Gun incidents 2003

2003

GCN collected only a limited proportion of relevant media articles during most of this period

ENGLAND

Ananova, 29 December 2003

A man and a woman were shot within twenty minutes of one another with an air weapon on same street in Plymouth. Police wanted to trace the occupants of a white saloon car in connection with both incidents.

Sunday Mail, 28 December 2003

The paper reported three shootings across Britain which had left one man dead and two others injured. One victim was killed in a restaurant in Birmingham. A man was critically injured after being shot in the chest in Newcastle-under-Lyme. In the third attack a man was shot in the arm in his home in Gorton, Manchester.

Evening Gazette (Middlesbrough), 24 December 2003

A teenager from Teeside was given a combination of 100 hours community punishment and two years rehabilitation after being found guilty of shooting a man with an airgun. The victim's right lung collapsed. The 17-year-old and others were drinking and indulging in target practice with a gun at Marske.

Evening Post (Bristol), 22 December 2003

A baby boy was showered in glass after a window was smashed in a suspected airgun attack on a bus travelling though Eastville, Bristol.

BBC, 22 December 2003

Gavin Hollins, 25, fired an airgun out of a flat window in Whitchurch and hit a woman passer-by in her thigh. He was given 180 hours of community service and ordered to pay £500 compensation. The judge told Hollins he "richly deserved" to go to prison.

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle), 19 December 2003

A sniper with an airgun shattered a window of a Metro train as it left Heworth Station near Gateshead. A number of passengers were reported as looking pretty shaken.

BBC, 12 December 2003

Mark Harrington pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of his 18-year-old friend who died in January 2002 after he was shot in the back of the head in Blackburn. Harrington had been treated for a serious psychiatric illness and his care has been criticised by an independent inquiry.

Leicester Mercury, 8 December 2003

Two men, Devon Bryan and Donovan Reid, were jailed for 20 years and 18 years respectively for the shooting of a man at his home in Northfields, Leicester. The victim was gunned down in his hallway after he went to the aid of his girlfriend. In spite of injuries to his chest, lung, liver and neck he did survive the handgun attack.

Express & Echo (Exeter), 5 December 2003

A 12-year-old schoolgirl was shot in the stomach with a BB gun as she was walking with friends in Tiverton. Two shots were fired from a passing car filled with teenagers.

Eastern Daily Press, 5 December 2003

A family in Thetford has been terrorised by youths who have targeted them because they have a similar surname to a convicted paedophile. In one attack an airgun was fired at their bathroom window.

BBC, 28 November 2003

A 12-year-old boy has been expelled from a school in Blackhill, Consett, after removing a BB gun from his school bag and pointing it at two teachers.

BBC, 26 November 2003

A man was left with leg injuries after a shooting in Bingham, Nottinghamshire.

Sunderland Echo, 26 November 2003

Armed police were called out to a Sunderland home after terrified neighbours reported hearing a constant crack of gunfire. Two men were shooting at targets with an air rifle in the back garden, and although the police confirmed the shooters were not breaking the law they did fear that this is the sort of incident which could end in disaster.

Evening Post (Nottingham), 21 November 2003

After his demand for cigarettes was refused, a 13-year-old boy took a BB gun from his pocket, held it a foot away a woman's face and pulled the trigger ten times. Not surprisingly his victim was absolutely terrified. The incident, in which boy was accompanied by other gang members, took place in Colwick. The youth escaped a custodial sentence because of his age.

Evening Post (Nottingham), 18 November 2003

A teenage girl brandishing a 15cm-long black "handgun" demanded cash from three other girls aged 12, 15 and 16. Nicole Wright pleaded guilty at Nottingham Crown Court to possession of an imitation firearm while committing an offence. She was "as close as can possibly be" to a custodial sentence.

BBC, 12 November 2003

An 18-year-old man was treated for injuries after being shot in the head with a high-powered air rifle on the Wallsend Industrial Estate in Cattedown, Plymouth. Two teenagers were arrested by police in connection with the shooting.

BBC, 10 November 2003

A man was struck in the face during an attack in a Shrewsbury pub. He was pistol whipped with a gas powered .177 calibre air pistol, which had been taken from him by his assailant..

ThisistheBlackCountry, 10 November 2003

An 11-year-old-girl from Oldbury was a serious but stable condition after being shot in the chest with an air rifle. The pellet had hit a main artery. A boy, 13, and a man were arrested after the incident.

National Newspapers, 8 November 2003

A couple who owned a garage near Wadebridge were both beaten and shot dead. Carol Fisher was apparently running away when she was killed, her husband's body was found inside their bungalow. It has been reported that a shotgun was used. Two brothers have been jailed for life for the murders (see January 2006 Incidents).

Guardian, 7 November 2003

A motorist died in hospital after being shot several times from a passing car in Nechells, Birmingham.

