OCTOBER 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
Petersfield Post,
31 October 2007
An elderly man was hospitalized
after he fell in fright at three airgun
pellets being shot at his window in Petersfield, Hampshire.
Liverpool Echo,
31 October 2007 *
A pub in Toxteth was
sprayed with bullets in a night attack. The outside of the building
was damaged and a bullet shattered a window.
Advertiser,
31 October 2007 *
A teenager was recovering in
hospital after being shot in the street in Handsworth, Birmingham.
The 18-year-old was talking to a friend when a car pulled up alongside them
and a shot was fired. The victim was in a stable condition in
hospital.
News Shopper,
30 October 2007
Michael Gbenbitse and a
17-year-old boy kidnapped and pistol-whipped a man in a revenge attack in
Plumstead (south east London) in October 2006. The victim only
escaped being shot when the gun jammed. Both were found guilty of
kidnapping and were also convicted of possession of a firearm.
Gbenbitse was given an indeterminate sentence, sentencing of the 17-year-old
was adjourned.
Herald Express,
30 October 2007 *
A Torquay man was on
trial facing 18 charges, eleven of which relate to possessing prohibited
weapons, four to possessing weapons without a firearms certificate and one
to possessing a shotgun without a licence. An arsenal of weapons was
found by police in his home. He pleaded not guilty to all the
changes and also denies purchasing or acquiring 50 rounds of .410 ammunition
without a certificate. The prosecutor has alleged that the man has "an
unhealthy obsession with guns" and is "all too interested in their use and
firing". Jeremy Couchman, a Wild West fan, was acquitted of 10 charges
of possessing prohibited firearms (seven revolvers, two pistols and a
double-barrelled Derringer handgun) but found guilty of possessing a
prohibited Smith & Wesson revolver and attempting to purchase ammunition.
He was sentenced to a one-year suspended sentence and ordered to carry out
100 hours unpaid community work. The judge considered that in buying
the weapons on a US website he had been pursuing "a perfectly legitimate
hobby" (BBC, 21 December 2007).
BBC,
30 October 2007
A man was arrested after two men
threatened another at gunpoint at Newton Abbot station in Devon.
An air weapon was found at the man's
home address.
BBC,
30 October 2007
A 19-year-old from Portland,
Dorset, fears she could lose her sight after an air
rifle pellet was left embedded in her head. The pellet
lodged and fragmented in the back of her eye. She was shot during an
evening out with friends. A 20-year-old man was arrested and released
on bail in connection with the shooting. A man has been given a
suspended prison sentence (see
April 2008 Incidents).
This is Wiltshire,
29 October 2007
Two teenagers shot at a woman
with an airgun during an open day at the
fire station in Ringwood, Hampshire. The woman was treated at
the scene for a grazed leg. Two boys aged between 12 and 14 years old
were seen riding away from the scene on bikes.
In the News,
29 October 2007 *
Police who were called to an
address in Newton Heath, Manchester, found a man injured with gunshot
wounds. He was taken to hospital where he was in a serious but non
life-threatening condition. One man has been charged with attempted
murder and possession of a prohibited weapon and another man has been
arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder.
Express & Echo,
29 October 2007
Chingis Azis fired a
ball-bearing gun in the air during a row in
a street in Exmouth, Devon, in October 2007. He pleaded guilty
to possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause his victim fear of
violence. Sentencing was adjourned.
Bolton News,
28 October 2007
An 18-year-old was arrested
under the Firearms Act at the scene of a car crash in Bradshaw after
a ball bearing gun was spotted on the
back seat of the vehicle. Neither he nor his passenger was injured in
the crash.
Liverpool Echo,
27 October 2007 *
A man from a tower block in the
Wirral has been evicted from his flat after an
air rifle was fired from his balcony and he rode a mini motorbike
into the block.
BBC,
27 October 2007
A 14-year-old is in hospital,
where his condition is described as stable, after he was found with a
gunshot wound in his shoulder in a street in Leyton, east London.
Operation Trident is investigating the incident.
BBC,
27 October 2007
Police are hunting a man who
robbed a leisure park at Camber Sands, Sussex. He threatened
two members of staff with a handgun before making off with an undisclosed
quantity of cash from a safe.
