JANUARY 2008 - SUMMARY

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• Gun Deaths and Injuries - In January 2008 there were a disturbing number of serious gun crimes in Merseyside and Greater Manchester, including three fatal shootings.  Elsewhere there were four deaths (two in Hertfordshire, one in Cambridgeshire and one in Plymouth) involving men described in reports as gun enthusiasts.  Two committed suicide, one after allegedly killing his mother-in-law by shooting her.

• Two men were the victims of fatal shootings in Greater Manchester, one in Merseyside and one woman was killed in Hertfordshire (the alleged perpetrator of the Hertfordshire homicide then apparently shot himself dead in the grounds of a gun club where he had been a member).  A gun enthusiast died after being shot at home in Cambridgeshire, but the circumstances are not clear: his wife was being questioned by police and has been released on bail.  Another licensed firearms holder was found dead of gunshot wounds at an address in Plymouth.

• In Greater Manchester one man was killed and two others were injured in a triple shooting in Crumpsall and a 20-year-old died after being shot in a shooting at a takeaway in Stretford.  In another serious shooting in Stretford a victim was shot in the chest (four men have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder).  Another man was shot in the chest in a parked car in Old Trafford and two youths were in a critical condition after being shot in a betting shop in Withington.

• In Merseyside a man died after being shot dead as he was driving through Halewood.  Another man, who had earlier been shot in the stomach in Anfield, was one of three people later arrested and charged with drug offences.  Another man was shot in the leg in a 'targeted attack' in Kensington, two men were injured in a double shooting in Norris Green and a man was shot in the back as he tried to escape from a gunman in Speke.  A victim has lost the sight of one eye after being shot with an airgun in Kirkby (see below).

• Two men were taken to hospital after being shot on a housing estate in Preston: a 20-year-old has been arrested.

• In the West Midlands a man suffered head and stomach injuries after a shooting in Dudley and another victim was injured when he was shot in Smethwick.

• Two teenagers were taken to hospital after a shooting in Hyson Green (Nottingham): their injuries were not life threatening.  A man was seriously injured in a shooting in Lightmore Heath (Warwickshire) (a man has been charged with attempted murder).  Another man was shot in the back in Stratford (East London).  A man had to be treated for gunshot wounds after an attack in Blantyre (Lanarkshire).

• Armed Hold-Ups and Assaults - A teenager held a gun to the heads of two women in separate incidents in Bolton in which a purse and a handbag were taken and one of the victims was sexually assaulted.

• A teenager was robbed of his mobile phone at gunpoint in Weston-super-Mare.  Three women in the Buckhurst Hill area (Essex) were robbed in separate attacks: one teenage victim was pistol whipped.  Two women were robbed at gunpoint by two men armed with handguns in The Meadows area of Nottingham.

• In Greater Manchester three robbers fled empty handed after holding a handgun to a takeaway worker's head in Atherton and cash, and cigarettes were stolen from a shop in Rhodes by two men brandishing a gun.  Three men, one armed with a gun, stole cigarettes from a shopkeeper in Huddersfield.  A gang of four men armed with a handgun stole cash, cigarettes and bottles of spirits from a shop in Rastrick, also in West Yorkshire.  A small amount of cash was stolen by a man armed with a shotgun from a shop in Blackpool.  Another man took £140 at gunpoint during a raid on a shop in Teddington (Middlesex).  A man pointing a handgun tried to rob an off licence in Hastings (Sussex) but fled empty handed.  Another gunman fled empty-handed after attempting to rob a newsagents in Pollok (Glasgow).  Three people were held at gunpoint when a robber stole the takings of a pub in Slough (Berkshire).

• An air rifle was used in an attempted robbery on a store in Northampton.  A man armed with an imitation gun attempted to rob a bookmakers in Whitchurch (Cardiff) (see below).

• A man threatened a woman driver with a handgun and tried to snatch her handbag in an incident in Linthorpe (Middlesbrough).  Armed robbers stole a car from a cab driver in Southport (Lancashire).  A teenager had his motorbike stolen at gunpoint in Droylsden (Greater Manchester).

• In further attacks in Greater Manchester an armed gang stole a mobile phone, a handbag and keys to a car in which they escaped during a robbery at a property in Gorton, and five masked men threatened a couple with a gun in Moss Side.

• A family was held up by a gang of armed robbers in a house in Blackheath (south east London) who stole cash.

• Other Incidents - A man was forced into a car at gunpoint in Altrincham (Cheshire).

• A man was confronted by two men with a gun, possibly a shotgun, on his doorstep in Southey Green (Sheffield): they ran off after he slammed the door.

• Staff at a takeaway in Northampton were threatened by a teenager who produced what was thought to be a handgun.

• In a possible gang-related incident a shot was fired at a house in Allenton (Derbyshire).  A firearm was discharged outside a pub in Bristol.  A man fired a shot during a dispute in a street in Northampton.  Police carried out a search in Winslow (Buckinghamshire) after reports of a firearm being discharged.

• The back window of a car being driven by a couple close to Low Worsall in Cleveland was hit when they were shot at from another car: an airgun may have been involved (see below).

• A man was arrested after reports that he was carrying a pistol in a pub in Swindon and another man was arrested after a report that he had entered a pub in Bagillt (Flintshire) with a firearm.

• A man from Bispham (Lancashire) has appeared in court accused with possessing a handgun with intent to cause someone to believe violence would be used against them.  A TV presenter making a documentary in Croxteth (Merseyside) had a gun pointed at her.

• A man has appeared in court on a charge of being in possession of a handgun on a motorway in Dumfriesshire.

• A man is to appear in court charged with two firearms offences and four offences under the Explosive Substances Act after an explosion at a house in Eldson (Northumberland).