BBC, 6 November 2003

Police raided a house in Plumstead and seized ninety guns. Officers suspected that gas-fired replica guns were being converted to fire live ammunition.

National Newspapers, 4 November 2003

A six-year-old girl, Makada Weaver, was one of three people shot by a gunman at their home in Kensington, Liverpool. Makada was hit by a stray bullet which had ricocheted into her right arm and grazed her chest.

Eastern Daily Press, 4 November 2003

Five shots were fired at a man and woman through the door and windows of their Norwich home. Last year armed officers in Norfolk were deployed to 186 incidents, 90 of which reportedly involved handguns. They recovered 33 replicas and 11 airguns, but no handguns.

BBC, 2 November 2003

A man has been charged with murder following the killing of a man at a pub in Wellington, Somerset. Police were called to the pub after a man allegedly walked into the pub, pulled out a firearm and shot the victim in the head.

Enfield & Haringey Independent, 31 October 2003

Random sniper shots from airguns left five people injured in the London Borough of Enfield over one weekend. Two people had pellets lodged in their bodies and three others suffered minor injuries. Four of the incidents took place at night in Green Lanes. In the fifth incident a 16-year-old girl was hit in the cheek in Edmonton Green shopping centre during the early evening.

Guardian, 29 October 2003

A pregnant woman was shot in the face when she returned to her home in Beeston, Leeds. She discovered two masked men holding 10 members of her family at gunpoint. The men fled with a quantity of cash and jewellery.

BBC, 28 October 2003

The BBC reported that firefighters in Corby were receiving police protection when they attend incidents. Fire crews have been ambushed and attacked on such a regular basis that CCTV cameras have been installed in fire engines and police officers would join the crews at certain incidents. In one attack an air rifle was fired at firefighters whilst attending a fire.

BBC, 24 October 2003

Two men were arrested by armed officers in York after one of them was seen waving a gun at CCTV cameras in a park and ride car park. The police, who recovered a plastic ball bearing gun, warned people carrying pellets gun in public they risk "devastating consequences".

Express & Echo (Exeter), 23 October 2003

Armed police stormed a house in Exeter and arrested a man believed to have an air rifle following a four-hour stand-off. A woman claimed she had been threatened with a gun. No shots were fired.

Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 22 October 2003

A woman who came face to face with a gunman believes the terror she felt is ample proof that fake guns should be banned. Sonia Bennett was robbed by two teenagers who held up the petrol station in Huddersfield where she worked. She saw a big light-coloured pistol but had no idea whether it was real or fake. When police later arrested two youths they discovered that the weapon was a cigarette lighter made to look like a gun.

Lakeland Today, 22 October 2003

Two people in Barrow town centre were shot with an air rifle in a 'sniper style' attack. Both victims suffered bruising and have been left with pellet marks.

Liverpool Echo, 20 October 2003

Four teenagers were shot with an air rifle by a man in Kirkby. Two victims were taken to hospital; one narrowly escaped being blinded by a metal pellet. A 36-year-old man was arrested the next day.

BBC, 19 October 2003

Armed police were sent to a house in Newmarket, after a man was seen firing an air rifle from a window. A taxi driver was reported to have been hit in the stomach. Police officers persuaded the man to give himself up, and a man was eventually arrested eight hours after the incident began.

Guardian, 17 October 2003

A man was shot dead at his flat in Bermondsey in south east London.

icSouthLondon, 17 October 2003

A shop assistant was shot in the head during a raid by a masked gunman in South Croydon. A metal pellet was removed from under his left ear.

Guardian, 14 October 2003

Jonathan Gordon, a former doorman, was shot dead in the early morning on a street in a student district of Leeds. He was crammed into his own car and then dumped near to a hospital after the shooting.

Independent, 11 October 2003

Listed 109 incidents that took place in the last week.

National Newspapers, 9 October 2003

A Leicester man, Amratlal Kanabar, was shot dead whilst he and three other men were returning at night from Nottingham. The incident happened on the A46 on the outskirts of Leicester. A man and a woman were put on trial, accused of the murder, in September 2004 (PA News, 13 September 2004). Richard Watson who had shot Mr Kanabar with a sawn-off shotgun was found guilty of murder and jailed for life (Independent, 16 October 2004).

Liverpool Echo, 8 October 2003

Firefighters were shot at with an air rifle during an attack by a gang of 16 youths in Whiston. Some of the youths were as young as 12-years-old.

Guardian, 6 October 2003

Three men were shot in Reading in a drive-by attack. One of the victims had to undergo emergency surgery after sustaining serious facial injuries.

BBC, 1 October 2003

A 19-year-old man has died after he was shot in a street in Perry Bar, Birmingham. Police have launched a murder inquiry.