Evening Telegraph
(Northampton), 25 October 2007 *
A gunman opened fire on a house
during an early morning raid in Raunds, near Wellingborough.
Neighbours say between three and five shots were fired through the door of
the property. Armed police arrested a local man who was later charged
in connection with the incident. He is on trial accused of attempted
murder, attempted GBH with intent and having a firearm with intent (see
May 2008 Incidents).
News Shopper,
24 October 2007
A 20-year-old has been remanded
in custody after appearing in court charged with drugs and firearms
offences. He was arrested in Thamesmead and charged with two
counts of possessing ammunition for a firearm without a certificate, two
counts of possessing a firearm without a certificate, possession with intent
to supply cannabis, possessing cocaine with intent to supply and possession
of CS gas.
Daily Mail,
24 October 2007 *
Daniel Galvin has been found
guilty of criminal damage and common assault following a boundary dispute
with neighbours near Pershore in Worcestershire. In December 2006 he had
fired an air rifle at them whilst they
were harvesting sugar beet and one pellet hit a tractor. He was given
a five month suspended jail term and ordered to carry out 150 hours of
community work. He was also fined and ordered to pay towards the
damage to the tractor. He appealed against the conviction and has now
been cleared of the attack (Worcester News, 17 April 2008).
ic South London,
23 October 2007
Two men and a woman who
surrounded a lone woman and couples and threatened them with a
replica gun (a silver pistol) have been
jailed. Terence Glasgow was jailed for 11 years, Clare Griffin for 11
years and Lawrence Mabinton for 9 years. The trio struck three times
in Elm Park and Brixton Hill in November 2006.
Daily Mail,
23 October 2007
David Collinson was given a
seven year jail sentence after he was convicted of robbery. He had
attempted to rob a petrol station in Cheltenham in February 2007 but
was thwarted by a cashier who refused to put her till money in a bag.
Collinson, who was carrying an airgun,
was convicted of robbery.
BBC,
22 October 2007
Damage was done to the exterior
of a house in Huyton-with-Roby, Merseyside, when shots were fired.
A woman was grazed on the side by a bullet and was treated in hospital
before being allowed to go home (Liverpool Echo, 23 October 2007).
BBC,
22 October 2007 *
A man has been killed and
another seriously injured in a shooting in Streatham High Road, south
London. Two or more vehicles were seen leaving the area after the
shooting. Three men have been charged with murder (BBC, 8 March
2008).
BBC,
21 October 2007
A 13-year-old boy is recovering
in hospital after being shot in the shoulder in Moss Side,
Manchester. He is not thought to have suffered life-threatening
injuries.
Evening Telegraph
(Peterborough),
20 October 2007
A man was arrested on suspicion
of possessing an imitation firearm after
police stopped a vehicle in the Stamford area because they believed
it was acting suspiciously. One imitation gun was found in the glove
compartment and another two in the boot. The suspect has been released
on police bail.
Evening Telegraph
(Derby),
20 October 2007
Private Michael Verney used an
airgun to fire pot shots at passers-by
from his bedroom window in Long Eaton in November 2006. He
pleaded guilty to one charge of assault and one of possessing a firearm with
intent to cause fear of violence. A woman was hit and left with
bruising and a small wound. Verney also fired at a group of teenagers.
He told police that he was "practising for his new job". He was
sentenced to 26 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months, but was told by
the judge that he would usually face a custodial sentence. The judge
said he did not want to see him lose his job and waste a career in the Army.
As an Editorial points out "If a company accountant or street cleaner had
started firing an airgun at innocent bystanders, hitting one in the process,
they would almost certainly have been jailed. The loss of their job
would inevitably have followed. A serviceman, with his special skills,
should be expected to show absolute discipline in the community."
This is Hertfordshire,
19 October 2007
Armed police swooped on the flat
of a replica pistol collector in
Battersea, south London, and seized 17 guns that were exact replicas and
could be converted to fire. The guns will be destroyed. Local
residents had raised concerns that the man had a large number of firearms
and ammunition on display in his home. According to the police, the
action was taken to reduce the threat of firearm incidents and to prevent
any possible tragic consequences should the guns have made their way into
the wrong hands.
