a handgun.
After a five-hour stand-off a man was arrested.
BBC,
26 September 2007
Two boys were seen in
Caterham, Surrey, with a BB gun.
One of the boys, who is aged 11, was made to hand over the gun after being
reported by a member of the public.
BBC,
26 September 2007
Guns, ammunition and cannabis
were found at a house in Haydock, Merseyside. The 11 guns
recovered included three revolvers and seven semi- automatic pistols.
Two men have been arrested on suspicion of possession of firearms.
BBC,
26 September 2007
Two men who were sitting in a
car in Oldham have been shot. Both received neck injuries. One
of the victims is awaiting surgery while the other, aged 19, suffered minor
injuries.
BBC,
26 September 2007
Two boys have been injured in a
drive-by shooting in Fallowfield, Manchester. The first victim,
aged 15, was shot in the leg when he was standing at a junction when a car
pulled up. A 12-year-old, who had been in the garden of a house in the
same street, received a graze to his leg and is thought to have been an
innocent by-stander.
Daily Mail,
25 September 2007
A boy of 14 who shot a
schoolgirl in the face with an air rifle
has been given six hours' community work. His victim, aged 15, is
still recovering from surgery after the attack which took place in Botley,
Hampshire, in June 2007. She had a lead pellet embedded behind her
right eye which nearly blinded her. The Crown Prosecution Service told
the girl's family that no action will be taken against the boy because "he
was too young to appreciate the dangers of his firing the rifle from 6ft
away". Her father has described the decision as absurd.
BBC,
24 September 2007
A biker, possibly armed with a
handgun, made off with the collection fund at a church in Darenth,
Kent. A church official was just leaving with the £590 when a
motorcyclist approached him and ordered him to hand it over.
BBC,
24 September 2007
A man was shot in the cheek with
an air rifle as he stood at a
construction site in the Smithills area of Bolton. He was taken
to hospital where he had the pellet removed.
Lincolnshire Echo,
22 September 2007
Two men, Joseph and Matthew
Waite, both admitted discharging a firearm within 50ft of the highway, an
offence under the Highways Act 1980. They were each fined £125 and
ordered to pay £75 compensation together with costs and a fine. The
case followed an incident in which a pensioner was shot in the back with a
stray air rifle pellet from a window ledge shooting gallery in
Bracebridge Heath in June 2007. An air
rifle was found hidden under a settee at Mackie's home.
BBC,
22 September 2007
A man was arrested after a gun
was found in baggage on a plane at Blackpool airport. Officers
found a blank-firing firearm and some
ammunition. The incident was not related to terrorism. The
arrested man was bailed.
BBC,
22 September 2007
A man was shot in the stomach
and legs during an incident outside a nightclub in Cotteridge in the
West Midlands. He was taken to hospital where his condition was
described as stable.
ic South London,
21 September 2007
A man was held at gunpoint in a
travel agent's in Walworth, south London. A group of around 10
teenagers were involved and stole the victim's wallet and mobile phone.
ic South London,
21 September 2007
Marlon Granderson is facing a
life sentence after being found guilty of eight charges: possession of a Mac
10 with intent to endanger life, three handguns, two silencers, 62 hollow
point bullets, 379 rounds of ammunition, possession of an explosive
substance, possession of a firearm to supply class-A drugs and possession of
class-A drugs with intent to supply. The guns had been found in a car
parked in Peckham in July 2006, following a tip-off (see
Incidents).
Ballistics experts linked all three handguns to six separate shootings.
Granderson, who was caught in October 2006, is believed to have been the
boss of the Peckham Boys, a notorious gang linked to hundreds of drug and
firearms offences in South London.
Express & Star,
21 September 2007
In the West Midlands a man
was shot in Whitmore Reans and an 18-year-old remained seriously
ill in hospital after being shot in the back in Wednesfield (Heathtown,
see below).
BBC,
21 September 2007
A man has been jailed for three
and a half years after he shot one girl in the leg with an
air rifle, held the gun to the head of
another person and fired pellets out of a window. The incidents
occurred in October 2005 when he threw out partygoers from his daughter's
party at Sandhurst, Berkshire. Jamie Armstrong pleaded guilty
to two counts of possession of a firearm with intent and actual bodily harm.