National Newspapers, 5 October 2003

Three men, including Liverpool FC player Jon Otsemobor, were shot in the centre of Liverpool during the early hours of a Sunday. All three victims were taken to the Royal Liverpool University Hospital. A small calibre weapon was used, according to police.

National Newspapers, 4 October 2003

Two men were shot outside a gym in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire. One of them, David King, was killed. An automatic weapon was used in what was described as a gangland-style killing. Three men have been jailed for the murder (see August 2005 Incidents).

Herald Express, 4 October 2003

A South Devon teenager who shot a woman in the face with an air rifle is to be taken to the Headway unit at Exmouth which helps people who have suffered brain injuries. The youth had shot a woman walking her dog along a path at Ashburton. The victim needed treatment in casualty and continues to be shocked and distressed. It is hoped that the visit to the unit will hammer home the seriousness of what the youth did by showing him what could easily have happened to his victim.

National Newspapers, 1 October 2003

Marion Bates, a jeweller, was shot dead with a handgun in front of her husband and daughter during an armed raid on her shop in Arnold, Nottingham.

Telegraph, 26 September 2003

Three schools had to be closed because of an armed siege at a nearby house. A man who was believed to have a firearm barricaded himself in a flat in Leatherhead, Surrey.

Bath Chronicle, 26 September 2003

Brian Gillies was given a two-year rehabilitation order after he admitted using an imitation firearm to frighten police officers at a house in Bath. The judge described the firearm as very lifelike.

National Newspapers, 26 September 2003

Shabir Hussain and Mohammed Shabir were jailed for 11 years each after being found guilty of running a "weapons factory". They used the basements of their homes in Selly Oak and Tipton to convert blank firing pistols into fully-working guns. It is estimated that 170 firearms were tampered with to allow them to fire ball bearings.

Eastern Daily Press, 25 September 2003

Staff at a Norwich pub disarmed a drunken man who had threatened them with a firearm. The gun turned out to be an imitation pistol.   The judge at Norwich Crown Court said the accused deserved to be locked up. He was, however, made subject to an 18-month community rehabilitation order.

Guardian, 23 September 2003

Police were investigating a chase and shooting on the M4 near Maidenhead. They were looking for four men.

Manchester Evening News, 19 September 2003

Thomas Hosty, a teacher who taught at Harwood Park Primary in Heywood was jailed for 12 months last year for possessing an arsenal of illegal weapons, thirteen handguns, at his home. However, after a hearing of the General Teaching Council for England he can continue in his profession following his release, a move that angered local education bosses.

Herald Express, 19 September 2003

A soldier taking pot shots with an air rifle out of an upstairs room hit a thirteen-year-old child in the head. The boy's mother, from Newton Abbot, said her son was severely traumatised as a result. The soldier, Michael Cook, pleaded guilty to discharging a firearm in a public place and causing actual bodily harm. He was given a 160-hour community punishment order. The victim's mother was said to be furious that he's escaped prison.

Telegraph, 18 September 2003

Gunshots were fired at the home of pop singer Jennifer Ellison in Liverpool, who was apparently not at home.

The Cornishman, 18 September 2003

A man from Penzance was arrested for breach of the peace after apparently shooting himself with a pellet gun.

Ripley Today, 18 September 2003

Surgeons had to remove an airgun pellet from under the skin of a man who was shot whilst walking in Ripley. A second pellet had bruised his leg.

The Sentinel (Staffordshire), 17 September 2003

At his trial at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court a Burslem man was charged with robbery and six counts of using an imitation firearm.

Liverpool Echo, 17 September 2003

A woman who was hit in the face whilst riding on a 10A bus in Kensington is thought to have been struck by an airgun pellet.

National Newspapers, 15 September 2003

Seven-year-old Toni-Ann Byfield and her father were shot dead in a bed sit in Kensal Green. Her death was greeted with shock and revulsion and prompted much discussion on gun crime in the media. Two years later a new suspect emerged in the hunt for the girl's killer (Kilburn Times, 23 September 2005). A man has been given a life sentence for the double murder (see August 2006 Incidents).

BBC, 15 September 2003

A seven-year-old boy had to be treated in hospital after being shot and injured with an airgun whilst playing outside his home in Nuneaton.

Sky, 12 September 2003

A man who bungled a robbery in the City of London used an imitation Glock pistol loaded with blanks to threaten bank cashiers. He was jailed for 10 years.

This Is Local London, 11 September 2003

Someone has been taking pot shots at passers-by from a tower block in Walthamstow. A number of people have been hit, including a postman who received a pellet-shaped mark on his right bicep.

icCoventry, 10 September 2003

A Coventry man, Aaron Williamson, who pleaded guilty to possessing an imitation firearm and of making threats to kill was jailed for two years. He had threatened two women, holding the gun to the head of one of them.