Sunderland Echo,
18 October 2007
A shot was fired through the
window of a gym in Grangetown, Sunderland. Police sealed off
part of a busy road at the scene. The shot appeared to have been fired
from a car travelling along the road. A bullet hole was visible in the
window.
Ham & High,
18 October 2007
Smokers who had stepped outside
from a party in Kilburn, north London, were shot at by
air rifle snipers. Three people were
hit. One woman was hit in the shoulder, her boyfriend was hit in the
head and the pellet punctured the skin and a third victim was shot in the
back.
East Anglian Daily Times,
18 October 2007
An armed robber struck at a
jewellery store in Colchester and threatened staff with a handgun.
He escaped the scene on a moped with thousands of pounds worth of jewellery.
The employees were left shaken.
BBC,
18 October 2007 *
A 16-year-old boy was shot dead
in a play area in the Burngreave area of Sheffield. The boy was a local resident.
Detectives are looking at whether there are links to another shooting in the
city centre in the last 24 hours (Press Association, 18 October
2007). An 19-year-old has been on trial charged with murder but will
face a retrial after the jury was dismissed after failing to reach a verdict
(BBC, 30 April 2008).
Yorkshire Post,
17 October 2007 *
Daniel Sellers, 19, and Luke
Anderson, 18, have been found guilty of murdering a man they battered with a
cricket bat and shot with an air rifle.
They attacked their victim on a deserted country lane in Cottingham,
near Hull, in December 2006 (see
Incidents). Both face life jail sentences.
Telegraph,
15 October 2007
Reydell Waite was arrested
during a police surveillance operation in Greater Manchester during
which detectives watched him buy a 9mm semi-automatic handgun with silencer
for £2,500. He admitted possessing a prohibited firearm and was jailed
for six years.
Bexhill-on-Sea Observer,
15 October 2007 *
Armed police response teams were
scrambled to a shooting incident in Hastings, Sussex, when a couple
were struck by pellets when they were walking on a footpath. The
shotgun pellets were being fired at an organised duck shoot on marsh land.
Around 15 shooters were questioned but no arrests were made.
BBC,
15 October 2007 *
A series of 19 gun attacks,
which included a man being shot in the head along with damage caused to cars
and property in Suffolk, may be linked. The victim was hit, but not
hurt, by a pellet fired from a car in Ipswich. At least 17 cars
in Ipswich, Orford and Felixstowe and one house in
Orford were shot at with a high-powered airgun
or ball-bearing gun on the same day.
Three people, two of them teenagers have admitted a number of offences (see
May 2008 Incidents).
BBC,
15 October 2007
Another teenager has been killed
in a shooting in south London. Two gunmen opened fire into a car in
Plumstead hitting two 18-year-olds. One victim died and the other
teenager suffered injuries which are not thought to be life-threatening.
Rugby Advertiser,
12 October 2007
Three men broke into a flat in
Binley Woods and pointed what was believed to be a handgun at the
occupants. They stole £50 and a mobile phone. About the same
time burglars broke into another house in the neighbourhood and stole a car
from the driveway.
Newbury Today,
12 October 2007
Police were called to an alleged
firearms incident in Frilsham, Berkshire. Nobody was injured.
A man has been arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm with intent
to cause fear or provocation.
ic Berkshire,
12 October 2007
Anthony Gudgeon pointed an
imitation rifle at road diggers in
Slough. Objects had already been hurled at the men but they were
really alarmed when they saw a rifle being levelled at them from a bedroom
window. Gudgeon admitted having an imitation firearm but claimed he
had not intended to scare the men. He said he had "accidentally"
pointed the gun in their direction. He pleaded guilty to threatening,
insulting and abusive behaviour towards one of the workmen and was ordered
to do community service for 12 months, undertaking 150 hours of unpaid work.
Oxford Mail,
11 October 2007
A man was robbed at gunpoint as
he walked along an alley with his girlfriend in Kidlington. Two
men threatened the man with a knife before the alleged handgun was produced.
The victim handed over his mobile phone and wallet.
ic South London,
11 October 2007
Nathan Smith has been jailed for
five years after going to his ex-girlfriend's home in Canning Town
with a loaded pistol in July 2007. The gun was found under a car seat
after armed police officers carried out what is known as a 'hard stop'.
