NOVEMBER 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
This is Wiltshire,
30 November 2007
A woman claims she was shot
with a BB gun as she walked through
Chippenham. She said she felt a sharp, stabbing pain in her
leg and realised she had a bright round spot. The shot may have
been fired from a passing vehicle.
Press Association,
30 November 2007
Thomas Callery has been
jailed for a minimum term of 16 years after being found guilty of
attempted murder. Callery flew into a rage and shot a landlord's
father with a handgun as he tried to throw him out of a pub in
Walthamstow, north east London, in April 2006 (see
May 2006 Incidents).
The victim was lucky to survive and left with a bullet lodged in his
liver. Callery's partner was jailed for 3 years for assault,
affray and assisting an offender.
Evening Telegraph (Northampton),
30 November 2007
An
air weapon is believed to have been fired at a car as it
travelled along a street in Irchester. A car was coming in
the opposite direction and as the vehicles passed each other, the victim
heard something strike the driver's door of his vehicle. The
police officer who investigated the incident believed the damage was
caused by an airgun pellet or similar.
The Journal (Newcastle),
29 November 2007
A woman was threatened at
gunpoint by a robber as she left a bank in Birtley, County
Durham. He produced what police believe to be a handgun after
demanded her handbag. The victim managed to run back inside the
bank and the man fled empty-handed.
Home Office,
29 November 2007
A
total of 118 people have been arrested and over 1300 real and imitation
firearms have been seized in Manchester, London,
Liverpool and Birmingham as part of a co-ordinated day of
action which formed a key part of the Tackling Gangs Action Programme.
The firearms recovered included 10 handguns, 6
imitation handguns, 1290 realistic
imitation firearms, 3 cs gas canisters, 1 stun gun and 4
air weapons. See BBC, 28
November 2007 below.
Diss Mercury,
28 November 2007
Vandals in Harleston,
Norfolk, have been responsible for a spate of broken windows which it is
believed have been smashed with BB pellet guns.
In the latest incident a sweet shop lost £150 worth of stock because
glass went all over the children's sweets and there was £200-worth of
damage to the door.
BBC,
28 November 2007
Thirty three people were
arrested and ten firearms seized by police after raids across
Liverpool. The arrests are for a variety of offences including
possession of firearms and drugs offences. Later reports indicated
that 57 had been arrested and 10 firearms seized. Six
imitation firearms were seized during
visits to registered dealers (Liverpool Echo, 29 November 2007). Greater Manchester
Police arrested 23 people and seized a gun, a stun gun, ammunition,
machetes and drugs (Press Association, 28 November 2007).
See Home Office, 29 November 2007 above.
BBC,
28 November 2007
A 14-year-old boy has been
arrested for allegedly carrying an imitation
gun at his school in Crawley, Sussex. He was
detained and later released on police bail. It is believed the boy
was spotted on the school's CCTV putting the gun into his locker after
showing it to his friends.
Lancashire Evening Post,
27 November 2007
Firearms officers swooped on
two addresses in Ribbleton and arrested three people, a man and
two women, on suspicion of firearms offences. Police in Preston
have adopted a zero tolerance approach to weapon-carrying. One of
the women was later released without charge (Lancashire Evening Post,
28 November 2007).
Evening Telegraph (Peterborough),
27 November 2007
A motorcyclist armed with
gun robbed a woman of cash in a street in Beaumont Leys,
Leicester. The victim was unhurt but left extremely distressed.
BBC,
27 November 2007 *
A woman was shot in the neck
with an airgun as she was walking
back to her car in Bury, Greater Manchester. She had to
have an operation to remove the pellet. Police are investigating
three other similar incidents in the same area, one in September and the
other two in November. Three people, two 19-year-olds and a
21-year-old, have been arrested on suspicion of wounding and were
released on bail (IntheNews, 30 November 2007). A man
pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding (see
May 2008 Incidents).