Eastern Daily Press, 9 September 2003

A court was told that a 15-year-old boy was seen with a loaded air rifle in a children's play area in Beccles, Suffolk. He was given a six-month referral order for possession of a firearm in a public place and carrying an air gun without a suitable cover.

Wanstead and Woodford Guardian, 8 September 2003

Two residents of Ilford were hit by airgun pellets in two separate incidents. After one incident a woman had bruising to her hip and a graze to her arm. In the second a man was struck in the knee.

Macclesfield Express, 5 September 2003

Craig Moses, 18, was jailed for four years following a BB gun attack in Macclesfield in April. One man was hit in the throat and has been left with a ball bearing permanently lodged there. Surgeons felt there would be a risk to major arteries if they operated. Moses also fired at a group of men and shattered a shop window. Bystanders were showered in shards of glass. Police later recovered an air rifle and a BB gun.

Press Association, 3 September 2003

Richard Ashley, a firearms dealer from Pakenham, Suffolk, was accused of keeping dozens of illegally-held weapons after a raid on his home. The haul found by police included 3 rocket launchers, 48 handguns and 42 machine guns. Although he had a certificate which permitted possession of some pre-assembled prohibited weapons the number of guns outstripped the legal limits. On 24 September the Evening Star reported that Ashley's son had committed suicide with a gun kept at his father's house.

Sale and Altrincham News, 2 September 2003

The mother of an eight-year-old boy, who was shot in the neck with a BB gun outside his house, has called on shops not to sell the guns. They are available across Trafford for around £8 each.

Guardian, 2 September 2003

Two men, an uncle and nephew, were shot dead minutes after they asked a driver of a parked car to move from behind their hotel in Forest Gate, east London.

Evening Mail (Birmingham), 30 June 2003

A man was gunned down in a barber's shop in Aston. His father said he feared that his son will become the latest fatality in the gang warfare on the streets of Birmingham.

East Anglian Daily Times, 17 June 2003

A 15-year-old schoolgirl was shot with an air rifle whilst sitting in a field, just minutes after finishing school in Haverhill, Suffolk. She was shot in the thigh by a pellet that left a red mark and bruise. A police spokesman said that “Air weapons are not toys and should only be used in the appropriate surroundings”.

National Newspapers, 16 June 2003

Robert Dickinson, 52, was charged with the murder of his neighbour who was shot after an alleged dispute over a garden hedge in Lincoln. In 2001 a man from Talybont-on-Usk, Powys, had been detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act after he had also shot a neighbour dead following a row about a hedge.

Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 9 June 2003

A policeman was shot with an airgun whilst a gang threw petrol bombs during an attack on a housing office in the Deighton area of Huddersfield.

BBC, 9 June 2003

A 48-year-old-man was shot as he prepared to tee off on the tenth hole of the Longcliffe Golf Club at Nanpantan, near Loughborough. It is understood that a shotgun was used. A man has been charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and possession of a firearm.

ITV.com, 8 June 2003

A Coventry pensioner was shot dead outside his home as he returned from caring for his sick daughter. He was parking his car at the time.

National Newspapers, 7 June 2003

Keith Larkins died after a shoot-out with police on the A4 near Heathrow airport. The police had returned fire after Larkins had fired a replica handgun loaded with blank ammunition at a police dog handler who had pulled him over for a motoring offence. A later report suggested that it may have been an attempt by the dead man to kill himself. An inquest jury later ruled that he had been lawfully killed (AOL News, 27 June 2005).

Evening Mail (Birmingham), 6 June 2003

A high speed shoot-out between men in two cars caused rush hour chaos in Birmingham. Police believe the incident was confined to the occupants of the two cars.

Express & Star (Wolverhampton), 28 May 2003

A 13-year-old boy may lose the sight in one eye after he was shot in the face with an airgun on a golf course in Amington, Tamworth. The incident was one of a spate of airgun shootings in Tamworth in recent weeks. A local police officer said “It seems children are getting access to weapons which they shouldn’t be able to. We are urging parents to stop this happening”.

Leeds Today, 26 May 2003

John Bernard Rooney was jailed for 20 years at York Crown Court after committing 23 robberies. He admitted six charges of robbery with a replica gun. He had been caught after a five-hour armed siege in Scarborough.

Evening Gazette (Teesside), 22 May 2003

The Thornaby offices of Stockton South MP Dari Taylor were attacked by thugs who fired an air rifle at a window. Her offices were protected by specially-installed bullet-proof glass. Mrs Taylor is a supporter of stricter controls over the use of air weapons and has been campaigning to get hooligans off the streets of a local estate.

This is Local London, 15 May 2003

A robber who terrorised a pregnant woman in her own home with an imitation firearm was jailed for nine years. Two men broke into her flat in Gravesend and threatened her with the replica gun before taking a mobile phone, a car and £10.   After the pair were arrested firearms experts examined the gun and said it was extremely hard to distinguish from a genuine weapon.