His then partner, Tracey Blowfield, was jailed for a year after admitting
assault occasioning ABH and perverting the course of justice.
BBC,
21 September 2007
The driver of a postal van was
tied and bound after he was forced to drive at gunpoint by three armed
robbers. The men threatened and hit him as he made a delivery in
South Heath, Buckinghamshire, and he was made to drive to a location
near Amersham where he was tied up and the robbers fled with cash.
The Post Office has offered a £25,000 reward for any information that leads
to the arrest and conviction of the three men.
AOL News,
21 September 2007
A teenage boy was undergoing an
operation to remove a bullet from his arm after an apparent drive-by
shooting in Sheffield. A man and a youth have been arrested in
connection with the shooting.
This is Wiltshire,
20 September 2007
Jonathan Clarke sparked an armed
police alert when he went shopping in Devizes. He appeared to
have what looked like a large handgun stuck in his belt. A security
officer followed him home and police responded. A
BB gun was recovered. No action was
taken against him in connection with the gun because he did not "use it in a
threatening manner" towards anyone, according to police.
Oxford Mail,
20 September 2007
Two robbers, one brandishing a
knife and the other holding a gun, robbed a corner shop in Headington,
Oxford. They raided the till and escaped with £80 in cash. Two
men have been arrested in connection with the raid and have been released on
bail.
Mansfield Chad,
20 September 2007
Kelvin Pennant from Mansfield
Woodhouse pointed an air rifle at a police officer who had arrived at
his home to arrest him on a warrant in May 2007. After officers
spotted the air rifle Pennant was
disarmed and taken to the police station. He has been jailed for 15
months.
Lancashire Evening Post,
20 September 2007
A teenager
was spotted on CCTV cameras brandishing a weapon which looked like an AK47
assault rifle at Newton Station in Hyde, Manchester. Another
boy was seen to take the gun from a bin liner, fit it with an ammunition
magazine and pass it to the teenager who aimed it an a crane driver working
nearby. The youths evaded capture. A 17-year-old has since been
charged with possession of an imitation firearm. The weapon was a
ball bearing gun. A 15-year-old has
also been arrested and is on police bail pending further inquiries (Tameside
Advertiser, 26 September 2007).
Evening Chronicle
(Newcastle),
20 September 2007
A man burst into a pub in
Gateshead brandishing what looked like a handgun and demanded money.
He was tackled by customers and detained after a chase and a struggle.
A ball-bearing gun and property taken
from the pub were recovered. A man is in custody.
Barking and Dagenham Recorder,
20 September 2007
Armed police used a stun gun to
subdue a man who was wielding a pistol at a busy pub in Chadwell Heath,
east London. A suspected personal disagreement boiled over outside the
pub.
Wiltshire Times & Chippenham
News,
19 September 2007
A gun was seized by police from
two nine-year-old children who were pointing it at passers by in
Trowbridge. The weapon was an air pistol
which according to the children was bought at a market stall.
Littlehampton Gazette,
19 September 2007
Windows of a library in
Worthing, West Sussex, were smashed after vandals shot at them with a
ball-bearing gun.
BBC,
19 September 2007
Police are appealing for help to
trace a person who shot at a flat in Ribbleton, Preston. A
couple were woken by a shot fired at their lounge window.
BBC,
19 September 2007 *
A man found with bullet wounds
in a street in Acton, west London, has died in hospital. A post
mortem examination has confirmed that the victim died from a shot to the
head (Ealing Times, 20 September 2007). Two men are in custody
and two men and a woman arrested by police previously have been bailed (BBC,
1 November 2007).
ic South London,
18 September 2007
Two 17-year-olds and a
20-year-old were arrested after a shooting in Elephant and Castle,
south London. The 20-year-old was arrested after being taken to
hospital with a gunshot wound to his foot. All three had been in a car
which crashed during a getaway. Police believe the shooting was
sparked by a fight in a nearby nightspot. In another shooting linked
to the same nightclub two nights earlier someone let off five rounds and a
man was shot in the shoulder. Police do not believe the two shootings
to be connected.