Evening Telegraph (Peterborough),
26 November 2007
A motorist was shot at with
a ball-bearing gun while driving
along a road in Peterborough. He heard a loud bang and
discovered a dent in the back passenger door which looked like it had
been caused by a ball-bearing.
Liverpool Echo,
26 November 2007
A converted handgun, a
silencer and ammunition have been found by police searching wasteground
in Huyton.
Evening Telegraph (Northampton),
24 November 2007
Builders took cover after a
pellet was fired from an air rifle,
hitting a man in the back, on a building site in Corby. The
weapon had been pointed from the second floor of a house opposite the
site.
This is Lancashire,
23 November 2007 *
Police have released CCTV
pictures of a shopkeeper in Westhoughton being held at gunpoint
by a robber. The victim who ran an off licence was taken to
hospital suffering from an angina attack following the hold up in which
the man pulled a black handgun from his pocket. The robber fled
empty handed. A man has been jailed for four years after pleading
guilty to attempted robbery and possession of an
imitation firearm (see
January 2008 Incidents).
The Gazette (Blackpool),
23 November 2007
A massive arsenal of
BB guns and
replica firearms has been taken off the shelves of a shop in
Blackpool. More than 120 guns were confiscated by police
and trading standards officers. The operation came after the shop
sold a gun to a 17-year-old. A man was arrested for selling
realistic imitation firearms.
Sunderland Echo,
22 November 2007
Police fired a Taser gun at
a suspect after they received reports of a man allegedly carrying a
firearm in the street in Horden, County Durham. The suspect
was alleged to be knocking on doors and threatening to harm himself.
A Webley air rifle was recovered,
and a man was arrested on suspicion of affray.
Pendle Today,
22 November 2007
A member of staff at a shop
in Barrowfield, Lancashire, was threatened by a man brandishing a
handgun. The man was trying to break into a neighbouring shop by
forcing open a security shutter door. No property was taken.
Liverpool Echo,
22 November 2007
A gunman has opened fire
three times in as many weeks in a street in Dovecot, Merseyside.
In the latest attack windows at the front of a house were damaged but
no-one inside was hurt. It is believed to be the second time this
house has been singled out.
Argus,
22 November 2007
Andrew Stevens shot himself
in the head outside his ex-girlfriend's home in Lewes, Sussex, in May 2007 (see
Incidents).
The coroner has called for reforms to gun licensing laws after Stevens,
who was depressed, was able to buy a rifle and kill himself. His
gun licence application was handled by Avon and Somerset Constabulary
and a series of concerns have been raised about the procedure.
Stevens had joined a rifle and pistol club. On the day he killed
himself Stevens had first pointed his rifle at a police officer before
turning it on himself and firing the fatal shot to his head.
This is London,
21 November 2007 *
James Cordingley has been
jailed for seven years after pleading guilty to attempted robbery,
possession of a prohibited weapon and assault occasioning actual bodily
harm. He attempted to rob a woman in Horsforth, West
Yorkshire, in September 2007 whilst armed with a Taser stun gun.
He had drunk eight cans of strong lager and taken drugs, heroin and
crack cocaine during the day before the attack which he carried out to
get cash to pay a £60 drug debt.
ic Surrey,
21 November 2007
A taxi driver was threatened
at gunpoint by two men. They lured him to a secluded spot in
Pease Pottage and demanded money whilst threatening him with a
handgun. He managed to drive off and escape unhurt.
Daily Echo,
21 November 2007
An armed robber threatened a
woman worker and stole cash from a petrol station in Weymouth.
The man was carrying a handgun. The victim was left unhurt but
very shaken.
BBC,
21 November 2007
Police investigating the
murder of Rhys Jones in August 2007 (see
Incidents) have arrested a 16-year-old
and an 18-year-old over the discovery in September of a haul of guns and
ammunition in Croxteth, Merseyside. The teenagers have been
released on bail.
Wimbledon Guardian,
20 November 2007
A man delivering a curry was
robbed at gunpoint in Balham, south London. As he returned
to his bike three men demanded money and when he told them he did not
have any one man pulled out a handgun and pointed it at his face.