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle), 30 April 2003

A toddler was lucky to escape serious injury after being hit with an airgun pellet in Dudley, North Tyneside, whilst out walking with her mother. She was wearing a thick coat and a jumper, yet the pellet still caused a large mark on her skin. A local resident said “These rifles should definitely be banned but it seems young kids can get a hold of them and they think they are toys but they certainly aren’t”

Oldham Evening Chronicle, 24 April 2003

A shotgun was held to the head of a five-year-old boy during a raid on his family’s home by five masked men. The men threatened to kill the boy if his mother failed to hand over valuables. The gang stole a number of items from the house in Denshaw.

BBC, 18 April 2003

A gunman walked into a barber shop in West Norwood, south London, and shot dead a customer. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

BBC, 16 April 2003

When Paul Evans, 19, mistook the door of a bungalow for the pub in Broughton-on-Furness where he was staying he was shot by the bungalow’s owner, Anthony Spray, with a 0.22 calibre air rifle.   Evans lost the sight of his left eye.   Spray, who thought he was a burglar, was found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm.

BBC, 15 April 2003 *

A man has been shot dead from behind in Handsworth, Birmingham. His attacker fired up to 16 bullets from an automatic weapon. The victims was talking to three youths when he was shot. A man has been charged with the murder (see April 2008 Incidents).

Evening Post (Nottingham), 16 April 2003

A gunman opened fire on a house in the middle of a residential estate in Top Valley, Nottingham. The front door had five bullet holes. Four days earlier a 33-year-old man escaped unhurt after shots were fired at his car in the same area.

Evening Post (Nottingham), 9 April 2003

Police, neighbours, campaigners and an MP have expressed anger that an obsessive gun collector who hoarded illegal weapons and ammunition in his house and garden shed was ordered to serve only 12 months in jail. Leo Bigus upset neighbours by taking pot-shots at a target in his garden in Nottingham. One bullet went astray and ricocheted through a nearby bedroom window.

Evening Post (Nottingham), 24 March 2003

A Nottingham man was jailed for three years after an arsenal of illegal weapons was found in his home. Andrew Curwood was at home with his two children, aged 14 and 3, when the police called. They discovered rifles and shotguns in his loft and a loaded .38 Smith and Wesson revolver under his bed. Various other weapons were also recovered. Curwood was reported to have been a member of a gun club in Nottingham who had collected weapons over the years.

Express & Star, 20 March 2003

A high-powered airgun shattered a double-glazed window at a house in Burntwood, West Midlands. The police described it as a mindless and dangerous attack. There had been a spate of incidents in the area involving ball-bearing (BB) guns during the previous year.

Manchester online, 20 March 2003

A young mother was shot in the face with an air rifle as she walked to the shops with her baby daughter in Newton Heath. Surgeons at Manchester Royal Infirmary said they could not immediately remove the pellet embedded in the middle of her nose.

Express & Echo (Exeter), 14 March 2003

An elderly man told Exeter Crown Court how he was threatened with a machete and an air pistol to his face. The airgun looked like a modern self-loading pistol. The victim was forced to hand over his cash card and PIN number.

Express & Star (Wolverhampton), 13 March 2003

Two men, appearing at Wolverhampton Crown Court, pled guilty to two offences of assault causing actual bodily harm and possessing a firearm following an airgun attack in Wolverhampton city centre which left four victims shot. One victim, a mother-of-five, was shot in the eye and needed emergency surgery after the incident in December.

Borehamwood & Elstree Times, 12 March 2003

An airgun shot was fired at car in Barnet Lane. The perpetrator was described as being between 15 and 20 years. The driver was able to control the car, but was left shaken.

Times, 12 March 2003

A young woman, who was with a woman friend, was shot at point-blank range in her car in Tottenham, North London. Three men passed the car and then turned back. One stuck a handgun through the car window and shot the woman through the heart. It was the fifth shooting in the area within two months. In October 2004 two men were each given a life sentence after being found guilty of the murder (BBC, 1 October 2004).

icWales, 9 March 2003

An attack on a bus, believed to involve an airgun, occurred in Crosby, Merseyside.   The driver of the late-night bus was taken to hospital to have a pellet removed from his cheek. Following the shooting the bus careered off the road.

Express & Echo (Exeter), 4 March 2003

In another attack on a bus, a driver was shot in the neck with an airgun in Exeter. Two youths pressed a button to open the bus doors and then fired the weapon.

Hull Daily Mail, 4 March 2003

Robert Cotson, 17, from the Boothferry Estate in Hull was sentenced to six months detention after admitting shooting three people. One of his victims was a 12-year-old boy who was almost blinded after being shot in the eye with an airgun.

Daily Post (Wirral), 28 February 2003

A 13-year-old teenager was shot in the leg by an airgun pellet on her way to school in Birkenhead. One youth was charged with assault.