BBC,
18 September 2007
Police have said they believe
that armed raids on six homes in Norfolk have been committed by the same
group of five men. The gang, armed with guns have demanded cash from
householders in Upwell, Nordelph, Stow Bridge, North
Runton, Elm and Wereham. They gained modest sums of
cash from some of the robberies, but left empty-handed on at least three
occasions. Police believe that shots were fired on at least two
occasions. The gang may also be linked to a similar offence in
Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, an armed robbery on a hotel in Northwold
(see below) and an aggravated burglary at a home in Pott Row.
BBC,
18 September 2007
A shop worker was taken to
hospital after he was injured in an armed raid in Small Heath,
Birmingham, during which a shot was fired. The shot did not hit anyone
but the employee was injured during a struggle. A group of masked men
had entered the shop and demanded money. They escaped with a small
amount of cash.
BBC,
18 September 2007
A teenager has been shot in the
knee in what police have said was a targeted attack in the Broomhall
area of Sheffield. The man, aged 18, took himself to hospital with a
bullet wound. The injury is not thought to be life-threatening.
Wimbledon Guardian,
17 September 2007
Perry Campbell was jailed for 11
years after pleading guilty to six counts of armed robbery and six weapons
charges. He was arrested after police watched him and his accomplice
Hamid Terrachet hold up a bank in Barnes in June 2006. He had
also been involved in armed raids on bookmakers in Raynes Park and
Twickenham and off licences in Acton. Campbell was shot with a Taser
gun after he refused to cooperate with police after the raid in Barnes.
Two BB guns were found in the getaway
car. He was sentenced to eight years' jail for the armed robbery in
Barnes and three years for possession of an imitation firearm. He was
given six years for each of five further armed robberies and two years for
each of five counts of possession of an imitation firearm, to be served
concurrently. Terrachet had already been sentenced to six years for
robbery and two years for possession of an imitation firearm.
BBC,
17 September 2007
A 14-year-old boy was shot in
the leg by an airgun as he walked along
a street in Great Wyrley, Staffordshire. He was treated for
minor injuries and had a pellet removed in hospital.
Skegness Standard,
16 September 2007
Police arrested six teenagers,
three girls and three boys aged between 17 and 18, after a member of the
public reported seeing them firing handguns at each other along the A158 at
Scremby in Lincolnshire. They were caught at North Greetwell
and police recovered three BB guns and
two Samurai swords from two cars.
BBC,
15 September 2007
Police are hunting a teenager
who shot at a man following an incident at a takeaway restaurant in
Stretford, Greater Manchester. Following a "verbal altercation"
the youth had pulled out a black handgun and fired a shot towards the victim.
The man escaped injury.
The Visitor (Morecambe),
14 September 2007 *
Two men have been remanded in
police custody after they were accused of stealing cash from a takeaway
delivery driver in Morecambe. They threatened the driver with
a handgun and have pleaded not guilty to charges of robbery and possession
of an imitation firearm. Both
men have now pleaded guilty and face jail sentences (see
April 2008 Incidents).
Richmond & Twickenham Times,
14 September 2007
The trial of a gang of four who conspired
to rob and burgle the home of a family in Barnes has begun.
Police arrested the men a few days after three of them had stood up from
behind a car and held up a sawn-off shotgun, telling the officers to back
off. They face charges of conspiracy to rob, possessing an altered
firearm without a certificate, possessing a firearm with intent to cause
fear of violence. They also face a further charge of conspiracy to
burgle to which two of them have pleaded guilty.
BBC,
14 September 2007 *
A 20-year-old was arrested after
police found an imitation handgun at a house in the Lockleaze area of
Bristol. The house was raided after pictures had been posted on a
website showing youths posing with what appeared to be a handgun and
ammunition.
BBC,
14 September 2007
Two male youths, aged 17 and 18,
have been arrested by armed police after an incident in a Lincoln
street. They were seen playing with what looked like a handgun.
A BB gun was recovered.
