Gun Incidents reported by Correspondents

INCIDENTS AND OTHER CONCERNS RAISED BY GCN CORRESPONDENTS - 2007

ENGLAND

London, 20 March 2007

Another example, provided by a correspondent from London, of the selfish attitude of an airgun user who has no regard for his neighbours’ legitimate concerns about the dangers involved in shooting in gardens in built up areas. Sadly it has been met with a further instance of an inadequate response from the police, who apparently give more weight to a shooter’s wishes than the public’s need to feel safe.

“A few months ago a man moved into our street and began using his back garden for target practice with an airgun. The boundary walls are low and everyone’s backdoors and windows are just a few feet away from one another. His target practice sometimes takes place at night and has involved switching on his garden spotlights at 1 a.m.

“He is shooting pigeons and some of them are falling into neighbouring gardens leaving the neighbours to dispose of the carcasses. The police have been called a number of times but say he has a licence for his firearms, is a responsible gun owner and experienced hunter, and he is only using an airgun to shoot the pigeons. They have asked me not to tell them anymore if he discharges his airgun or any of his weapons in his garden since he is not doing anything wrong as long as he fires within his own garden walls. However, we feel that although he may be firing within his walls he would have to be aiming outside the walls to shoot the pigeons.”

The neighbours have tried to complain to the local authority and have asked the RSPCA to investigate, with little success to date. This has left them feeling nervous and vulnerable when they are by their back windows and in their gardens. “We do not want him to start firing while we are out back and we do not want to have pigeons falling on us in the summer months.” One couple have decided that they must keep their cats indoors.

It is totally inappropriate that one airgun user can leave his neighbours feeling so exposed, and the police should have a duty to give the safety of the public a higher priority than this, not least at a time when Government and senior police officers have been focusing on the dangers posed by guns. It is not an adequate response simply to try and reassure neighbours that they should put their trust in a man who wants to fire guns at night, and has no regard for what happens to the pigeons he kills, simply because he is an ex-soldier or an experienced hunter.

GCN notes that our correspondent has been told by police that the man has a licence for some firearms, suggesting that he has weapons other than low-powered airguns. However, weapons that require a licence should never be fired in these circumstances. A better explanation to the local community must be provided by the police.

South Yorkshire, 15 February 2007

Over the years Gun Control Network has been contacted by a number of parents whose children have been killed or seriously injured as a result of the misuse of airguns. This latest communication provides another reminder of the terrible consequences that can result from the irresponsible use of these dangerous weapons. Julie writes from South Yorkshire:

"My son was shot in the back in September 2005 while out riding his motor bike by Scott Dowse who was out with an airgun, the gun was never found to this day. Scott was ordered to serve just nine months in prison because of his age at the time of the accident, he was 17. This is not good enough as my son Mark has been left a tetraplegic who needs a ventilator to breathe and has limited movement, all because guns are so easy to buy. My son has a life sentence and is still in a spinal unit until our house is adapted and Scott is let out in March. Where is the justice in law?"

Why is it that airguns continue to be treated as if they differ from other firearms? They too have the potential to maim and kill and should be treated in exactly the same way as other Section 1 firearms with respect to both licensing and registration and to the penalties that should face anyone who misuses them.

> See Doncaster Today for the latest on Mark

February 2007

"Daily Post, 2 January 2002

Three men were shot in the reception area of a pub in Speke. All three received injuries to their legs. Up to four men were involved, and between four and six shots were discharged before they escaped in a car."

A correspondent has written to us about the above incident. He was one of the victims and is keen to ensure that those responsible for gun crime are made aware of the damage their actions cause. Five years after he was shot, on News Years Eve 2001, he is still badly affected by the experience.

He was a friend of the doorman of the pub where the shooting occurred and was just standing there. He was shot three times (once in the stomach and foot, but most of the damage was done by the bullet that entered his leg). He was operated on for 16 hours and now has several pins in his femur. He continues to suffer as a result of the shooting. Although he works full time, has a family and home he still finds life very hard because of flash backs.

INCIDENTS INVOLVING ANIMALS

Lincolnshire, June 2007

A correspondent from a village three miles outside Lincoln has written to tell us how her cat was shot with an airgun in January this year and died three days later from the severity of his injuries. A pellet had passed through his internal organs. This occurred two months after a cat living at the other end of the village had also been killed when it was shot in the head with an airgun. The police have a suspect for both shootings, the same person, but are hampered in what they can do to arrest him. Since our correspondent's cat was killed there have been other shootings in the area, one in a village on the other side of Lincoln and one in Lincoln itself where the owner lost two cats on the same day to airgun pellets.

The message arrived within days of warnings from the RSPCA and Scottish SPCA that airgun attacks on animals are on the increase in a number of regions (see June 2007 Incidents).

Essex, February 2007 (Update)

In June 2006 a correspondent wrote to us describing how her cat had been shot and killed with an airgun (see Personal Accounts 2006). Since then a weapon has been seized from a neighbour and shown to match the pellet recovered from the cat. The air weapon was found to be over the legal power limit. The man was arrested and charged with possession of a firearm without certificate and causing unnecessary suffering of an animal. He pleaded guilty to the possession charge and the case was being referring back to magistrates to determine the outcome of the animal cruelty offence. It will then be returned to the Crown Court for sentencing. Our correspondent encourages people to report and pursue similar offences.

Mexborough, February 2007

A correspondent has written to GCN about her cat Sheba who was shot with an air rifle in the vicinity of her house. The family had heard a shot at the back of the house and half an hour later the cat was found lying outside the backdoor.

"She just looked at me and meowed but couldn't get up. Being long haired, she was in a right mess, it was raining and she'd obviously been lying there since we'd heard the shot. We immediately brought her in and while I was trying to keep her warm in towels etc. My partner was speaking to the emergency vet who told us to bring her straight away. When she was examined, a hole was found in her left side, her breathing was shallow and she was very weak. The vets said they'd go ahead and X-ray to confirm the pellet with my permission and continue any treatment if I wanted them to."

"She was X-rayed and it was confirmed she had a pellet in her chest that had gone in one side, through her ribs and lungs to the other side where it had shattered one of her ribs and narrowly missing her heart. She was kept under observation, given oxygen and a tight compress was put over the wound because her chest cavity was filling with air causing her to struggle breathing."

After a worrying few days Sheba was finally able to go home but has had difficulty eating. The vets bills for the treatment have already reached £450 and are rising.

The pellet has been recovered and the family have been in contact with the police urging them to investigate. Our correspondent understands that if an animal has been seriously injured or killed and there is a suspect then the police should follow it up whether there is proof or not. She is certain she knows who is responsible. The RSPCA also know about the incident and the local paper has been informed. She has carefully recorded what has happened in a daily log, and we hope that there will be enough evidence to ensure that the culprit is brought to book for his callous action.

Judging from the reports of cats being shot with airguns we are aware that our correspondent's experiences have been shared by too many others. Shooting animals with an airgun like this is an act of cruelty. It also causes great distress to a pets' owners. There is also a further dimension. Our correspondent and her partner have two young children and not surprisingly she is now concerned for their safety in the vicinity of someone who is prepared to misuse an air rifle.