Daily Telegraph, 25 February 2003

David Edwards from Hull was jailed for nine years for manslaughter, after shooting and killing a woman with an airgun.

Eastern Daily Press, 24 February 2003

The newspaper reported an escalation in airgun attacks on buses. The bus company involved said that the attacks could result in the withdrawal of services from a housing estate in Gorleston, Norfolk.

Observer, 16 February 2003

A sniper shot four pedestrians, including a disabled woman, in the Cheetham Hill area of Manchester. Lead pellets had to be removed from the throat of one victim and from the stomach of another. Police believed that the standard-issue air rifle pellets had been modified to increase their velocity.

BBC, 10 February 2003

A man was shot dead in Manningham, Bradford, after he saw a security guard being robbed outside a travel agents and tried to stop the robbery. He was shot in the chest after he and a friend chased the robbers' getaway car.

BBC, 5 February 2003

A 15-year-old was shot in Eston, Teesside, and needed surgery to remove a pellet lodged in his eye socket. Another 15-year-old boy has been arrested.

Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 4 February 2003

A 13-year-old girl suffered a serious eye injury after being shot in the face whilst she and a friend were out walking in Huddersfield. It is thought that an air weapon was involved.

Guardian, 24 January 2003

A gunman was shot dead by police after threatening officers with a firearm. The incident took place at a roundabout on the A6 in Clophill, Bedfordshire. A inquest jury later found that he was lawfully killed (PA News, 8 March 2005)

Leicester Mercury, 21 January 2003

A court heard how an 81-year-old woman was shot dead at her home in Kegworth by a burglar whom she confronted with a handgun. The weapon was turned on her.

BBC, 13 January 2003

Magistrates in Staffordshire fined a market trader £300 after a toddler was shot in the head with an airgun when the gun went off accidentally at a stall at Penkridge Market. The family of the toddler were unhappy at the sentence and said that he could have lost an eye or been seriously brain damaged.

Observer, 12 January 2003

Eli Hall died after a 15-day siege at his bedsit in Hackney. Hall was a prime suspect for the shooting of a police officer in Soho the previous August. A subsequent inquest ruled that he had shot himself in the head (Guardian, 18 January 2005).

Guardian, 11 January 2003

Police recovered more than 1700 blank-firing guns, the majority blank-firing revolvers, in raids on shops in central Manchester. Undercover officers had previously purchased a variety of guns to see if they could be adapted to fire live ammunition.

National Newspapers, January 2003

The murders of teenagers Charlene Ellis and Letisha Shakespeare, who were gunned down outside a New Year party in Aston, prompted considerable soul-searching about gun crime and the possession of firearms in the UK. The story of the girls' killing, when they were caught in the crossfire of a gang dispute, and their parents' roles in campaigns to reduce gun crime, especially in England's inner cities, have been well covered by the media throughout the year. The trial of five men charged with the murders began in October 2004 (PA News, 4 October 2004).

SCOTLAND

Stirling Observer, 26 November 2003

A weapons expert, who spotted a realistic looking replica gun being sold by an 8-year-old boy at a car boot sale in Stirling, was so worried that he bought the gun for £8 to prevent it falling into the wrong hands. The gun was in fact a cigarette lighter. A spokesman for Central Scotland Police reinforced the message that "by their very nature it is impossible to distinguish them [replica firearms] from the real thing" and warned that if presented in a public place then it would be treated as a potential threat.

Edinburgh Evening News, 22 October 2003

In two separate incidents two children were injured by air rifles in the Lothians. At Armadale a 12-year-old boy was shot in the eye whilst shooting at clay targets with friends at a quarry. A 0.22 pellet is lodged in his eye and he may lose his sight. A 17-year-old youth has been charged with reckless discharge. In the second incident in Dalkeith a seven-year-old boy was hit in the chest by a pellet from an air rifle fired by a nine-year-old. The air rifle belonged to the latter's father who has handed the weapon into Lothian and Borders Police for destruction.

Evening Times (Glasgow), October 2003

A greenkeeper at Glasgow Golf Club in Killermont, Bearsden was shot in the stomach with an airgun pellet. Club professional Jack Steven said "Kids are hiding in the bushes and taking shots".

Edinburgh Evening News, 23 September 2003

A gunman fired a weapon during an attack on a woman and her baby in Whitburn, West Lothian. The gunman is said to have pushed her to the ground and held the gun over her head. During a struggle a shot was fired, but fortunately neither victim was hurt.

Stirling Observer, 3 September 2003

A bus driver was struck in the arm with a pellet fired from an air rifle in Bannockburn. He was able to drive the bus and its passengers to the nearby bus depot where he contacted the police.

