2004
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. The Summaries were
begun in September 2004. Items that have been amended or added to the
list since the
Summary was written are marked (*).
ENGLAND
BBC, 31 December
2004
A police officer was
left shaken but otherwise uninjured after he was shot at while trying to
talk to three men at Brockley Cross. The shooting happened
after a robbery was reported.
BBC, 31 December
2004
Firearms officers and a
police helicopter were despatched after reports of gunfire. They
discovered a clay pigeon shoot had taken place at disused slurry pits near
Mapperley, Ilkeston. Derbyshire Police have asked that
organisers of shoots should let them know what had been arranged.
BBC, 31 December
2004
A shop owner in
Birstall was shot at twice during an armed attack but escaped injury.
The attacker was believed to be armed with a handgun.
Epping Forest Guardian, 30 December
2004
The campaign by the
paper for a total ban on BB guns has
been backed by a wheelchair-bound man who was shot in the legs in a
Buckhurst Hill street.
Eastern Daily Press, 30 December
2004
In a report on a recent
spate of vandalism and anti-social behaviour in Mattishall the paper
described how air rifle pellets were
fired at the surgery, shattering a window.
Rochdale Observer, 29 December
2004
An airgun was used to
try and shatter historic stained-glass windows at Rochdale Parish
Church. Two cartridges from a power airgun
were found in the church grounds.
BBC, 29 December
2004
A man was killed on his
doorstep in Speke in what Merseyside Police believe was a targeted
attack. He had been wounded in the chest.
BBC, 29 December
2004
A man has been charged
with possessing an imitation handgun in
a shop in St Albans.
BBC, 29 December
2004
A Sheffield shopkeeper
held on to an armed robber's shotgun as the attacker fired shots during a
raid on Stradbroke post office. The gunman and his accomplice
escaped with a small amount of cash.
PA News, 27 December
2004
A man was fighting for
his life in hospital after a shooting at a nightclub in Vauxhall.
A man was arrested close to the scene.
BBC, 25 December
2004
A man was shot in the
head in an attack in Handsworth, Birmingham. He had to undergo
surgery but his injuries were not life threatening.
Times & Star (West Cumbria), 24 December
2004
At West Allerdale court,
Gareth Silkin admitted punching a police officer and firing a
paintball gun in the centre of
Cockermouth. A witness had been alarmed when she saw the gun pop
out of a Land Rover window.
Derby Evening Telegraph, 24 December
2004
Nick Clayton was armed
with a shotgun when he burst into a woman's home in Derby and subjected her
to a sex attack. He was arrested by armed police at the scene four
hours later. Clayton admitted possessing a firearm with intent to
endanger life and false imprisonment with the intention to commit a sexual
assault. He has been jailed for 8 years (BBC, 4 January 2005).
Norfolk News, 23 December
2004
Ten-year old brothers
from Great Yarmouth have been made the subject of anti-social
behaviour orders. Among various activities they were accused of firing
a BB gun at other people, windows and
cars.
Journal (Newcastle), 23 December
2004
Stanley Bell, who held
up a security officer at gunpoint outside a South Tyneside bank, has
been jailed for five years. He had escaped with two bags of small
change.
icCoventry, 23 December
2004
Police and trading
standards officials visited a shop in Coventry after concerns about
the sale of replica guns raised in the
Evening Telegraph. They confirmed that the shop was complying with
the law but will be making return visits to ensure that the shop continues
to comply.
Doncaster Today, 23 December
2004
Two 12-year-old boys
were shot in the face with BB guns at a
school in Balby. Four boys were arrested after the incident.
Bucks Free Press, 23 December
2004
A masked gunman
threatened staff at a convenience store in High Wycombe. The
man escaped with a large sum of cash.
BBC, 23 December
2004
Four men were arrested
in Runcorn on suspicion of possessing or trying to obtain a firearm.
This was part of a national clampdown on buying prohibited weapons over the
internet.
BBC, 22 December
2004
Joseph Mee, one of two
men convicted for the brutal murder of a man near Heworth Metro
station, had been cautioned by police for shooting a girl with an
air rifle just before the killing in April
2004.
Stockport Express,
21 December
2004
A grandmother who was
shot in the face with an air rifle as
she waited as a bus stop in Stockport on her way home has supported
calls to halt the underage sales of the weapons.
BBC, 20 December
2004
A teenage girl was hit
by three paintball shots fired from a
passing car in Brighton. Sussex Police said she could have been
seriously injured.
BBC, 20 December
2004
Two men were critically
wounded after an attack at a pub in Wavertree, Liverpool. A
number of masked men burst into the pub and shot one man in the stomach and
beat the other with baseball bats.
AOL News, 20 December
2004
A police officer was
shot in the leg after stopping a car in Bromley. A man was
later arrested and charged with possession of a firearm with intent to
endanger life and possession of a firearm with intent to commit an
indictable offence (PA News, 27 December 2004). He was later
jailed for 22 years for attempted murder (see
August 2005 Incidents).
PA News, 19 December
2004
A 14-year-old boy was
hurt in a drive-by shooting in Croxteth. He suffered injuries
to his legs and back.
Manchester News, 18 December
2004
Edward Moran, a rapist
from Partington who preyed on young children, had shot one of his
victims, a boy of 13, with an air pistol.
Moran faces a substantial jail sentence after being convicted by a jury in
Manchester.
Evening Chronicle (Newcastle), 18 December
2004
A teenager is almost
completely blind in one eye after being shot with an airgun
by a 16-year-old youth in Ryton. The youth was convicted of
grievous bodily harm and was sentenced to 14 months in a young offenders
institution and made the subject of an anti-social behaviour order for two
years (Evening Chronicle,
20 January 2005).
Telegraph, 18 December
2004
A gunman jumped off the
back of a motorbike and into the passenger seat of a car, threatening to
shoot the driver if she did not drive. The incident took place in
Cromwell Road in west London. The gunman hijacked the car after
she leapt out.
Rochdale Observer, 17 December
2004
A four-month-old baby
and her parents were lucky to escape serious injury when their car was hit
by an airgun pellet in Rochdale.