There were four cartridges inside the chamber of the gun. Smith
admitted possession of a firearm and possession of ammunition without a
firearms certificate.
Exmouth Journal,
11 October 2007
A volley of
BB gun shots was allegedly directed at
youngsters in a recreational ground in Brixington in September.
The BB pellets caused "visible injury" to the victims. BB guns were
seized from two youths. The guns were described by police as very
realistic.
Evening Chronicle
(Newcastle),
11 October 2007
A 13-year-old boy has been
arrested for assault after a teenage sniper fired a
BB gun at three primary school children in
the playground of their school in Heaton. The boy is a former
pupil and will be assessed by the youth offending team at a youth surgery.
This is Lancashire,
10 October 2007 *
Three incidents involving guns
have been reported. In one a female community support officer feared
for her life after a ball-bearing gun
was pointed at her head by a youth in Tonge Moor. Two youths,
Christian Frodsham (13) and Nathaniel Greenhalgh (14) were convicted of
possession of an imitation firearm and sentenced to a two-year supervision
order and given a three-month curfew (Bolton News, 22 February 2008). In another incident in Tonge Moor in September a
woman was arrested after an air rifle
was pointed at children. The woman was disarmed by armed police
officers. Armed officers were called to an incident in Great Lever,
also in September, after a man was seen with a handgun tucked into the
waistband of his trousers. He was disarmed and the weapon turned out
to be a toy gun belonging to his son.
Liverpool Echo,
10 October 2007
A grandfather was shot with a
ball-bearing gun and threatened with a
knife as he left his 70th birthday party in West Derby. The
victim was hit in the leg in an unprovoked attack by a gang.
Telegraph,
9 October 2007
A police officer asked an
eight-year-old boy to destroy his plastic toy gun
after he was told it was an imitation firearm. The boy was
threatened with arrest until his step-father snapped the gun in half.
The incident took place outside the boy's home in Pinehurst in
Swindon.
Sun,
9 October 2007
Two gangs of youths fought a gun
battle on the streets of Moss Side, Manchester. Police officers
found ten bullet casing on the ground, gunshot damage to a car and one
bullet lodged in a fence, after the exchange of fire between the rival
groups.
Weston & Somerset Mercury,
8 October 2007
William Kay was drunk when he
opened fire at a neighbour's window in Weston-super-Mare. He
had fetched his 22-calibre air rifle
from his home and shot at the property. He pleaded guilty to charges
of possessing an air weapon and criminal damage and has been warned he could
face a prison sentence.
Burnley Citizen,
8 October 2007
Ex-convict Mohammed Quadri from
Burnley has been given a conditional discharge after being found with
an air pistol. He had admitted
having a firearm when prohibited and being in breach of licence after his
release from custody.
Manchester Evening News,
7 October 2007
Police are investigating an
incident in which three windows at a property in Newton Heath were
smashed by gunshots.
BBC,
7 October 2007
Two masked men, one armed with a
gun and the other with a carving knife, confronted a shopkeeper at a
newsagents in Cleethorpes, Humberside. They demanded cash which
the shop assistant refused and the men fled.
Wimbledon Guardian,
5 October 2007
Leon Russell was convicted in
May of the attempted murder of a man and sentenced to a minimum seven and a
half years' jail. His victim had been shot at point blank range up to
13 times in Kennington, south London. The High Court has heard
an appeal before agreeing Russell's sentence was unduly lenient and
has increased the minimum sentence to 17 years.
Ilford Recorder,
4 October 2007
A woman whose cat was killed
with an air rifle pellet (see below) is
considering leaving Hainault, Essex. Her windows have been hit
with steel ball bearings fired from BB guns
and pot shots have been taken at passers
by and at her neighbours' cat. She also described how a man had been
shot as he cycled near Hainault station.
Herald Express,
4 October 2007
An air
rifle was found at the Paignton house of a man who was
banned from possessing such weapons for five years following his release
from a young offender's institution. Lewis Macnamara was convicted of
two counts of assaulting a police officer and illegally possessing an
imitation firearm and a razor blade.