Evening Times (Glasgow), 3 September 2003

The High Court in Glasgow heard how a fast food manager was gunned down in broad daylight as he went for a pint in his local in Linwood. Three men were on trial accused of Billy Fargher's murder with a shotgun.

Edinburgh Evening News, 1 September 2003

Police recovered an imitation firearm after an armed raid on an Edinburgh cash and carry by two men.

Evening Times (Glasgow), 3 July 2003

In an unprovoked attack in Erskine, a bus driver was shot in the head when he stopped his bus to let passengers off. Two teenagers who tried to come to his rescue were also shot at. The perpetrators were hiding behind bushes near the stop. After treatment in hospital the driver was able to go home, but surgeons had been unable to remove a pellet embedded in the back of his skull.

Evening Times (Glasgow), 25 June 2003

A man pulled a handgun on Glasgow firefighters answering an emergency call in Springburn.

Herald, 11 June 2003

A 24-year-old man and a youth of 16 were detained with gunshot wounds after an incident in the Bridgeton area of Glasgow. The older man was in a serious condition. A third man is believed to have suffered injuries following a suspected gang-related shooting.

Evening Times (Glasgow), 11 June 2003

A man has appeared in court charged with shooting Victoria Elliott, 18, a single mother from Paisley.

Edinburgh Evening News, 26 May 2003

Two men, armed with knives and what was believed to be an imitation Glock handgun, staged a military-style raid on a West Lothian cinema complex. This was one of dozens of incidents involving replica guns that are reported each year in and around Edinburgh.

Edinburgh Evening News, 21 May 2003

A Lothian and Borders armed response unit had to be called out after a man was spotted pointing a gun at a group of children near Livingston town centre. A 38-year-old man was later arrested after he walked out of a pub. An 8mm replica gun was recovered by the police.

Edinburgh Evening News, 2 May 2003

Campbell Lambert, 35, and Liam MacDonald, 19, were fined a total of £1250 for firing an air pistol at a block of flats for more than two hours. The gun had been purchased for £80 at a shop in Leith. Both men had pled guilty to recklessly firing the air pistol. The incident took place in the Muirhouse area of Edinburgh.

Edinburgh Evening News, 24 April 2003

Two men, attempting a prank with a toy machine gun in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, were seen waving the gun at passers-by. After the arrival of a police armed response unit the men were searched and detained.

Edinburgh Evening News, 9 April 2003

Two 15-year-olds marched up to Redford Barracks in Edinburgh and fired pellets at two armed guards. The Deputy Chief Constable of Lothian and Borders Police, Tom Wood, said that the youngsters were lucky not to have been shot.

Press & Journal, 4 March 2003

Grampian Police reported that potentially-deadly airguns are a bigger menace in the North-east of Scotland than real guns. There had been shootings in Mastrick, Kincorth, Bucksburn and Aberdeen’s city centre. The guns had been used to blind and kill people and as replicas in robberies.

Edinburgh Evening News, 4 March 2003

A replica World War Two revolver was sold for £1 at a market in East Fortune, Edinburgh in January. The weapon was recovered after police discovered it had been sold to a 15-year-old. Complaints about the sale of the revolver had been received from members of the public. Although no offence had been committed by either seller or buyer, Lothian and Borders police are concerned about the dangers of having such weapons, especially when carried or used in a public place.

BBC, 17 February 2003

In a raid on a farm in Balloch, West Dunbartonshire, thieves took 15 shotguns and rifles and a substantial amount of ammunition, in spite of the guns being licensed and stored in two gun cabinets.

Edinburgh Evening News, 6 February 2003

Paul Stewart, a parking attendant, was shot in the leg by a teenager with an airgun as he patrolled an Edinburgh city-centre street.

Edinburgh Evening News, 27 January 2003

A teenager was arrested and charged after reports that a man was brandishing a gun at a block of student flats at Edinburgh University’s Darroch Court halls of residence. Police closed off parts of Holyrood Road. It was reported that firearms officers in Lothian and Borders Police were being cleared to draw weapons twice a week in Edinburgh as a result of a dramatic rise in gun scares.

Scotsman, 6 January 2003

A teenager escaped serious injury despite being hit by shots from a double-barrelled shotgun in an incident in a caravan site in Maryhill, Glasgow. A masked gun man shot at him as he stood outside his caravan.

WALES

Daily Post, 15 October 2003

Children at a North Wales school had to run for cover when a man began shooting an air rifle from a nearby garden. The incident took place at Ysgol Parch Thomas Ellis, in Holyhead. Police later recovered an airgun but no immediate arrests were made.

icNorthWales, 19 September 2003

Lee Griffiths was jailed after pointing what appeared to be a handgun at two schoolboys in Buckley. He was jailed for 15 months after he admitted possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and possessing it while prohibited. The gun was a .177 calibre gas-operated pistol which had all the appearances of a real gun.