He handed over around £35.
Pendle Today,
20 November 2007
A schoolboy was hit in the
forehead by an object fired from an air rifle
or pellet gun in a street in
Nelson. It was also reported that a few weeks earlier a young
girl had been hit in the leg.
BBC,
20 November 2007
A woman was threatened by what
was thought to be a firearm during a robbery at her home in Coalville,
Leicestershire. The robber escaped with an undisclosed amount of
money.
Manchester Evening News,
19 November 2007
One hundred
BB guns intended for the Christmas market
have been confiscated by trading standards officers. The guns,
including handguns and machine rifles, were found when two warehouses in
Salford were raided. The guns fire lead or steel shot capable of
piercing skin.
Info4Security,
19 November 2007
Andrew Roberts and his son Mark
Roberts have been sentenced to 18 years and 15 years respectively after a
robbery in Finchley Road, north London, in October 2006 (see
Incidents) in which a
guard was threatened with a handgun outside a bank. Mark Roberts fired
shots in the street as he attempted to get away.
BBC,
19 November 2007
A man was hit in the side and
seriously injured outside a shop in Allerton, Merseyside, in a
targeted drive-by shooting.
BBC,
19 November 2007
A man who lied about his
identity and how he was hurt in a shooting incident in Harrow, north
west London, in June 2006 has been jailed for three months after pleading
guilty to one count of perverting the course of justice. Sanjeev
Bhanot was nearly paralysed by the bullet wound admitted he "feared for his
family's safety" if he co-operated.
Wimbledon Guardian,
18 November 2007
A 16-year-old was shot by three
gunmen in Mitcham, south London. The teenager was found
suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg. He was taken to hospital
but his injury is not thought to be life-threatening.
BBC,
18 November 2007 *
Six people have been arrested
after police were called to a bar in Streatham, south London,
following reports of two men with firearms. The men had left the scene
and the arrested were made later. The nightclub has now been shut
after a decision made at a special meeting of Lambeth council's licensing
committee (ic South London, 11 December 2007).
BBC,
18 November 2007
A man has died in a shooting in
Chilham in Kent. Police were called after reports of a
shooting. The man died at the scene. A man was arrested in
connection with the incident and has been bailed until January (Kent News,
21 November 2007).
Express & Echo,
17 November 2007 *
Armed police used a Taser stun
gun to subdue a man who brandished a gun and a samurai sword in the centre
of Exmouth. He pointed a handgun, later found to be a
BB gun, at a doorman. A man has
pleaded guilty to possessing a ball bearing gun causing a man to believe
that unlawful violence would be used against him (see
July 2008 Incidents).
BBC,
17 November 2007
Three masked men threatened
staff at a shop in Dedham, Essex. The men were armed with
weapons including a sawn-off shotgun.
West Yorkshire Police,
16 November 2007
A man has been arrested
following an operation in the Sheepridge area of Huddersfield.
A sawn off shotgun and an electric stun gun were recovered along with a
substantial amount of suspected cannabis.
Somerset County Gazette,
16 November 2007
Derek Hyslop has admitted
stealing thousands of pounds in a series of armed attacks on banks and
building societies across the country. He admitted six charges of
possessing an imitation firearm (a BB gun)
with intent to commit robbery and three counts of possession of an imitation
firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. He was remanded in
custody pending a pre-sentence report.
Hendon Times,
16 November 2007
Five men are on trial, one
charged with murder, all five with conspiracy to rob following the death of
a man in Cricklewood, north London, who was shot in the chest with
his own high-powered air rifle in his
home in January 2007 (see
Incidents). See
January 2008 Incidents.
Northampton Chronicle & Echo,
15 November 2007
A Lithuanian couple have had
extra security put on their Northampton house after gangs of youths
pelted it with eggs and ketchup, attacked their fence with an iron bar and
shouted at them. They said they had always had trouble with people
shooting at their window with ball-bearing guns
and throwing stones.