BBC,
4 October 2007 *
A woman had her car stolen by
two would-be male buyers, both aged about 19. She was a passenger on
the test drive when the driver stopped the car, threatened her with a gun
and ordered her out of the car. The incident happened in the
Winwick area of Warrington. A man is being questioned by
detectives investigating a series of similar gunpoint highjackings. In
two other incidents a man in Bolton was threatened with a gun (the
gang stopped to pick up the car stolen in Warrington after the carjacking)
and a car was stolen in Accrington (Bolton News, 6 October
2007). A man has admitted his involvement in the carjackings (see
January 2008 Incidents).
Tottenham, Wood Green and
Edmonton Journal,
3 October 2007
Two men were shot in the thigh
and the foot by a gunman outside a social club in West Green, north
London. They were taken to hospital though their conditions were said
not to be life threatening.
Times,
3 October 2007 *
A 26-year-old woman who was
walking home from work was killed when she was hit in the head by a stray
bullet in a car park in New Cross, south London. Two men began
shooting at each other and the victim was caught in the crossfire.
Three men and a woman have been arrested, but no weapon has yet been found.
A 17-year-old arrested after the death has been accused of the attempted
murder of an unknown male and possession of a firearm with intent to commit
an indictable offence (BBC, 9 October 2007). A teenager has
been found guilty of murder (see
May 2008 Incidents).
Times,
3 October 2007
A 21-year-old man was found dead
with gunshot wounds in a stairwell of a building in Stockwell (south
London). Two teenagers aged 18 and 17 have been charged with murder,
the 17-year-old has also been charged with carrying a gun (BBC, 7
October 2007).
This is Cheshire,
3 October 2007
A 15-year-old boy on a bike was
threatened with an air rifle in a
Northwich park in July 2007. A 15-year-old girl has been sentenced
for her part in the incident in which the teenager she was with fired a
large air rifle at the boy. The victim struggled with the teenager and
the girl got involved and hit him. The victim escaped with the rifle.
Magistrates gave her a 12-month referral order for each offence.
Daily Post,
3 October 2007
An air
weapon and industrial fireworks were among a haul seized during a
day of action by Merseyside police in Croxteth and Norris Green.
BBC,
3 October 2007 *
A teenager was arrested and
questioned after an 11-year-old boy was allegedly shot with a
plastic ball bearing near Billing
Aquadrome near Northampton. The victim received a red mark on his
collar bone.
Liverpool Echo,
2 October 2007
A window of a coach was shot out
by a teenage gunman as the bus headed into the centre of Liverpool.
The perpetrator was one of a gang of about seven youths, aged around 16.
The damage was estimated at around £1000. Police suspect a
ball-bearing gun was used.
Cambridge Evening News,
2 October 2007
A gunman wearing a hallowe'en
mask attempted to rob a post office and convenience store in Saffron
Walden, Essex, but the owner refused to hand over any cash. The
offenders left empty handed. Two men have been arrested and were
helping police with their inquiries.
BBC,
2 October 2007
A man has been shot in the
shoulder in Cheetham Hill, Manchester. He was driving along a
street in the area when the attack happened. A man got out of another
car and fired at his vehicle before driving off. The injured man was
in a stable condition in hospital.
BBC,
2 October 2007 *
Kasha Peniston, 17, has admitted
the manslaughter of his 12-year-old sister at their home in Gorton,
Manchester, in April 2007 (see
Incidents). The gun was illegally owned by their mother
who had buried the .38 snub-nosed revolver in the garden. She had
already pleaded guilty to possession of the gun and possession of ammunition
(see September 2007 Incidents).
The teenager removed the gun from the garden and was playing with it in his
pocket in the living room when he shot his sister. Kasha Peniston has
been jailed for two years, Natasha Peniston for three years. Police have
since charged a man with owning the gun (BBC, 2 November 2007).
SCOTLAND
BBC,
31 October 2007
An air
rifle pellet was fired at the windscreen of a van at traffic
lights in Dundee. No-one was injured but the driver was
shocked.
Greenock Telegraph,
29 October 2007 *
A gunman tried to hold up a post
office in Inverkip but ran off empty-handed. Following the
attempted robbery police mounted a massive manhunt. A man is due to
appear in court today in connection with this hold up and two recent
robberies in Kilmacolm (see below). A man has been jailed for
five years for the Inverkip incident (see
June 2008 Incidents).