BBC,
14 September 2007
Two men, armed with what is
believed to have been a handgun, entered an off-licence in Wallsend,
North Tyneside, and demanded the till be opened. Staff escaped to the
rear of the shop and raised the alarm. The men left empty handed.
BBC,
14 September 2007
An 18-year-old man who was shot
in the back near a pub in Heathtown, Wolverhampton, is said to be in
a critical condition in hospital.
This is Derbyshire,
13 September 2007
Recently installed CCTV cameras outside Silk
Mill Museum in Derby recorded an imitation
firearm incident in July when a gang of youths were spotted.
A police armed response team arrested two men. A 20-year-old man was
given a caution and an 18-year-old charged with possessing an imitation
firearm in public.
Sussex Express,
13 September 2007
Three men have been arrested in
connection with a robbery in which a gang of robbers forced their way into a
house in Newhaven. The occupants were tied up and the gang
stole £5,000 and a pearl necklace. The victims thought they saw a
handgun.
ic Surrey,
13 September 2007
Damage costing £800 was caused
to a shop window in Mertsham by vandals who shot an
air rifle at it. There were two holes
in the window.
Daily Echo,
13 September 2007
Armed police in Dorset are
dealing with an average of 30 calls for help a month. In a recent
incident a 16-year-old girl had been shot with an
air weapon in Weymouth and had received minor injuries.
The offender was not found.
Buxton Advertiser,
13 September 2007
Stephen Andrew Twort and Luke Ryan Wroe were jailed for 14 months and two years, respectively, after two
schoolboys were robbed on a bus from Buxton to Whaley Bridge.
They were armed with an imitation handgun
and have been drinking vodka and Twort had taken methadone. They
demanded money from the victims and threatened them with violence.
Twort was convicted of affray and possessing a replica weapon, Wroe of two
counts of robbery.
BBC,
13 September 2007
Two men were shot and killed by
police during an alleged armed raid at a bank in Chandler's Ford,
Hampshire. The Independent Police Complaints Commission is conducting
an inquiry. A man was later arrested in the Raynes Park area of
south-west London. He has appeared in court charged with the attempted
robbery and possession of a firearm with intent to commit an indictable
offence (inthenews, 15 September 2007).
BBC,
13 September 2007
A 15-year-old who robbed school
children with an imitation gun in
Shrewsbury was given two years probation, ordered to be electronically
tagged and undergo weekly counselling. He had stolen a mobile phone
and admitted two charges of armed robbery at an earlier court hearing.
The Press (York),
12 September 2007
A gun shop owner in York
has been placed on City of York Council's Staff Warning Register after
allegedly threatening a council worker with a rifle. He was accused of
pointing the replica rifle at an officer
when he told him to leave the premises. He admitted having a "heated
discussion" with the officer but claims he had been cleaning the rifle at
the time and denied pointing the gun ad him.
The Press (York),
12 September 2007
Ivan Rawlinson pleaded guilty
to three charges of threats to kill, harassment and possession of a
firearm and ammunition. He had phoned his wife and told her that he
was "going to blow away everyone" and that he was "on a suicide mission"
and had a shotgun and two pistols. Police traced him to a hotel in
York and an air pistol was
found in his vehicle. He was given a two-and-a-half year jail
sentence. The police armed response team's raid on the hotel in
March 2007 is estimated to have cost at least £6,000.
The Journal (Newcastle),
12 September 2007
A man was arrested for public
order offences and offences involving the use and possession of a firearm
following a raid on a caravan in Seaton Burn, North Tyneside.
An air rifle was recovered.
Kent News,
12 September 2007
An 11-year-old boy has been
shot in the torso with a ball-bearing gun
while playing with friends in Gillingham, Kent. They were
approached by three teenagers, one of whom shot the victim in the ribcage.
He suffered a small bruise and although he did not need hospital treated
has been greatly affected by the incident.
Express & Echo (Exeter),
12 September 2007
Police have issued a warning
over the dangers of air rifles after two incidents. A man had to
undergo lifesaving surgery after apparently shooting himself in the head at
a property in Exeter. He had contacted police warning them
that he planned to harm himself. An airgun
was found at the scene. The man has a pellet lodged in
his head. Police were also called to Beaford, Devon, where a
man had sustained a pellet wound to his chest whilst he had been out
shooting pheasants and had slipped down a grassy slope and accidentally
discharged his air rifle.