BBC,
15 November 2007 *
A 17-year-old has been shot dead
on a street in Stoke Newington, north London. Police were
called after report of gunfire. The victim was pronounced dead at the
scene. Two other teenagers have denied murdering the victim and face
trial in September 2008 (BBC, 10 March 2008).
Manchester Evening News,
14 November 2007
One man has been behind a
spate of robberies carried out in south Manchester, Stretford and
Stockport in the space of three weeks. On each occasion he has
walked into businesses and pointed a gun at cashiers and demanded money.
He has struck at a bookmakers and a post office in Wythenshaw, a
post office in Northenden, bookmakers in Old Trafford,
Gatley and Baguley and a travel agents in Cheadle.
Police have released CCTV images of the gunman and a substantial reward
is being offered for information that leads to his conviction.
Liverpool Daily Post,
14 November 2007 *
A man was shot dead in a
gangland-style killing in the heart of a housing estate in Speke,
Liverpool. Police were called to the scene by a member of the
public and found the body of a man with a fatal wound. He was
pronounced dead at the scene. A man has been arrested in
connection with the murder (BBC, 19 June 2008).
Herts 24,
14 November 2007
A 13-year-old girl was shot
with an airgun as she walked home
from school in Welwyn Garden City. She was struck in the
waist by one of the shots and other pellets smashed into a nearby house
and car.
Northern Echo,
13 November 2007
Marc Thorpe, who terrorised
a pregnant woman and then adopted a firing stance in the road with a
gas-fired air pistol, had hoped to be
shot by armed police. He went into the street in Harrogate,
North Yorkshire, dressed only in boxer shorts and a woollen hat after a
row with his girlfriend. Thorpe was given an 18-month community
order with probation supervision and measures to deal with his drink and
mental health issues. The gun will be destroyed.
Kent News,
13 November 2007
A man from Whitstable
was arrested after he pointed an airgun
and threatened staff at a kebab shop. He has been released pending
a decision from the CPS to prosecute.
Herald Express,
13 November 2007
A motorcyclist's crash helmet
visor was shattered in what is thought to have been an
air rifle attack as he was riding home in
Loddiswell, near Kingsbridge in Devon.
BBC,
13 November 2007
A high-powered
air rifle was stolen in a burglary at a
garage in Winterbourne Gunner near Salisbury. A faulty crossbow
was also taken.
North-West Evening Mail,
12 November 2007
A 16-year-old boy sparked a
huge police operation after he allegedly threatened a friend with an
imitation gun in Walney,
Cumbria. He was charged with possession of an
imitation gun with intent to cause fear of violence.
Evening Gazette
(Middlesbrough),
12 November 2007
A 20-year-old pregnant woman
was shot in the stomach as she was walking in Darlington.
She saw a group of teenage boys, aged 17-20, before hearing a loud crack
and feeling the searing pain of an airgun
pellet strike. Hospital staff found bruising, but her coat had
prevented more serious injury to herself and her baby. The same
evening a woman walking in the town was shot twice by an
air rifle.
On 31 October a man was shot in the back in the Parkside area of the
town: he found a part of a pellet in the wound.
BBC,
11 November 2007
Police used a stun gun and
riot-control gas to subdue football supporters at a pub in South
Shields, Tyneside.
BBC,
11 November 2007
A gun shop worker was
kidnapped by two men in Bolton and forced to open the premises
and hand over weapons and ammunition. Several guns were taken.
Shropshire Star,
10 November 2007 *
An eight-year-old boy is
fighting for his life after being shot in the head with an
airgun. The boy from
Cheswardine near Market Drayton, was today described as being in a
"serious but stable" condition. The shooting incident is being
described as a "tragic accident". It has since been
reported that the boy was given a seven percent chance of survival but
he is now recovering at home (Shropshire Star, 4 April 2008).