Daily Record,
26 October 2007
Philip Thompson, who fired an
airgun at police during a stand-off at his
home in West Linton, Peeblesshire, in December 2005 (see
Incidents), has been
jailed for at least three years.
Greenock Telegraph,
23 October 2007
A man grabbed a 13-year-old as
he was cycling through a Greenock park, shoved a pill into his mouth
and then threatened to shoot him if he told anyone. The boy spat out
the tablet and the police were alerted. He said that the attacker had
an air rifle.
Greenock Telegraph,
22 October 2007
A masked man subjected three
members of staff and a customer to a gunpoint ordeal at a supermarket in
Kilmacolm. He demanded money before fleeing with a three figure
sum. Four days later a man brandishing a silver handgun threatened a
member of staff at an off-licence in the town and stole a three-figure sum.
Police believe the same man may have been responsible for both robberies (Greenock
Telegraph, 25 October 2007).
Greenock Telegraph,
16 October 2007
A man has appeared in court
accused of brandishing a gun in Gourock. He denied conducting
himself in a disorderly manner, brandishing an imitation firearm, placing
people in a state of fear and alarm and committing a breach of the peace.
He also denied a charge of having an imitation
handgun in a public place on the same day. He did admit
possessing an imitation gun but claimed he had it for legitimate reasons and
it was in his house. He was released on bail.
BBC,
16 October 2007
A woman was seriously injured
when she was shot at with an air weapon
as she returned home to her flat in Townhead, Glasgow. She was
taken to hospital where she had pellets removed from her left knee and her
right thigh.
Scotland on Sunday,
14 October 2007
A
ball-bearing gun has been used in one of three attacks in the
past month in Glasgow's south side which the police believe to be
linked. The victims were aged between 13 and 18.
Greenock Telegraph,
11 October 2007
A sniper has been terrorising
Inverclyde by taking potshots with an airgun
at homes and businesses. The person strikes mostly at weekends and has
hit targets in Greenock, Port Glasgow and Gourock.
In the latest incident a business in Gourock was hit. Police think
that joyriders firing through a car window may be responsible.
ic Renfrewshire,
10 October 2007
A man has gone through emergency
surgery to remove an air pellet lodged close to his spine. His
condition was described as comfortable. The victim was walking with a
friend through a wooded area in Erskine when he was shot in the lower
back from close range. The shooter, who was armed with a powerful
air weapon, has not been found.
Dumbarton and Vale of Leven
Reporter,
9 October 2007
Gary Trainer claimed he was one
hundred per cent certain that a sub-machine gun he found in a rucksack at an
abandoned shipyard on the River Clyde, a site used by paintball fans,
was a paintball gun. The Czech-made 9mm Luge sub-machine gun was in
poor condition but in working order. Trainer pleaded guilty to
possessing an automatic weapon without lawful authority in October 2005.
The judge was unable to accept that he had found the firearm by chance and
jailed Trainer for five years.
BBC,
9 October 2007
Luke Wardle who admitted firing
an air rifle from a building site in
Galashiels in May 2007 has been ordered to be electronically tagged for
three months. Police found drugs in a nearby works cabin, and he also
admitted charges of dealing cannabis as well as possession of cocaine.
St Andrews Citizen,
5 October 2007
Adam Kavanagh, 18, was jailed
for nine months after pointing an air pistol
in the face of a student in a bar in St Andrews. The
victim, his friends and bar staff wrested the gun from his grasp.
Kavanagh admitted assaulting the student. He had been a member of a
gun club and had a previous conviction for a firearms offence.
BBC,
4 October 2007
Armed police were called out to
reports of a man with a firearm in the Pollok area of Glasgow.
A weapon was recovered but had not been discharged.
Advertiser (Midlothian),
4 October 2007
A man stole a three figure sum
of money from a bookies in Penicuik after presenting a small handgun
to two female members of staff. The women were left shaken but no-one
was injured.
Evening Telegraph and Post,
3 October 2007
A soldier suffered a serious
gunshot wound to the leg in an accident during a military training exercise
at the Barry Buddon training camp (Tayside). He received
emergency treatment in hospital and the injury is not thought to be
life-threatening. The Army is carrying out an investigation.
WALES
South Wales Echo,
29 October 2007 *
Thieves stole an
air rifle, a bank card and £25 from a house
in Heol y Mynydd, Bargoed.