The back window of the car was completely shattered.
icCroydon, 17 December
2004
Michael Gilead claimed
he was surprised when police found a powerful air
pistol (a Brocock Magnum 5.5 gun) at his South Norwood
home. He had 65 previous convictions including firearms offences and
admitted possession of a prohibited weapon. He was jailed for five
years.
Hucknall Today, 17 December
2004
Shots have been fired at
shops and pubs in random attacks in Hucknall. It is not known
what weapon was used but there is speculation that it could have been a
BB gun, an air
rifle or a catapult.
BBC, 15 December
2004 *
A sixteen-year-old has
pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice and with possessing a
firearm without the appropriate certificates after the death of a teenager
who was shot in the head at Quarry Bank, a disused quarry near Thirsk
(see Incidents from February 2004).
An adult, Anthony Knowles, admitted charges of aiding and abetting the boy
in relation to the firearm offences and failing to comply with the
conditions of a shotgun certificate. An open verdict was recorded at
an inquest held in September 2005 (Yorkshire Post, 20 September
2005).
Mirror, 15 December
2004
Gamekeepers Jessica
Allinson and Alexander Szyndel admitted possessing a firearm with intent to
cause fear of violence and criminal damage while in possession of firearms
after they opened fire at an illegal rave at Netley Heath in Surrey.
They fired double-barrelled shotguns towards cars, took out two tyres of a
car and Allinson pointed her gun at a man. They were jailed for
three months each (BBC, 14 January 2005).
BBC, 15 December
2004
Carl Mello of Toxteth,
who shot dead his best friend with a stolen shotgun, was sentenced to three
years detention. The pair were test firing the shotgun which Mello had
bought for £800 when his friend was hit in the arm and back.
BBC, 13 December
2004
A man has appeared in
court charged with firearms offences after gunshots were allegedly fired at
a car in the Sneinton neighbourhood of Nottingham.
BBC, 12 December
2004 *
A 17-year-old has been charged
with manslaughter after an 18-year-old died in a shooting in Newall Green,
Manchester.
Express, 11 December
2004
A boy of 10 sparked a
major police operation in Weston-super-Mare by playing with a
replica pump action ball bearing gun in a
front garden. Streets were sealed off and marksmen positioned.
The gun, a replica of the Japanese-made plastic M3 Super 90 rifle) had been
bought from a market stall in Birmingham for £25.
Evening Post (Nottingham), 11 December
2004
Ezra Davis was jailed
for eight years after being caught with a loaded gun (Brocock ME9 Para) in
St Ann's whilst riding a BMX. He pleaded guilty to possession
of a firearm and ammunition in a public place and possession with intent to
supply Class 'A' drugs.
Evening Gazette (Middlesbrough), 11 December
2004
Shane Round and Peter
Caswell were given long jail sentences after pleading guilty to robbing
staff at the Thornaby ex-Servicemen's Club and to possessing a
firearm.
Journal (Newcastle), 10 December
2004
Richard Knowles had just
bought a .22 air rifle and ammunition
when he showed off the gun to friends in a café in Newcastle. Armed
police arrived in response to alarmed customers. Knowles was initially
charged with possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, but
the prosecution accepted his guilty plea to a lesser public order offence.
The gun and ammunition were confiscated, and he was given a two-year
conditional discharge and an anti-social behaviour order preventing him
possessing or using any real or imitation firearm for five years.
icSolihull, 10 December
2004
Andrew Reedman from
Chelmsley Wood bought an illegal gun, capable of discharging CS gas, on
the internet. He pleaded guilty to possessing the firearm and has been
given 60 hours community service.
Yorkshire Post, 8 December
2004
A leading Leeds criminal
was killed when he was shot three times with a shotgun in front of his
girlfriend whilst walking in Bramley. Police say their
investigations have been hampered by a wall of silence.
PA News, 7 December
2004
Michael David Patrick
was facing a jail sentence after he admitted selling an Uzi 9mm machine gun
to an undercover journalist. Sky News were following up his online
advertisement for an air pistol and filmed the handing over of the Uzi in a
car park in Chiswick. He was jailed for six years (BBC,
16 December 2004).
Yorkshire Post, 7 December
2004
Peter Hopkins, a
respected photographer shot himself in the head with an
air pistol and hanged himself in the garage
of his home in North Dalton, near Driffield. An inquest
recorded a verdict of suicide.
Yorkshire Post, 6 December
2004
The father of a boy
arrested by armed officers during a mock battle involving
BB guns at the rear of the Frenchgate
Centre in Doncaster has backed a call from South Yorkshire Police for
parents not to buy replica weapons for their children.
icCoventry, 6 December
2004
Two men wearing hooded
tops and scarves and armed with a gun raided a building society in
Coventry. No shots were fired.
PA News, 6 December
2004
Mark Lee was sentenced
to five years' imprisonment after admitting possession of an Agram 2000
sub-machine gun. The Croatian-made weapons, which fire 750 rounds a
minute, are considered to be one of the world's deadliest guns. Lee's
arrest followed an operation by Operation Trident. Lee was arrested at
his home in Islington.
BBC, 5 December
2004
Gunshots were fired at a
house in the Aigburth area of Liverpool. A woman suffered cuts
to her arm caused by glass from a window shattered by the gun fire.
PA News, 3 December
2004
Nine shots were fired
into a ground-floor flat in Rugby. The three occupants escaped
unhurt.
National Newspapers, 3 December
2004
David Bieber was jailed
for life for shooting dead one policeman and injuring two others in Leeds
on Boxing Day 2003. He had denied murder, two counts of
attempted murder and possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life but
had admitted possessing
298 9mm bullet cartridges without a firearm certificate. Bieber, an
ex-US Marine, may be linked with other major crimes in the UK and USA.
Oxfam and Amnesty International claim that the gun used in the shootings, a
HS-95 9mm pistol, was part of a consignment licensed for export from Croatia
to a US company in 1998. Bogus export papers were used and only 146
guns from the total shipment of 2,750 have been recovered.
Epping Forest Guardian, 2 December
2004
A bus was attacked with
what was probably a pellet from a ball-bearing gun
in Nazeing. Glass door panels were shattered.