BBC, 13 June 2003

Police believe that youths hiding in bushes were responsible for an airgun attack in which at least six pellets were fired at a bus travelling towards the Duffryn estate in Newport, Gwent.

Western Mail, 26 March 2003

A 16-year-old boy was arrested after a sniper using a powerful pellet gun targeted children on a playing field at Pentrechwyth Primary School in Bonymaen, Swansea. Three children aged between seven and 11 were hurt in the attack.

Daily Telegraph, 28 February 2003

In the village of Llangadog, near Llandovery, a local cattle breeder is believed to have shot dead the landlady of the Red Lion pub before killing himself with a shotgun. In the previous November he had appeared in court after allegedly threatening to kill the landlady. An expert report later concluded that nothing could have been done to stop William Davies killing his victim, but said there was a distinct lack of communication between important agencies looking after the mentally ill farmer (Western Mail, 15 June 2005). One very worrying quote from the report is "The fact that he had been arrested because he had assaulted [his victim] .. and was in possession of a shotgun which he used to threaten her life, does not appear to have been stressed by police."

INCIDENTS INVOLVING ANIMALS

Shropshire Star, 1 December 2003

The bodies of six ducks were found floating in the River Severn at Bridgnorth. The birds had been shot. Both the RSPCA and the police were concerned about the implications of the deaths.

Express and Star, 1 October 2003

An airgun pellet went right through the body of a pet cat which nevertheless managed to survive the attack. The incident took place in Dudley.

Horse and Hound, 26 September 2003

The owners of a Shetland pony who died after being shot with an airgun led calls for tighter airgun laws. The two-year-old piebald Shetland was shot in the stomach while grazing in his field at Castle Hill Farm, Hull. A second pony was shot on the same farm a day later, but her injuries were not life threatening.

icBerkshire, 18 September 2003

A cat had to be put down after an airgun pellet was lodged in its spine after it was shot in Charvil. Its family has asked other neighbours to be vigilant because they fear it could happen to another pet or a child.

Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 17 September 2003

A woman in Fixby expected to have a vet's bill of over £400 after a cat she fed had been shot in the hip with an airgun. Brenda Walkley feared that someone was systematically killing strays and pets in the area.

icSurrey, 11 September 2003

Cat owners in Dorking were warned to be on their guard after two cats were badly injured in attacks with an air rifle. One cat had to have an eye removed.

Evening Post (Nottingham), 2 September 2003

A family from New Ollerton are installing CCTV cameras after their home and cat were attacked. The cat was shot in the eye with an airgun, after which a second pellet was fired through the window.

Evening News (Norwich), 12 June 2003

A sniper, who targeted a 3-year-old ginger cat, almost blinded the pet. The cat may lose an eye, despite his Norwich owner having paid for expensive treatment by vets. Kevin Degenhead, chief superintendent for the RSPCA, said that "Year on year, the amount of air weapon attacks on animals rise significantly, and it is time our civilised society took action against such irresponsible, destructive and cruel behaviour." In 2002 RSPCA dealt with 900 airgun attacks on animals in England and Wales.

Daily Post, 29 April 2003

Gwen Owen, whose cat was shot with an airgun hit out at the culprits. “Whoever is responsible should not be firing airguns at animals or humans”. It cost Mrs Owen, from Llanfairpwll in Anglesey, £200 for the operation and subsequent treatment. In the next day’s Daily Post it was reported that RSPCA inspectors in North Wales had encountered a case of a cat shot 20 times with an airgun.

Express & Star, 24 April 2003

A cat’s sibling guided it home after it was shot in an airgun attack. Sergeant Gary Iliff of Walsall police commented that “The shooting of animals is a very worrying and distressing trend. Not only can it harm the animal but it can hurt people who are nearby”.

Express & Star, 21 April 2003

A black and white cat died after being injured by an airgun pellet within yards of its home in Sandwell. His owners were devastated.

BBC, 15 April 2003

A male swan found staggering around a field at Clyst St Mary, Devon, had two airgun pellets in its head. Removal of the pellets is considered be too dangerous, but vets were hoping it will survive without surgery.

News Shopper (London), 8 April 2003

A cat in Eltham was brutally shot through the eye and killed. The killing appeared to be the result of a calculated and short-range attack. The RSPCA believed that thoughtless youths are behind the majority of such attacks on animals. There is a staggering rise in incidents reported during school holidays or as the evenings get lighter.

The Journal (Newcastle), 8 April 2003

In yet another attack, a cat was shot in the eye in North Shields. The pet has lost the sight in the eye and the pellet is permanently lodged in its skull. An RSPCA spokeswoman said that there are hundreds of attacks every year on domestic animals by people with airguns.

Horse and Hounds, 24 February 2003

A horse called Alice was shot in the face with an airgun on a Saturday afternoon whilst grazing in a field a farm in Derby.