BBC,
12 September 2007
Four shotguns and ammunition
have been stolen in a burglary at a property in Millom, Cumbria.
BBC,
12 September 2007
A lorry carrying shotgun
cartridges caught fire on the M42 in Worcestershire.
Motorists were hit by long delays as the northbound carriageway was
closed. The fire was brought under control with advice from a
military adviser.
BBC,
12 September 2007
Three men, one armed with a
Taser stun gun, forced their way into a flat in Longwell Green,
Bristol. The resident was incapacitated and was pushed into a
room. The men left with clothes, a plasma television and two mobile
phones.
Reading Evening Post,
11 September 2007
Two men were hit by pellets
from a BB gun in west Reading.
One of the victims was shot in the right shoulder, the other took a direct
hit to the chest. It is thought that the gunman may have been aiming
from the window of a block of flats. Two young men were seen to come
out of the flats and put something in the bushes.
ic Sefton and West Lancs,
11 September 2007
Two young men were spotted
apparently waving a shotgun out of the window of their car as they drove
through Southport. Police uncovered an object, which turned
out to be a BB gun. The two men
were released without charge.
Evening Telegraph
(Northampton),
11 September 2007
John James McGhie has been
jailed for three years after he pointed an
imitation Kalashnikov AK-47 at a female police officer in
Corby and threatened to kill her. He had bought two guns after
seeing an advert in a newsagent's shop window. The incident occurred
after his wife, with whom he'd been drinking, called the police when he
had tucked a replica pistol into his
waistband.
BBC,
11 September 2007
Two women were threatened by
two burglars who stole cash, a handbag, a mobile hone and other items from
a house in Kingswood, south Gloucestershire. One of the
men was armed with a stun gun which he used to force one of the victims back
into her home.
BBC,
11 September 2007
Two 13-year-old girls were
injured by a shot fired from an airgun at a school in Stafford.
They received minor injuries. Two men have been arrested on
suspicion of possession of a firearm with intent to put someone in fear of
violence and assault. A gas-powered air
pistol was seized.
BBC,
11 September 2007
Police have questioned a
number of people in connection with the shooting of a man found with
gunshot wounds in Annesley Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire. The
injured man remains in hospital where he was said to be in a stable
condition.
Lancashire Evening Post,
10 September 2007
Two terrified teenagers burst
into a pub in Ribbleton, Preston, claiming they had been shot at by
a marauding gang brandishing a gun. This was the latest in a
catalogue of incidents involving firearms. The shots were apparently
fired from an imitation gun (Lancashire Evening Post, 19 September
2007). The week before a
business in Fishwick was held up at gunpoint in a robbery and two
hours later a man was threatened with a BB gun.
BBC,
10 September 2007
Private Christopher Trussler
has been jailed for three years. He had stolen army ammunition and
tried to sell it to an undercover police officer from Operation Trident in
Chichester, West Sussex, in May 2007 (see
June 2007 Incidents). He admitted
illegally possessing and stealing 21 rounds of 9mm ammunition after a
Northern Ireland training exercise. The MoD have said that it would
investigate whether ammunition security procedures could be tightened (Daily
Mirror, 11 September 2007).
BBC,
9 September 2007
A man has been shot dead in a
park in Camberwell, south London. The victim was pronounced
dead at the scene. He had received a gunshot wound to the chest.
This is Wiltshire,
8 September 2007
Michael Harris, 20, fired at
least three pellets into a man with his ball
bearing gun following a row about his parents' splitting up.
The victim was his father's lodger and was shot on his doorstep in
Greenmeadow, Swindon in October 2006.
One pellet punctured the skin and left him with a 1mm deep wound.
Harris pleaded guilty to a charge of actual bodily harm and was jailed for
15 months.
This is Exeter,
8 September 2007
Graham Sykes triggered a
police siege in Newton Poppleford, Devon, in January 2007 (see
Incidents). He
brandished a rifle and was carrying a knife. He pleaded guilty to
possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. He has
been bailed to live at a hostel until he is sentenced.