PA News, 2 December
2004
A man believed to be
armed with a firearm was shot by police in Weston-super-Mare.
Two baton rounds were discharged. The man was arrested on suspicion of
possessing a firearm in a public place. He was taken to hospital
suffering from minor injuries and is now in police custody.
icSurrey, 2 December
2004
Surrey police have
issued a warning to teenage owners of imitation and replica guns about the
dangers of being shot by armed police officers. Two teenagers were
arrested following an incident in Stanwell after distressed members
of the public reported sightings of a sniper. Two
BB rifles and a
pistol were confiscated.
News and Star,
2 December
2004
A 13-year-old boy from
Dudley needed emergency surgery to save his sight after being shot in
the eye by a 7-year-old brandishing a ball-bearing
gun. He is now back at school after spending several days
in hospital.
Hartlepool Today, 2 December
2004
A double-barrelled
shotgun, ammunition and an air rifle
were recovered by police when they uncovered a cannabis farm in
Hartlepool. Two men were arrested and released on bail.
BBC, 1 December
2004
A man was shot outside
his home in Rochester after struggling with another man. Police
believe that the attack was not random. The victim underwent surgery
in hospital and was under armed guard. A man has been charged with a
firearms offence (BBC, 4 December 2004).
Oldham Advertiser, 1 December
2004
The parents of a naval
engineer have blamed the police for stopping them trying to talk their son
out of committing suicide. Their son shot himself with an
air rifle at Culdrose naval airbase
in Cornwall in November 2003.
PA News, 1 December
2004 *
Lance Corporal James
Piotrowski, a Iraq war veteran, was handed over to the Royal Military Police
after he'd gone missing from Wellington Barracks in London at the
time of the theft of an SA-80 rifle. He had been detained in
Birmingham on suspicion of firearms offences. He later escaped from
custody (Scotland on Sunday, 23 January 2005). In April 2006 he
was jailed for seven years and four months (see
Incidents).
Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 1 December
2004
Terence Roberts has
pleaded guilty to charges of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear
of violence and affray following an incident at his Rawthorpe home in
May. Roberts had a ball-bearing pistol
during a stand-off lasting several hours involving police, fire and
ambulance crews.
BBC, 30 November 2004
Thirty-six rifles and
shotguns worth £20,000 have been stolen from a gun shop in Banbury.
Two men forced the door and loaded the weapons into a car.
Avon and Somerset Constabulary, 29 November 2004
Police in Somerset East
have issued a press release reminding youngsters and their parents about the
dangers of imitation firearms, including BB guns. Over the weekend
there had been a number of reported incidents involving
imitation guns, the majority of which took
place in the Yeovil area. Two boys, aged 11 and 13, were
arrested in Yeovil for possession of an imitation firearm with intent to
cause alarm and distress. The owner of the shop from which the boys
bought the guns for 99p has now banned the sale of toy guns to children
under 16 (BBC, 3 December 2004).
Waltham Forest Guardian, 29 November 2004
A teenager found
staggering down a street in Chingford had a gunshot wound in his leg.
His attackers ran off after he was shot. He was released from
hospital after treatment.
Evening Chronicle (Newcastle), 27 November 2004
Fifteen paintball guns
have been stolen in a raid on paintballing premises in Blagdon, near
Cramlington. The thieves took other items.
Evening Gazette (Middlesbrough), 27 November 2004
A 15-year-old boy has
admitted a charge of unlawful wounding after an incident in which a
13-year-old girl was shot with a loaded air pistol.
The pellet entered her face close to her eye. The boy was clearer of
deliberate shooting as the jury at Teesside Crown Centre accepted his
plea that he did not know the air pistol was loaded and would not have
pulled the trigger if he had known.
News & Star, 27 November 2004
Joseph Sowerby was
jailed for six years after he pointed an antique musket at a barmaid during
a robbery at a pub in Workington. He'd bought the
imitation gun for £25 half an hour before.
icCoventry, 27 July
2004
Edward Carlo Garofano
was sentenced to five years in prison after setting off a massive security
scare at Coventry Airport in July 2004. Police had found a gun,
which had one bullet in the chamber in a bag strapped around his waist after
he'd given a lift to four air passengers. A Walther PPK semi-automatic
pistol was discovered in the car, and police found a number of other weapons
at his home. Garofano had a fascination with guns and knives and said
he manufactured weapons at home. He had first joined a gun club when
he was 17 and had held a licence since he was 21. He admitted a eight
charges of possessing weapons and ammunition and one charge of having a
firearm in a public place.
South London Press, 26 November 2004
A gunman held a pistol
to a man's head during an attack on a housing estate in Walworth. The
victim was forced to knell down and hand over his cash.
Telegraph, 26 November 2004
James Hewitt was refused
the return of his gun licences which had been revoked by police after he had
been arrested for cocaine possession. A search of his Chelsea
home had revealed a disassembled 16-bore shotgun lying on the living room
floor when it should have been locked in a metal gun cabinet. At the
time of the arrest Hewitt had drunk four bottles of wine.
BBC, 26 November 2004
A man has been charged
with attempted murder after a shooting outside a pub in the village of
Rocester in Staffordshire.
Northampton Today, 25 November 2004
A 14-year-old boy was
fighting for his life after suffering a gunshot wound at his home in
Quinton, Northamptonshire. It is believed that the injury was
sustained with an air weapon.
Peterborough Today, 24 November 2004
A worker with the
homeless had a gun pointed to his neck at a day care centre in Peterborough.
The victim, a duty manager was dealing with a man whom he believed to be
"off his head on drugs and alcohol" when the incident occurred. The
police have been criticised for responding too slowly to an SOS call.
The assailant had been taken away by his girlfriend before the police
arrived. Police believed that a toy gun
was involved. Terence Bromley later pleaded guilty to
trespassing in a building with an imitation gun (Peterborough Today,
25 January 2005).
icSouthLondon, 23 November
2004
Junior Weir was caught
with a Glock self-loading pistol in his car after a stop and search by
police in Tulse Hill. He admitted one charge of possession of a
prohibited firearm, one of possessing cannabis and one of burglary. He
was jailed for four years.