Lancashire Evening Post,
10 November 2007
Police sealed off parts of
Preston in a mass operation to tackle the number of
potentially-deadly shootouts between weapon-wielding gangs.
BBC,
10 November 2007
Police used a stun gun to
incapacitate a man suspected of having a firearm in Sunderland.
The man was arrested, though no weapon was found.
This is London,
9 November 2007
A man has complained about
police behaviour after three men pressed a gun to his head and robbed
him of items including his watch, money, mobile phone and his car
following an incident in Harrow when he offered a lift to men
involved in a car crash. His car was later found burnt out.
The Metropolitan Police officers apparently treated the victim as if he
himself was a criminal. One of the gang has pleaded guilty to
robbery and theft and has been jailed for four years.
Hartlepool Mail,
9 November 2007
Bus passengers in
Hartlepool were showered with glass after someone fired at the
vehicle with a pellet gun.
Blackpool Gazette,
9 November 2007
A service station in
Newton was held up at gunpoint. Two masked men stormed into
the garage and threatened the assistant before making off with a small
sum of cash from the till.
BBC,
8 November 2007
Lynton Fletcher has been
jailed for life for murdering a man who had witnessed an armed robbery
in which Fletcher participated. The victim was shot in the
chest through both lungs in central Birmingham in February 2004 (see
Incidents).
Fletcher was caught after a retired policeman was shot and badly injured
during another armed robbery in Great Barr, Birmingham, in August
2005 (see Incidents).
The man had tried to wrestle a gun from a robber. His evidence led
eventually to Fletcher. Fletcher must serve at least 27 years in
jail (BBC, 12 December 2007).
BBC,
8 November 2007
A woman has been arrested
after an attempted armed robbery in Williton near Taunton in
Somerset. Another woman was walking when she was approached by the
woman, who appeared to be holding a gun, demanding money. No money
was handed over. An imitation firearm
has been seized.
Rugby Advertiser,
7 November 2007
A pensioner who wrote an
open letter to burglars who had broken into her Rugby home may
have had her window shot at. It looked likely that the shot was
from an air rifle or a
ball-bearing gun.
Northern Echo,
7 November 2007
A youth was spotted in a
street in Peterlee, County Durham, with what was described as an
AK47 assault rifle. The weapon was later recovered from the
teenager and found to be a ball-bearing gun.
A police spokesman said "It is impossible to distinguish a replica
weapon from the real thing at a distance... People need to be aware that
if they carry an imitation firearm in a public place a tragedy could be
round the corner". The 18-year-old was given suitable advice
regarding his conduct in front of his parents.
Liverpool Echo,
7 November 2007
A 14-year-old boy was shot
in the face by a gunman whilst riding his bike in Huyton.
He was hit by two pellets and received minor facial injuries. The
weapon may have been discarded by the gunman who fled the scene in a
car. A few days earlier a man had been shot in the leg in a pub on
the same estate.
Citizen (Blackburn),
7 November 2007
A 17-year-old salesman was
shot in the back of the head as he called door to door on an estate in
Blackpool. He was left with a chipped skull after he was
hit by an air rifle pellet, thought
to have been fired from a first floor window.
West Yorkshire Police,
6 November 2007
Police are appealing for
information following reports of a man brandishing what appeared to be a
firearm in Manningham. There were no reports of any shot
having been fired.
West Yorkshire Police,
6 November 2007
A man has been arrested on
suspicion of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life after a
firearm was discharged through the letterbox of a house in the Rothwell
area of Leeds. No-one was injured in the incident.
Milton Keynes Citizen,
6 November 2007
Three teenagers, all armed with
handguns, attempted to rob a cash and carry in Milton Keynes.
The gang ran off empty-handed when one of them shouted that someone was
approaching.
Huddersfield Daily Examiner,
6 November 2007
A nine-year-old girl has been
left traumatised after she was robbed at gunpoint whilst cycling in
Dalton. Her purse, containing less than 10p was taken by a
teenager, aged 15 or 16, armed with a ball-bearing
gun which he loaded in front of her.