News & Star,
8 September 2007
Andrew Hull and Jonathan
O'Neil, both 18, have been jailed for a year after they took a pot shot at
a pedestrian while they were driving through Carlisle city centre
in April 2007. The victim was in pain after being hit in the temple.
The gun, a BB-type airgun which
looked like a handgun, was found by police. The teenagers both
pleaded guilty to possessing the imitation gun with intent to cause fear
of violence.
BBC,
8 September 2007
Natasha Peniston, whose
daughter was shot dead in her own home in Gorton, Manchester, in
April 2007 (see Incidents),
has pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm. She had confessed to
keeping the .38 snub-nosed revolver pistol that killed her daughter and
two .38 bullets and two soft-nosed bullets. She was released on
bail. A 17-year-old boy is due to stand trial for the murder.
He has pleaded guilty to a count of possession of a handgun and ammunition
but denies murder.
Eastern Daily Press,
7 September 2007
A man was attacked with a
ball-bearing gun by a young man in a
hooded top in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, who is believed to have
fired at the victim's head at least five times whilst the man was sitting
on a bench. The victim was treated for minor injuries in hospital.
BBC,
7 September 2007
A man has been arrested after
police found a large amount of cocaine and a firearm and ammunition at a
house in Stockton, Teesside.
BBC,
7 September 2007
Gang member Leon Edwards was
found with two pistols hidden in the cistern of the toilet at his home in
Longsight, Manchester, when police raided the property in January
2007. He admitted possession of two guns with intent to cause fear
of violence and possession of ammunition with the intent for another to
endanger life. He was given an indeterminate sentence and will serve
at least four years and 35 days.
The Argus (Brighton),
7 September 2007
Dentist Roberto Cingari has
been allowed to continue practising despite showing off a gun to the
manager of his dental practice in Worthing in April 2005. The
manager persuaded him to hand over the weapon and later threw it into a
rubbish bin. The gun was an air pistol
and Cingari told the manager that he shouldn't be worried about it.
The General Dental Council cleared him of misconduct.
Oxford Mail,
6 September 2007
A 16-year-old boy was being
questioned on suspicion of trying to carry out an armed robbery whilst
brandishing a BB gun or
airgun. He demanded cash from
staff at a petrol station in Didcot.
ic Croydon,
6 September 2007
A man was taken to hospital
with gunshot wounds to his chest and a leg after being shot in the back
garden of a house in Thornton Heath during a party. He was
discharged from hospital within days. Police had been called to the
house after reports of gunshots.
Harrow Times,
6 September 2007
Two men were gunned down in a
crowded nightclub in Wembley, north London. One man was
seriously injured and was still in hospital. The other victim was
also hit by bullets but has since recovered from his injuries. Four
men walked into the club and fired indiscriminately.
Evening Telegraph
(Northampton),
6 September 2007
Armed police were called to a
housing estate in Rushden after a youth was spotted with a
ball-bearing gun. He was seen on a mini motorbike pointing a
gun. The 16-year-old was later released on bail pending further
inquiries.
Shields Gazette,
5 September 2007
Four youths have been arrested
in South Tyneside over the summer following incidents involving
BB guns reported to police.
Midweek Visiter,
5 September 2007
The police were called to a
street in Southport after an anonymous caller claimed that a
teenager was displaying a weapon to his friends. It was unclear what
type of weapon was involved.
Gazette & Herald,
5 September 2007
A police firearms team swooped
on Calne, Wiltshire, after residents reported seeing a teenager
brandishing a gun and shouting 'stay away'. The gun was fired.
Three youths were handcuffed and searched for weapons. A
BB gun was confiscated.
BBC,
5 September 2007
Three linked
airgun attacks have taken place in
Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire. The guns were fired at people
from a passing car. A man needed hospital treatment after being hit
by at least two pellets. Later another man suffered a head wound
after being hit by at least four pellets, and in the third incident a man
reported that six shots were fired at him.