Waltham Forest Guardian, 23 November 2004
The paper reported that
imitation firearms that could be
mistaken for the real thing were being sold from a toy stall in
Walthamstow market. One, a Lorcin M38-9A, was purchased by the
reporter and was difficult to distinguish from the real thing. The
paper has now launched a campaign Guns R4 Losers to petition Parliament to
get the sale of such guns banned (see
Other Campaigns).
icCoventry,
22 November 2004
Damien Jacques, 14, from
Bulkington has been given an anti-social behaviour order which
includes banning him from possessing a toy gun. Among the actions
taken into account in imposing the Asbo was his possession of a
BB gun. Villagers had been subjected
to harassment, alarm and distress.
Derby Evening Telegraph, 22 November 2004
A house in Derby
was surrounded for two hours after a man allegedly fired an
air rifle and refused to hand over the
weapon. A man was arrested. The incident happened when
environmental health workers from Derby City Council were clearing a large
pile of rubbish from the doorstep of the house.
BBC, 22 November 2004
Hampshire Police are the
latest to report the seizure of guns illegally bought over the internet.
After raids on 12 addresses across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight
12 handguns, three long barrelled guns, one stun gun and over 500 rounds
of blank ammunition were seized.
PA News, 22 November 2004 *
A nightclub doorman was
shot dead outside the club in Birmingham city centre. Two other
employees remained in a serious, but stable condition. A 19-year-old
man has been arrested and was being held in custody. Police chiefs
have revealed that they want to shut down the nightclub (Evening Mail,
6 December 2004) Six men have been convicted of murder and jailed for
life (see December 2005 Incidents).
PA News, 19 November 2004
A gang of six armed
robbers who posed as "Flying Squad" police during a raid on a warehouse at
Heathrow Airport in January 2004 were sentenced to a total of 71
years in jail. During the raid one woman had a loaded gun pressed to
her neck. Two of men were convicted on firearms charges.
PA News, 19 November 2004
Police are hunting for a
man who raided a betting shop in Exeter. He was brandishing a
gun at staff who handed cash to him.
Manchester News, 18 November 2004
Police across Britain
are on a major alert after guns disguised as key fobs and mobile phones were
smuggled into the country. The weapons, which were probably made in
Poland, came to light when a man, arrested in Manchester for driving
offences, was found to have a double barrelled gun disguised as a key fob.
It was four inches long and an inch wide and loaded with two 6.35 calibre
cartridges. Junior Collins was jailed for six-and-a-half years.
Manchester News, 18 November 2004
Paul Bennett, a
convicted robber, was given an anti-social order after four children at a
primary school in Moss Side said they had seen him outside their
school with what was described as a black gun and a knife.
Streatham Post, 18 November 2004
Alex Okuwa has appeared
in court charged with murder. The male victim was shot dead during
a disturbance in West Norwood.
Eastern Daily Press, 18 November 2004
Phillip Emms, who
'petrified' his neighbours in Aylsham by threatening them with a
BB gun after a dispute over barking dogs,
has been jailed for six months. He had admitted possessing an
imitation gun. It was described as looking like a shotgun.
Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 18 November 2004
A bus driver was robbed
after being threatened with a handgun in Meltham. After the
robbery he had to be taken to hospital suffering from chest pains. It
was the latest of a series of attacks on buses in the village, including a
possible airgun attack in which four
windows were smashed. The First Bus company has imposed a night-time
curfew on buses going on to the Broadlands estate in Meltham.
East Anglian Daily Times, 17 November 2004
A taxi driver was robbed by two men, one of whom was brandishing a gun when he stopped to pick up a passenger in Silver End, Essex.
The men stole £40 and the keys to the car.
BBC, 17 November 2004
Following a shooting at
a pub in Chorlton, south Manchester, in which a man was shot in the
stomach, three men and one woman have been arrested and released on police
bail.
Croydon Guardian, 17 November 2004
Dele Ajibola faces jail
after threatening neighbours in Shirley, including a young boy, with
an imitation pistol in an argument over
parking. He was found guilty with possessing a firearm with intent to
cause fear and warned by the judge that a prison sentence was inevitable.
icCoventry, 17 November 2004
Amaan Hassan, who aimed
an imitation gun at two police officers,
has been jailed for two-and-a-half years. He was drunk at the time of
the offence in Whitley. The judge rejected his claim that he
had no intention of hurting anyone and only had the gun for a bit of fun by
saying that "People who possess imitation firearms commit a serious
offence."
Journal (Newcastle), 16 November 2004
A masked gunman tried to
rob an amusement arcade in Gateshead.
BBC, 16 November 2004
Two men are being sought
after they shot at a house in a residential neighbourhood of Corby.
The door was damaged. The men made off on a motorbike.
PA News, 16 November 2004
Two members of a gun
club, the Morecambe Rifle and Pistol Club, were convicted at the Old
Bailey after a murder weapon had been found on an Irish river bed. The
reactivated self-loading pistol had been
used in the shooting of a man. It was alleged that James Greenwood
reactivated the CZ Model 75 9mm pistol, which had been officially
deactivated. Both he and Robert Naylor were also convicted of
manufacturing sub-machine guns for use by members of the criminal
underworld. A third man was cleared of charges relating to the possession of firearms and ammunition.
Yorkshire Post, 16 November 2004
A memorial to Emily
Brontë in Scarborough has been restored after sea air and vandalism
had taken their toll. Amongst other things, damage had been caused by
the stone memorial being used as an airgun
target.
BBC, 16 November 2004
A man died after being
shot in the eye with an air rifle at a
flat in Castleford. Police have charged a 20-year-old man with
manslaughter. (See March
2005 incidents).
BBC, 15 November 2004
Two men, armed with a
gun and hammer, forced their way into a casino in Nottingham,
threatened staff and escaped with what is thought to be a substantial amount
of cash.
National Newspapers, 15 November 2004
After an incident which
highlights the difficulties faced by all police forces caused by the
proliferation of imitation guns, Rory Casey, 13, was given an absolute
discharge: he'd been spotted on CCTV pointing a
plastic gun at flats in Newcastle. An armed response
team had to be called in when he was seen shining the gun's laser sight on a
wall. He had won the gun at the Hoppings fair.