BBC,
6 November 2007
Two men were arrested when
police seized a sawn-off shotgun and ammunition from a house in Gateshead,
Tyneside. One of the men was charged with possession of a firearm when
prohibited for life and aggravated possession of a firearm.
BBC,
5 November 2007
A nine-year-old girl has been
injured after she was shot in the head with an
airgun pellet in an incident in Shard End, Birmingham.
Hospital staff were not able to remove the pellet, and she is expected to
receive specialist care in a plastic surgery unit.
This is Wiltshire,
4 November 2007
Deshan Chetty broke
into the former home of a friend in the centre of
Swindon
in August 2007 and was confronted by the friend's estranged wife. As he
fled he stole a ball-bearing gun
belonging to her son. He was ordered to do 80 hours of community
service and was put on probation for six months.
Sun,
2 November 2007
Nicholas Violett showed off a
handgun in a pub in Urmston, Greater Manchester. He admitted
possessing an air weapon in a public
place and has been jailed for five months.
Liverpool Daily Post,
1 November 2007
A man has died after being
repeatedly shot at his home near Liverpool city centre. He
suffered a number of wounds to the stomach. Three men have been
arrested on suspicion of murder.
SCOTLAND
Greenock Telegraph,
23 November 2007
A 16-year-old pleaded guilty
to having a plastic gun and pellets
in Port Glasgow town centre. Christopher McDonald handed
over the weapon to police when they saw him apparently hiding something.
He claimed it was sold as a toy and he had bought it as a toy.
Sentence was deferred for a year.
Evening News (Edinburgh),
22 November 2007
A 17-year-old from Tranent,
East Lothian, has been given an Asbo after terrorising the town by
brandishing an air rifle. He was
alleged to have damaged property with the weapon. His mother claimed
it was a toy gun he bought from a market in Blackpool for £20. "It
wasn't powerful, it was a toy".
Courier,
22 November 2007
A passenger in a 4x4 car
which stopped a delivery van on the M90 near Bridge of Earn,
Perthshire, fired at the van with what is understood to have been a
rifle. The van driver escaped unhurt but the bonnet of the van was
dented.
Evening News (Edinburgh),
19 November 2007
During the last four years
official police action has been required on 47 occasions when an
air rifle or BB
gun was used in a Lothians school.
BBC,
15 November 2007 *
A man has died in a shooting
accident on a farm near Forfar. He suffered fatal chest
injuries when a shotgun he was carrying went off.
Evening Express
(Aberdeen),
12 November 2007
A landmark theatre in
Aberdeen has been damaged in apparent drive-by shootings. Police
and staff at the theatre believe that a hole in a shattered window pane
could only have been caused by an airgun
pellet. A second pane of glass was later shattered in a similar way.
Sunday Mail,
4 November 2007
Someone has fired shots at the
Glasgow home of ex-MSP Tommy Sheridan who has campaigned for tighter
laws on airguns. He was at home with his wife and two-year-old
daughter when holes were made in the front window by, it is believed,
airgun pellets.
BBC,
2 November 2007 *
David Moran from Seafield,
near Bathgate, pointed a handgun at two police officers and threatened to
shoot them. An off-duty policeman came up behind him and grabbed the
gun, later found to be an air weapon.
Moran had taken methadone, valium and tonic wine and picked up the handgun
after an argument with his girlfriend. He pleaded guilty to assaulting
the officers by threatening to shoot them. He has been jailed for four
years (Scotsman, 7 December 2007).
WALES
Western Mail,
17 November 2007
Brinley Watkins pointed a
handgun at armed officers gathered outside his home in Rassau in June
2007 (see Incidents).
He was shot in the stomach by a police marksman. His weapon was a
faulty airgun. He has been jailed
for two years
after pleading guilty to two counts of possess an imitation firearm with
intent to cause fear of violence and one count of making a threat to kill.