Wimbledon Guardian,
4 September 2007
A man jumped into a car in
Wandsworth and demanded money from the driver. The victim ran
off and phoned the police but on returning to his car found his mobile
phone and Sat Nav accessory had been stolen. The attacker had been
accompanied by a woman. Two similar armed robberies had occurred in
the same street in the past three months. Police believe men are
being lured to the spot under the pretence of an arranged escort meet.
Grimsby Telegraph,
4 September 2007
A correspondent to the
Grimsby newspaper has written to describe how a near neighbour allows
his 10-year-old son to shoot an air rifle
in the back garden and that numerous neighbours are finding pellets in
their own gardens.
People,
2 September 2007
A man fired an
airgun at a train from the side of the
track between Exeter and Axminster. The outer pain of
a window on the train shattered.
Lynn News,
2 September 2007
Four men armed with three
shotgun-style weapons and an axe threatened a staff member at a hotel in
Northwold, Norfolk. The victim was ordered to open the safe
before the robbers made off with a quantity of cash.
BBC,
2 September 2007
A man has been charged on two
counts of possession of a prohibited weapon after weapons including a
handgun and a rifle were found at a house in Wythenshaw,
Manchester.
BBC,
2 September 2007
Three men broke into a home in
Southampton and threatened a family with a handgun. The men
demanded money. No one was injured.
This is Gloucestershire,
1 September 2007
William Hayward, 20, was found
guilty of robbing a student at a flat in Strood, demanding money
with menaces from the victim and having an
imitation firearm with intent to cause fear. He was
jailed for six years.
BBC,
1 September 2007
A man was shot in the back in
a street in the Toxteth area of Liverpool. His injuries are
not life-threatening.
BBC,
1 September 2007
A police officer accidentally
shot himself in the leg as he was getting into a car in central London.
He had been on duty in the Grosvenor Square area. He was
stable in hospital.
SCOTLAND
Evening Express
(Aberdeen),
15 September 2007
The window of the driver's cab
of a train was cracked after pot shots taken at it with an
airgun. The train was hit north of
the level crossing in Kintore, Aberdeenshire.
Press & Journal,
11 September 2007
A man from the Bucksburn
area of Aberdeen claims his family has been under attack by thugs with
air weapons. Two of his cars and
two of his son's cars have been hit by pellets in a six week period.
Paisley Daily Express,
11 September 2007
Mark Feely was caught in
unlawful possession of a shotgun he had confiscated from a teenager in
care. He conceded he should have taken the deadly weapon straight to
the police instead of taking it to his home in Linwood. It
was in his possession when police raided the property 24 hours later
tipped off by the teenager's social worker. Feely has been ordered
to carry out 300 hours of community service.
ic Renfrewshire,
5 September 2007
A masked gunman terrified
staff at a bookies in Paisley. After brandishing a handgun
and demanding cash he fled the scene on a bike with more than £400.
Greenock Telegraph,
5 September 2007
John McGhee, who fired an
air rifle in a street in Greenock
in August 2007, has admitted recklessly discharging pellets 'at targets
positioned in a place to which the public has access'. He has been
told he could face jail.
Herald,
1 September 2007
A security guard was held at
gunpoint during a raid on a supermarket in Paisley. Two men
entered the store, forced their way into the office and made off with a
six-figure sum. The money had been intended to replenish the store's
cash machine.
WALES
Flintshire Standard,
27 September 2007
A father has said he was
stunned to open a letter from North Wales Police to discover his
11-year-old son had been the victim of a BB gun
attack in August. The incident, which involved a group of youths
aged about 14 or 15 occurred on Ponciau Banks near Wrexham.
The victim was shot in the head, near his eye. The father believes
his son was too scared to tell him himself but thinks that the police, who
investigated the incident at the time, should have informed him.
South Wales Echo,
24 September 2007
Armed police swooped on the
St Mellons estate in Cardiff when a man with a gun drove up to a
house. A hunting rifle was removed from a car and the vehicle was
taken away for forensic examination. No one was injured. The
man was believed to be linked to an incident in which a car was fired at
in Fleur-de-Lys in the Rhymney Valley with what was believed to
have been an air weapon. The
suspect is believed to be a keen rabbit hunter who also suffers from
mental health problems.