Manchester Evening News, 15 November 2004
A man died in hospital
after he was shot in the back whilst visiting relatives at a block of flats in Rochdale.
A local man has been arrested on suspicion of murder (Rochdale Observer,
17 November 2004). Mohammed Aslam pleaded guilty to manslaughter and
was jailed for five years. A second man admitted helping the offender
(BBC, 17 May 2005).
This is Local London, 15 November 2004
A man burnt to death in
his car after he reversed into another vehicle while being shot at in
Willesden, north London. He had been parked for around half an
hour when he was shot. A post mortem found the victim died from gun
shot wounds and severe burns.
Sunday Mercury (Birmingham), 14 November 2004
The paper reported that
nurses at Queen Elizabeth Psychiatric Hospital in Edgbaston had to
wrestle a gun from a patient. Patients are not searched before they
are admitted to wards.
Evening News (Norwich), 13 November 2004
A 12-year-old schoolgirl
was shot in the leg whilst talking to a friend outside a school in
Norwich. Police believe an air weapon
was used.
BBC, 13 November 2004
Firearms and suspected
stolen goods were seized as part of a police crackdown on burglaries in
Dorset. House and shops were searched in Poole and Bournemouth.
BBC, 13 November 2004
A man found dead with
gunshot wounds at a house in Croxteth died before he could be taken
to hospital. Police are now involved in a murder investigation
BBC, 13 November 2004
A man was arrested after
two people were shot with a BB gun in
Manchester city centre. One of the victims suffered minor eye
injuries after being shot in a bar; the other victim was shot in the face in
a restaurant.
PA News, 12 November 2004
Thames Valley Police
were questioning seven people after a series of raids in which guns and hand
grenades were seized. Among the weapons seized were more than 30
handguns and imitation firearms.
Police believe the guns had been bought over the
internet. The addresses visited were in southern
Buckinghamshire, Milton Keynes, northern Oxfordshire,
Oxford, Reading, Slough, and both east and west
Berkshire.
icCheshire, 12 November 2004
Six men were arrested
across Merseyside after a series of raids to seize illegal firearms. Blank-firing
guns, which can be converted to fire live bullets, were being
sold over the internet. The men
charged were from Norris Green, Wallasey, Tranmere and
Birkenhead.
High&I, 12 November 2004
A retailer who was
selling realistic fake guns at a stall
outside Finsbury Park tube station has been persuaded to remove them
and send them back to the suppliers after complaints to trading standards
officers, the local MP and Friends of Finsbury Park. Community beat
police officers also spoke to the owners after packaging from the pistols
was found strewn on the street: they were concerned that if the guns were
being unwrapped on the street then they were being carried and used openly.
Liverpool Echo, 12 November 2004
Police were
investigating a gangland-style attack at the City Quay apartments in
Liverpool after gun blasts were heard and a van was driven into the complex
and set on fire. Police confirmed that a number of gun shells had been
found.
Evening Standard, 12 November 2004
A city businessman was
told that he would be killed unless he handed over his phone and wallet to
the driver of an unlicensed minicab and another man, who had got into the
car after the driver went to a council estate near Old Street in the City
of London where the victim had got into the cab. The second man
had claimed he had a gun. The robbers tried to drain the victim's
accounts of cash after driving around to cash machines.
Sun, 10 November 2004
Anthony Gatenby has been
found guilty of harassing a school headmaster after Hadyn Road Primary
School in Sherwood had to be shut down four times. The
headmaster received a number of unsigned emails which included threats to
shoot him and to carry out a Dunblane-style school massacre. When
Gatenby was arrested police confiscated a
ball-bearing gun, swords and martial arts weapons. He has
been banned from entering the school premises for two years and faces prison
if he breaks the restraining order (BBC, 13 December 2004)
Tameside Advertiser, 10 November 2004
A man was shot four
times at close range by a masked gunman in a busy pub in Haughton Green.
The victim underwent surgery in hospital and was described as being in a
serious but stable condition.
BBC, 7 November 2004
A 13-year-old boy was
being treated in hospital for injuries to his arms and face after a shooting
incident in Haverhill. Police recovered a shotgun. Two
other 13-year-old boys were released on police bail. A 14-year-old boy
is to appear in court charged with GBH (East Anglian Daily Times, 6
May 2005). A teenager has been found guilty of unlawfully and
maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm after shooting his cousin in the
face (see February 2006 Incidents).
BBC, 7 November 2004
Money was stolen from a
filling station in Wellington, Somerset, by a man claiming to have a
gun in his bag.
BBC, 6 November 2004
A man suspected of
having a sawn-off shotgun in a pub in Blackpool was shot with police
baton rounds after armed police challenged him to stop.
BBC, 6 November 2004
A man was charged after
an alleged firearms incident in Chippenham. A large area of the
town had to be sealed of as police dealt with the incident.
Derby Evening Telegraph, 5 November 2004
A man suffered a
pellet wound in his leg after being shot
whilst walking home from a pub in Derby.
Telegraph, 5 November 2004
More than 100 guns were
seized, and 37 people arrested in a Metropolitan Police operation (Operation
Bembridge) to crack down on illegal weapons being sold over the
internet.
A total of 47 homes in London were raided. The weapons
recovered included three machine guns, 86 handguns,10 rifles, seven shotguns
and 13 stun guns. The handguns included Glock, Beretta and Walther PPK
9mm replica guns which could have been
converted to fire live ammunition.
Pickering News Online, 5 November 2004
Three men, from
Thirsk, Richmond and Selby, were arrested by North
Yorkshire Police Firearms Support Unit and dealt with as part of a national
clamp-down on the sale of guns via the internet, particularly
replica guns of a type that can quickly and
easily be converted to fire live rounds and stun guns.
icCoventry, 5 November 2004
A couple from
Kenilworth were shocked to discover that someone had fired an
airgun at the home. The shot appeared
to have been fired from an alleyway at the back of the house.
Yorkshire Post, 5 November 2004
A shotgun was fired
through the door of a flat in Harrogate. The occupant went to
open the door of the flat but concerned for his safety he stepped away as
the shotgun was discharged. Four men have been arrested and released
on bail.