Daily Post,
27 October 2007 *
A man has been charged with
possessing a .22 air rifle with intent
to cause his wife to believe that unlawful violence would be used against
her. The man, from Kinmel Bay, was further charged with
assaulting her, with allegations she was struck with a pellet. He has
been given a nine month suspended prison sentence (see
January 2008 Incidents).
South Wales Echo,
25 October 2007
A woman was driving through an
estate in Caerphilly when a missile punched a hole through the roof
of her car. She believes it was an air rifle
pellet.
Evening Leader,
10 October 2007
A 16-year-old boy has appeared
in court after wielding a ball-bearing gun
at the Wrexham bus station. He pleaded guilty to being in
possession of an imitation firearm. The gun had been bought in
Wrexham. A full pre-sentence report was ordered by the magistrate.
Western Mail,
8 October 2007
A 12-year-old boy has been
arrested after firing a BB gun at a
classmate, a 12-year-old girl, in a school in Briton Ferry. The
boy admitted the offence and has been given a police reprimand. He has
been excluded from the school.
INCIDENTS INVOLVING ANIMALS
Daily Record,
27 October 2007
A swan may have to be put down
after it was shot and left brain damaged by an
airgun pellet. It may die if released. A dog walker
spotted in the injured bird struggling on the Forth and Clyde Canal in
Falkirk.
Kent News,
25 October 2007
A cat which had been shot with
an air rifle pellet in Maidstone
had to have its leg amputated.
Eastern Daily Press,
25 October 2007
Bird welfare officers have
launched an investigation after two rare birds of prey were found on the
Queen's Sandringham estate. An allegation was made that the
rare hen harriers were shot. Only 15 nesting sites are thought to exist
across the UK.
BBC,
25 October 2007
A swan and a cygnet have been
killed in a suspected air rifle attack
by two teenage boys in Harlington, near Doncaster. The birds
were found dead next to the River Dearne. The swan had been shot
through the eye, its cygnet had died after being shot through the bill.
Two boys were seen leaving the area with an air rifle.
BBC,
24 October 2007
A cat had to have a leg
amputated after being shot with an air rifle
in Detling, Kent. The cat's owners discovered it had suffered a
wound when it returned to their house.
Lowestoft Journal,
5 October 2007
A pet cat was shot in the face
with an airgun pellet in an incident in
Lowestoft. The cat is recovering after treatment and removal of
the pellet. In June another pet cat had been shot in the face by an
air rifle pellet in Kessingland,
Suffolk.
Yorkshire Post,
4 October 2007
Up to 50 shots with an
air rifle were taken at seaside donkeys as
they grazed in a field in Scarborough. One donkey was left with
a pellet embedded in its neck following the attack.
Weston & Somerset Mercury,
4 October 2007
A thug armed with an
air rifle has shot a defenceless cat as it
was playing in Weston-super-Mare. Her owner noticed there was
blood on a window sill in her house after she came in.
Wimbledon Guardian,
4 October 2007
A cat has survived an
air rifle attack in Stanwell,
near Staines. The cat was shot several times in the stomach and its
owner has been saddled with a £900 vet's bill.
Ilford Recorder,
4 October 2007
A cat has been shot dead with an
air rifle in Hainault, Essex.
The cat's owner has also described various other incidents in the area
involving BB guns and
airguns (see above).
Bootle Times,
4 October 2007
Kyle Sheils, 17, who tormented
his neighbours in Netherton, has been given an ASBO. Among his
anti-social activities he had shot a cat with a
ball-bearing gun. He will be barred from certain areas,
swearing in public and carrying a ball-bearing gun or any form of paint in a
public place.
Swindon Advertiser,
3 October 2007
A cat owner has warmed cat
lovers to be on their guard after her pet was shot with an
air rifle in Watchfield. The
cat was very badly hurt with a would just below the neckline, but has
survived.
ic Coventry,
3 October 2007
A cygnet found with its head in
the water in Nuneaton had been shot through the head with an
air rifle and killed.
South Wales Echo,
2 October 2007
A woman in Caerau,
Cardiff, discovered her cat on a window bleeding and limping badly.
The cat had been shot on the top of her front leg with an
air rifle.