Evening Post (Swansea),
11 September 2007
Two men are on trial accused
of burgling a home in Briton Ferry in February 2007, stealing a set
of car keys, possessing a prohibited weapon, attempting to steal his car
and causing the householder actual bodily harm. The victim was
attacked with a stun gun. The case continues.
Western Mail,
11 September 2007
Craig Barker, 21, has been
sent to prison for six months after shooting a woman in the bottom with a
ball-bearing gun. He and a
friend bought the gun in Towyn and started firing it at each other at the
bus station in Rhyl. The victim remonstrated with them and
Barker fired at her. He was arrested after CCTV footage of the
incident was viewed.
BBC,
10 September 2007
Two men stole cash and
cigarettes from a petrol station in Pwllmeyric, Monmouthshire.
They produced a handgun to staff. No-one was injured during the
incident.
South Wales Echo,
8 September 2007
Matthew Hill, a drug dealer
who has been sentenced to three years after admitting possession of class
A drugs with intent to supply, had an air rifle
and kitchen knife in his car, which was parked in Roath, Cardiff.
He never gave an explanation for the weapons.
Evening Post (Swansea),
7 September 2007
A toddler was shot in the eye
after a BB gun, apparently bought for
£1, was fired at a show in Pontarddulais. The child could
have been blinded if the pellet had hit one millimetre more into her eye.
Wales on Sunday,
2 September 2007
A gunman broke into the cash
office at the rear of Cardiff Central station where he bound and
gagged a cashier and made off with £6,000 in cash.
INCIDENTS INVOLVING ANIMALS
This is Gloucestershire,
27 September 2007 *
A rare bird of prey has
been shot near Fairford with an airgun.
The hobby falcon was treated at the Cotswold Animal and Bird Rescue Centre
but vets were unable to save it. The hobby falcon is a protected
species and it is illegal to kill it. The manager of the Centre said
that they had had other birds of prey, a buzzard, a sparrow hawk and a
kestrel, shot in the area.
Norwich Evening News,
27 September 2007
A cat in Spixworth,
Norfolk, has been shot with an air rifle
for the second time in three months. Following the latest attack an
X-ray revealed that a pellet was embedded in his skull but it was too close
to the eye to remove safely.
News & Star,
26 September 2007
A cat was shot with an
airgun as it walked through a park in
Currock in Carlisle. The pellet travelled through the cat's right
hand leg, through the bladder and embedded itself in the cat's left hind
leg. She had to go emergency surgery and has now returned home.
Yorkshire Post,
25 September 2007 *
John Shaw of Knaresborough
was ordered to pay a compensation order of £1500 after pleading guilty to
cruelly shooting a Labrador contrary to the Protection of Animals Act and
using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour. The dog
was shot with an air rifle and only
survived after a vet operated to repair four perforations in its bowel.
It was claimed that this was "basically a case of protecting his livestock".
The Press (York),
20 September 2007
A swan has been rescued in
York after being shot with an air rifle.
It is recovering at Yorkshire Swan Rescue Hospital which is offering a £1000
reward to anyone providing information leading to the conviction of the
guilty party. The bird was shot in the neck and probably has a pellet
is lodged in its left eye.
Hartlepool Mail,
19 September 2007
A pet cat has lost an eye after
being shot in an air rifle attack in
Hartlepool. The vet who treated the cat said that he had either
been hit at close range or with a high powered air weapon.
BBC,
17 September 2007
Six incidents in which animals
have been shot in the head and leg with an air
rifle have been reported to police in Boston,
Lincolnshire, in a period of three weeks. One cat has died and a
number of others have been hurt in the attacks.
BBC,
14 September 2007
A pet cat has had to have an eye
removed after being shot with an air weapon
in Langwith, Nottinghamshire. The RSPCA said it had received 36
reports of air weapon attacks on cats in the East Midlands between January
and August. This was almost double the 19 reports it had received in
the whole of 2006.
BBC,
7 September 2007
A prized carriage horse has
been injured in an airgun attack in
Peebles in the Scottish Borders. The owner discovered a pellet
embedded in the flesh of one of his animals. The wound is expected
to heal without any complications.