Express and Star, 4 November 2004
Pensioners on two
Stourbridge estates are being terrorised by vandals who throw bricks and
fire airgun pellets at their homes.
icSurrey,
4 November 2004 *
Armed police units
searched the High Street in Reigate after a traffic warden was
threatened with a pistol. A man later handed himself to police.
An imitation plastic handgun, which
police believe may be connected to the incidents, was found the next day.
A man has bee found guilty of
possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence (icSurrey,
17 November 2005 - see Incidents).
Guardian, 3 November 2004
Six people were arrested
on suspicion of wounding after a teenager was shot with an
air rifle in Kensington,
Merseyside.
Guardian, 2 November 2004
Terry Marriott was
jailed for 20 years for the attempted murder of his landlord. His
victim was left paralysed after being shot with a sawn-off shotgun in
Northampton in November 2003.
Asian News, 1 November 2004
Terrence Ward was jailed
for two years after brandishing what appeared to be a Magnum gun at a bus
driver in Bury and subjecting him to racist abuse. The gun was
a cigarette lighter, and Ward was charged with possession of an
imitation weapon.
BBC, 30 October 2004
Surrey Police are
investigating the theft of twelve replica guns,
including handguns and a de-activated machine gun, from a shed in
Guildford.
Reading Evening Post, 29 October 2004
Three men, Jamie Miell,
Garri Collins and Mark Davies, were sentenced to a total of 41 years for a
spree of 21 robberies in seven weeks. The gang wore Saddam Hussein
masks or balaclavas and armed themselves with
replica guns, baseball bats and knives. In one raid on
Woodcote sub-post office they held an airgun
to the head of a customer. As the paper says: "The firearm was
effectively false. His terror was not."
PA News, 28 October 2004
Paul Smith, convicted of
killing a 10-year-old child by smothering her at a Christmas party, had
previously threatened a teenage friend with his air
rifle before tying her up, gagging her and bundling her into the
boot of his father's car. The extent of his previous history of
violence against young girls was not revealed until after his conviction.
Smith, whose father admitted his son had a fiery temper, was never
prosecuted for this and other offences as both his victims were close family
friends who decided not to press charges.
BBC, 27 October 2004
Armed police sealed off
a street in Gloucester after reports of a man with a gun. A
17-year-old was arrested carrying a pellet-firing
BB gun.
icCoventry, 27 October 2004
A man armed with a gun
robbed a security guard delivering cash to a bank in Cheylesmore.
This was the fifth gunpoint robbery in Coventry in October.
BBC, 27 October 2004
Sixteen pedestrians were
shot with what the police believe was an air rifle
whilst walking in West Bromwich. A man is his 20s was later
arrested. Police are investigating whether there is a link to
incidents the previous day in Smethwick (see below).
BBC, 26 October 2004
One passenger was
injured when several shots were fired at three buses travelling along the
same road in Smethwick. It is believed that the
weapon was a pellet gun.
South London Press, 26 October 2004
Six firearms were
recovered during a massive police operation against organised crime in
Lewisham. Operation Vezere, which was based in the Millennium
Dome, involved raids on local premises for firearms and drugs, also resulted
in the recovery of thousands of pounds worth of drugs, as well as cash and
stolen goods. Eleven people have been charged with drug, immigration
and firearm offences (South London Press, 29 October 2004)
BBC, 25 October 2004
Two men entered a Co-op
store in Cambridge and threatened staff with what appeared to be a
gun. It was not clear at the time of the report if any money was
stolen.
Leeds Today, 23 October 2004
A four-year-old boy from
North Hull was rushed to hospital after he was shot with a
ball-bearing gun. He could have lost
an eye in the attack after the pellet hit him in his open eye.
Humberside Police suggested that a teenage boy fired the gun after
threatening the boys brother.
News & Star, 22 October 2004
Armed police went to a
bed and breakfast after a man twice fired a gun at Workington
harbour. The weapon turned out to be an air
rifle that had been bought the day before in a local shop for
£80. Robert Merner decided to 'show it off' after drinking at a pub.
He was put on a 12-month community rehabilitation order and told to pay £43
towards prosecution costs. The gun and pellets will be destroyed.
Surrey Mirror, 21 October 2004
An editorial comments on
attacks on traffic wardens employed by Reigate and Banstead Borough
Council. A ball-bearing gun was
fired in one attack.
Journal (Newcastle), 20 October 2004
A 13-year-old boy
staggered bleeding through the backdoor of his home in Great Lumley
near Chester-le-Street after being shot in the back with an
air rifle. He had to undergo a spine operation. The
boy was taking the family dog for a walk at the time of the incident
Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 20 October 2004
Police officers hit out
after three incidents where armed officers tackled people seen with guns
which turned out to be fake. During one incident, Huddersfield
railway station was evacuated after a man was seen on a train with a gun -
he was arrested for being in possession of a
ball-bearing gun. Three men were arrested in Bradford after
pointing a plastic rifle at a house in
Fagley. A man was arrested in Leeds city centre after
threatening people with a toy gun.
Liverpool Echo, 20 October 2004
A high-powered
BB gun was among weapons seized by
Merseyside police during raids on 14 addresses in Bootle, Waterloo
and Seaforth in an operation to close the cocaine and heroin
supply network.
Evening Chronicle (Newcastle), 19 October 2004
David Houlsby, a
teenager from South Shields, admitted possessing an
imitation firearm with intent, carrying a
firearm in public and possessing a firearm while prohibited following an
incident in which he terrorised two women by brandishing a gun-shaped
cigarette lighter.
South London Press, 19 October 2004 *
Oral Lattibeaudire, one
of two men charged with kidnapping a man near Loughborough Junction,
south London, was also charged with possession of a firearm while committing
a first schedule offence and using a firearm while resisting arrest.
He received a 20-year jail sentence (see
August 2005 incidents).
South London Press, 19 October 2004
A gunman in a car opened
fire on another car when the two cars drew level in Mitcham Lane,
south London.
Evening Post (Nottingham), 18 October 2004
Two men threatened
security guards with a handgun during a robbery at a garage in Daybrook.
One of the guards was hit with the pistol.