BBC,
14 November 2007
North Wales Police are
searching for three men who kidnapped a lorry driver at gunpoint on the
A55 at Caerwys, Flintshire. The driver was threatened with
a handgun and then driven by car to Skelmersdale in Lancashire
where he was released. The lorry is still missing.
BBC,
12 November 2007
The death of a
17-year-old-boy who was shot with an air rifle
is being described as a "tragic accident". Two
teenagers have been arrested after the death of the boy in Maesglas,
Newport. The teenager was visiting his grandmother at the time and
was found by ambulance crews lying in the street with an airgun pellet
wound to his chest.
Daily Post,
9 November 2007
A teenage soldier who
pointed a ball-bearing gun at a friend in a supermarket car park in
Holywell was arrested at gunpoint by police. Craig Campbell
admitted possessing an imitation firearm
(a realistic black plastic replica pistol). He was fined £500 with
£60 costs. Campbell will apparently receive a double penalty
as the army will also punish him.
BBC,
2 November 2007
Three men have been sentenced
for their part in armed robberies at a betting shop in Lakeside,
Cardiff, and a travel agency in Pontyclun in February 2007 (see
Incidents).
Robert Worrell, Emanuel Uzo and Morris Doyle were together jailed for a
total of 28 years. At the travel agent's two of the men wielding an
imitation firearm forced staff into a back
room and stole thousands of pounds in cash and travellers cheques.
Hours before the robbers had threatened the betting shop manager with the
same weapon.
INCIDENTS INVOLVING ANIMALS
Lynn News,
30 November 2007
A 13-year-old cat had to
have a leg amputated after it was shot at close range with an
airgun. The cat's owners, from
Gaywood in Norfolk, are frightened to let their other two cats out
of the house.
Liverpool Echo,
24 November 2007
When a swan was being
treated after being shot with a crossbow X-rays revealed pellets beneath
the skin from previous airgun and
shotgun attacks. The bird was found in Stanley Park in Anfield.
BBC,
23 November 2007
A swan that had lived on a
pond in a nature reserve in Rhyl, Denbighshire, for 14 years was
found dead after being shot with an air rifle.
Press & Journal,
21 November 2007
A cat in Monifieth,
Angus, needed surgery to have its eye removed after being shot with an
airgun. The attack has been
condemned by the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals and Tayside Police.
Birmingham Mail,
20 November 2007
Cat owners in part of
Kidderminster, Worcestershire, have been warned to keep an eye on
their pets after one was shot and injured by an
airgun pellet. The pellet was
removed from the cat's neck and it is expected that the pet will make a
full recovery.
Bolton News,
16 November 2007
A cat shot by an
air rifle in Bury was the first pet
to be operated on at a new mobile animal welfare clinic in Radcliffe funded
by the RSPCA.
North-West Evening Mail,
15 November 2007
A cat owner in Barrow has
been devastated by the shooting of two of her pets with an
airgun. Both cats are recovering from
their injuries. One had to have a pellet removed from a bone in his
leg, the other still has a pellet still embedded in his rump.
Lincolnshire Echo,
15 November 2007
A cat survived an
air rifle shooting in Glebe Park in
Lincoln after being shot in the head at close range. He is slowly
recuperating but the injuries may have damaged his brain.
Gloucestershire Echo,
14 November 2007
A cat from Charlton Kings
has been shot twice this year and has had to have a leg amputated. She
was targeted with an air rifle in May
and again in August. His owner has had to pay £1133 in vet's bills,
excluding the amputation.
Eastbourne Today,
4 November 2007
The RSPCA has warned youngsters
in Eastbourne who have been shooting squirrels and rabbits with
air rifles that they are not only killing
animals, they are distressing local residents and breaking the law. A
number of seriously injured animals have been found and have had to be put
down.
Cambridge Evening News,
3 November 2007
A pet cat has died after being
shot with an airgun in Littlebury.
The three-year-old was found in her basket crying in agony. Vets found
an airgun pellet had punctured her intestines in three separate places and
despite emergency surgery she died soon afterwards.