BBC, 18 October 2004
A man appeared in court,
charged with attempted murder, following the shooting of a security guard in
the stomach outside a bank in Palmers Green, north London. He
also faced charges of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life and
possession of a firearm and ammunition without a certificate.
BBC, 18 October 2004
A woman was injured in a
drive-by shooting as she walked down the High Street in Westerham.
She was injured in the leg and was said to be in a stable condition.
The husband of the woman's friend was hit in the arm by the first shot from
the car. The car then reversed and another two or three shots were
fired at the woman.
East Anglian Daily Times, 18 October 2004
A teenager was arrested
after pointing an imitation gun at a passing police car in Colchester.
An armed response team was sent to the scene, although the boy was arrested
by unarmed police when they received information that the weapon was a
BB gun.
Evening Post (Nottingham), 18 October 2004
A website selling
potentially lethal guns has been shut down after a raid by police from the
anti-gun unit Operation Stealth. A 20-year-old was arrested and bailed
in connection with alleged firearms offences. The Nottingham premises
raided were those of Guns2thugs. Police seized a stash of
replica handguns that could be converted
to fire bullets.
Shropshire Star, 16 October 2004
Gary Moore was jailed
for life are a string of robberies across the country. Among those
raided were a Shrewsbury bookmakers where several members of staff
were threatened with a gun.
News & Star, 16 October 2004
After an incident at
Trinity School in Carlisle, the headmaster has sought to calm the
fears of parents. A 13-year-old pupil was shot with a
BB gun in the school grounds, the plastic
pellet hitting him just below the eye. A teacher was also hit but
escaped injury. The headmaster believes it to have been an isolated
incident. A teenager has been arrested and released on bail.
News & Star, 16 October 2004
Robert Logan admitted
two public order offences, two counts of unlawfully possession an air weapon
and one of having an air weapon in a public place after incidents in
Workington. He threatened to shoot his dog inside a shop, causing
an elderly customer to pass out, and shot a pellet from his
air rifle towards a teenage boy.
Logan appeared to be drunk at the time. He was placed under the
supervision of the probation service for two years and told to tackle his
alcohol problem or face the possibility of going to jail (News & Star,
14 December 2004)
BBC, 15 October 2004
Edwin Hoskins was jailed
for seven years for attempting to kill his neighbour at Blacknor Fort,
a disused military base on Portland, over a land dispute. Hoskins
pointed a double-barrelled shotgun at his victim, who survived the blast
despite being hit in the stomach.
North-West Evening Mail, 14 October 2004
A teenager brandishing
an air rifle shot a woman in the neck
before she tackled him and he ran off. The incident occurred as she
was leaving her offices in Ulverston.
Leigh Today, 14 October 2004
A 12-year-old boy was
almost blinded when he was shot in the face with an
airgun. He was facing delicate
surgery to remove a piece of metal. Police describe the close-range
attack, which took place in Westwell Park in Leigh, as calculating.
BBC, 14 October 2004 *
A man was in a critical
condition in hospital after being shot in Dagenham. He was
approached by a man on foot who fired a single shot into his neck and ran off.
Two men, a detective constable and a private investigator, have been
arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder (This is London, 29
October 2004). The victim died in hospital in June 2005 and his
death is now being treated as murder (Barking & Dagenham Recorder, 30
June 2005). Two men are on trial for murder and a court has heard that
the victim died as a result of a contract killing set up by his wife and
stepdaughter (BBC, 8 May 2008).
Evening Post (Nottingham), 13 October 2004
A
ball-bearing gun was found hidden in a
litter bin in Bingham, Nottinghamshire. A supervisor from
Rushcliffe Borough Council said "What on earth are people thinking of
disposing of guns in such a stupid fashion?". The gun was being passed
on to the police who would undertake a forensic examination and then melt it
down.
This is London, 13 October 2004
Military-obsessed Norman
Phillips from Sheerness was jailed for two years after an arsenal of
weapons was found at his home. Police found firearms, ammunition and
CS gas.
News & Star, 13 October 2004
An 8-year-old boy was
the victim of an attack with a ball-bearing gun
or possibly a paintball gun. He was shot three times and suffered painful bruises from hits to the back
and chest. His sister, who was delivering papers on the Botchbery
Estate in Carlisle at the time of the attack was hit once.
Their mother is calling for airguns and similar weapons to be banned (Cumbria
online, 15 October, 2004).
National Newspapers, 12 October 2004 *
In a gun attack in
Hackney, two men were seriously injured and an 18-month baby girl
suffered a minor gunshot wound to her leg. A gunman fired shots into a
car in which the victims were travelling. The shooting is being
investigated by officers from Operation Trident. Michael Nelson was
later jailed for 25 years for the attempted murder of four people, Dwight
Charlton and Horace Gordon were each jailed for 16 years. Up to 15
bullets had been fired into the car (BBC, 15 June 2005).
icCroydon, 12 October 2004
A man was shot in the
leg following a car accident in the centre of Croydon. Police
say he was chased and shot after laughing at a driver involved in a minor
prang.
BBC, 11 October 2004
A businessman is was
critically ill in hospital after being shot on the doorstep of his family
home in Ilford. The shooting is being investigated by officers
from Operation Trident.
BBC, 11 October 2004
Two masked robbers
wielding a gun and a knife stole bags of money from a supermarket in
Knaphill, Surrey.
National Newspapers, 10 October 2004 *
The death of 14-year-old
Danielle Beccan, who was returning from a evening out at Nottingham's Goose
Fair, became national news and was followed by a number of articles about
gun crime in Britain and the high incidence of gun violence in the St
Ann's area of Nottingham. Danielle was killed when shots were
fired from a gold-coloured car. She was hit in the abdomen and died
later in hospital. Two men, Junior Andrews and Mark Ontonio Kelly,
both from Nottingham have been charged with the murder (Telegraph, 23
October 2004). Their trial began in September 2005 (Times, 7
September 2005), both were found guilty and given life sentences (see
October 2005 Incidents).
BBC, 9 October 2004
An
air rifle and an
air pistol were among weapons stolen from a house in Barrow.
Leigh Today,
8 October 2004
School children in a bus
being driven through Golborne were subjected to attacks by snipers
using air rifles on two consecutive
days. Pellets were fired through windows, shattering glass and
narrowly missing the children. The pupils were being taken from a high
school in Newton-le-Willows to Leigh.
Independent, 8 October 2004
A north London policeman
was being questioned after being arrested and charged with firearms offences
and attempting to pervert the course of justice. It is alleged that he
deliberately shot himself in the stomach to fake an attack in December 2002.
He claimed to have been attacked after approaching a car at Highbury
Corner. A handgun was found at the scene.
BBC, 8 October 2004
A youth was arrested in
Gloucester are police received reports of an
airgun being fired at cars from an upstairs
window.
BBC, 7 October 2004
A man who twice fired an
air pistol at a cyclist had his sentence reduced in the Criminal Appeal
Court because the original judge did not give credit to the fact that
Richard Smith, from Lincoln, suffers from Asperger's Syndrome.
In October 2003 he had fired at a milkman with a
ball bearing air pistol. His sentence
was cut from 33-months to two years.
Independent, 7 October 2004
Aaron Blinkho, 14, was
threatened by magistrates with imprisonment under the terms of an
anti-social behaviour order (Asbo). He had repeatedly targeted a
Turkish family in Newton Heath, Manchester, during a nine-month
period including attacking them with a ball-bearing
gun.
Evening Mail (Birmingham), 7 October 2004
Four men were on trial
in Birmingham for the gangland style execution in which the teenage victim
was shot dead in a street in Smethwick in August 2003.
This is London, 7 October 2004
Dwayne Coleman was
jailed for life, with a minimum of 22 years before parole, after being
convicted of murder and conspiracy to rob. Coleman shot his victim
dead with a single bullet to his heart at his front door in Forest Gate
in 2002.
icEssex,
7 October 2004
Keith Hayhow, who had
received a nine year sentence for wounding with intent, failed to win a
reduction in his jail term at London's Court of Appeal. His victim had
accidentally dropped his girlfriend's baby outside Basildon Hospital.
After an argument, Hayhow left and returned with a shotgun which he fired
from a car. His victim was shot in the shoulder. Hayhow's
half-brother, Shay Backhurst, who was also in the car, was jailed for seven
years.
Whitehaven News, 7 October 2004
Two men were charged
with having a loaded air weapon in a
public place in Whitehaven.
Ellesmere Port Pioneer, 6 October 2004
A week-long blitz which
resulted in almost 50 arrests yielded an arsenal of weapons including an
air rifle and BB
guns from one home. Operation Ancient was targeted at the
criminal network in Ellesmere Port.
Morecambe Today, 6 October 2004
A newsagent in the Bare
area of Morecambe stared out a masked gunman who appeared not to know
how to operate the gun. The man left empty-handed.
Evening Chronicle (Newcastle), 4 October 2004
Armed police were called
to an estate in Wallsend after reports that a man was firing a gun.
An 18-year-old was arrested, and an air pistol,
airgun and ammunition were recovered.
BBC, 4 October 2004
A taxi cab window was
shattered when its driver was shot at by a man with an
airgun in Rectory Farm, Northampton.
The attacker was one of a group of people who made off leaving the driver
shaken but uninjured.
BBC, 4 October 2004
A man leaving the
Deighton Centre in Huddersfield was approached by a man with a
handgun and shot once in the buttocks.
News & Star, 3 October 2004
In a second recent
airgun attack in Carlisle a
firefighter was shot while on duty.
BBC, 2 October 2004
A bus driver handed over
cash, a mobile phone and a blue bag containing ticket rolls when he was
robbed at gunpoint in Telford.
BBC, 2 October 2004 *
Two men died and another
was seriously injured in a shooting at a nightclub in Croydon.
It was later reported that one of the victims was a doorman who may have
tried
to stop the gunman from fleeing the nightclub. The gunman smashed a
glass door panel to escape. Two men were arrested in connection with the shooting which is being
investigated by officers from the Met's Operation Trident. Two weeks
later less than a third of the 100 or more people believed to have been at
the club at the time had come forward (Croydon Guardian, 18 October
2004). Nine men are facing trial in Bristol in connection with the
Croydon murders as well as a double shooting in Bristol an hour later (see
below) (ic Croydon, 14 April 2006).
BBC, 2 October 2004 *
Two women were shot and
dumped outside a Bristol police station after being shot in a car in St
George, Bristol. One of the victims had received serious head
injuries. Five men have appeared in court in relation to this incident
(PA News, 12 January 2005). In a second incident in Bristol, gun shots were heard in
St Paul's. A man hailed a car and was taken to hospital with
gunshot wounds. Nine men are facing trial in Bristol in connection
with a double murder in Croydon (see above) as well as the double shooting
in Bristol an hour later (ic Croydon, 14 April 2006).
BBC, 2 October 2004
Five people were
arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit violent disorder after shots
were fired in Lincoln.
BBC, 1 October 2004
Two men, Maurice Miller
and Nebra Bennett, were jailed for life for shooting dead a woman as she sat
in her sports car in a street in Tottenham. Pauline Peart, who
was murdered in March 2003, did not know her killers. They may have
been aiming at a friend who was with her in the car. The weapon used
was a BBM blank-firing handgun which had
been converted to enable it to fire live rounds. A Scotland Yard
spokesman said that 70% of firearms offences investigated by
Operation Trident involved replica guns which had been converted to fire
live ammunition.
Yorkshire Post, 30 September 2004 *
Two men have been arrested on
suspicion of murder after a man was found in his car fatally shot near his
home in Bradford Moor.
Liverpool Echo, 30 September 2004
Stephen Bennett was
found guilty of attempting to murder two brothers and possessing a
firearm. He had tried to shoot the men dead with a handgun in a
street in Everton. He was jailed for 14 years for attempted
murder, a five year sentence for possessing a gun to be served
concurrently.
News & Star, 30 September 2004
Four schoolchildren were
the target of a drive-by airgun attack
at a Carlisle skate park. A 31-year-old man was hit in the arm.
ic Birmingham, 30 September 2004
Ambulance service bosses
described how a paramedic had a handgun held to his head as he struggled to
treat a badly injured man in Birmingham city centre. This was