• Police were called to a number of other incidents in which firearms were reported to have been seen but were not found.  These involved a train boarded by a teenager at Bourne End (Buckinghamshire), another train stopped at Berwick station in Sussex and a home in Uffculme (Devon) where a man was arrested.

• Gun Finds and Thefts - Five people were arrested after police discovered handguns in Greenwich and Lewisham in south London.  A 16-year-old faced firearms and drugs charges following a police raid in Catford (South East London).

• A firearm and ammunition were found by police during raids in Croxteth and Norris Green (Merseyside), and nine people were arrested and three guns seized during raids in Trafford and Eccles (Greater Manchester).

• Police found a rifle and a number of de-activated grenades at the home of a man arrested in Monkton Heathfield (Somerset), and a man was arrested on suspicion of purchasing/possessing a firearm after police raided his home in Hemel Hempstead (Hertfordshire).

• A Darlington man has been charged four months after police raided his home and seized a haul of replica, deactivated and components parts of military weapons and ammunition.

• Armed police found two air rifles and two replica guns during a raid on an address in Swindon (Wiltshire).  A man was charged with firearms offences after a number of weapons including six imitation guns were found by police at a flat in Pangbourne (Berkshire).

• An air rifle was among items stolen from an industrial estate in Wellingborough (Northamptonshire).  Replica guns were taken from a trailer in Kidderminster (Worcestershire).

• Convictions (see also Imitation Guns and Airgun Incidents) - A number of men have been given long jail sentences (over 12 years) for their involvement in the murder in Rigside (Lanarkshire) of a man who was shot with a sawn-off shotgun.

• Five men face life sentences after being convicted of the murder of a drug dealer whose body was found with gunshot wounds in Pattingham (Staffordshire) in 2002.

• Three men have been convicted of the murder of a man in St Osyth (Essex) and been jailed for life.  A fourth man who gave evidence for the prosecution pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.  See May 2007 Incidents.

• A man has been convicted of manslaughter after killing a man in his flat in Cricklewood (north London) with the victim's own air rifle (see below).

• Five men have received long jail sentences (20 to 30 years) for their part in the £53m robbery at a depot in Tonbridge during which the manager's wife and child were kidnapped from their home in Herne Bay at gunpoint.

• A man has been jailed for at least three years over a shooting at a carnival in Moss Side (Manchester).

• A man who shot himself in the leg during a party in Woodgate (Leicester) but claimed he was the victim of a mystery gunman has been given a five year jail sentence.

• A robber who held a handgun to the neck of an elderly man in St Helens was jailed for five years and seven months: he had also robbed another man on a bus.

• An 18-year-old arrested on suspicion of discharging a firearm has been banned from acting in a violent and threatening manner in a number of streets in Huyton (Merseyside).

• A man from Rhyl (North Wales) has admitted having two rifles and ammunition without proper documentation: sentencing was adjourned.

• Airguns - In spite of the recent introduction of measures in the Violent Crime Reduction Act to restrict the sales of airguns it is clear from the incidents and court cases reported in January that there are still too many of these guns in the hands of those who would misuse them.  Measures must be taken to reduce the number of these weapons in circulation.

• A man has lost the sight of one eye after being shot with an airgun in Kirkby (Merseyside).  A teenager was shot with an air rifle in Calne (Wiltshire) following an apparent argument over a girl, and a 14-year-old girl was hit in the arm by an airgun sniper near Gourock (Renfrewshire).

• A teenager was arrested after an attempted robbery on a store in Northampton in which an air rifle was fired.

• A rifle was pointed at police officers when they called at a property in Penhill (Swindon): a number of air rifles and pellets were among weapons recovered from a nearby house.

• A man was arrested after an air rifle was pointed at staff at Rochdale Infirmary.

• In Scotland a property in Easterhouse (Glasgow) was searched after reports that an airgun was being fired from a window.

• New age travellers in Highworth (Wiltshire) have reportedly been subjected to an attack with what they believe was an air rifle.  Pellets were fired at members of the public in Yeovil (Somerset): a woman was injured and a van damaged. 

• A taxi driver was showered with glass after his cab was hit with what he believes was an air rifle pellet as he was driving between Aberfan and Troedyrhiw.  In another incident in South Wales vandals shot at a car with a pellet gun near Pencoed.  An airgun may have been used when the back window of a car being driven close to Low Worsall in Cleveland was hit.  A 19-year-old who fired an air rifle pellet at a bus in Skelmersdale has been arrested and given a final warning.

• Damage estimated at £5000 has been caused with air rifles to new street lights in Heysham (Lancashire).  An airgun sniper may have caused damage at a shop, a house, a takeaway and the Civic Hall in Totnes (Devon).  A shop window in Heath Hayes (Cannock, Staffordshire) was damaged by airgun shots.  A house window was damaged in Peterhead (Grampian), and in two attacks in North Berwick (East Lothian) properties were targeted and a children's playroom window fired at.  A local newspaper has launched a campaign to rid the streets of Barrhead (Renfrewshire) of airguns after a number of incidents in the town.  A youth has caused residents of Gwendraeth (South Wales) to fear for their safety after he fired an airgun in a park.

• A 17-year-old was arrested for possessing a firearm after an airgun was found in a toilet on a train at Chapeltown (Sheffield) after a clash between two gangs.

• A woman from Yarmouth (Norfolk) sustained an injury to her nose in what police said was an accident involving an airgun.

• Armed burglars who stole a scramble bike from a shed in Portslade (Sussex) left behind a .22 air rifle.

• Airgun - Convictions - Homicides and domestic incidents.  Two cases in which victims had died after being shot with airguns came to a conclusion this month.  A teenager will spend 13 years in jail after killing a pensioner whom he shot in his home in Winchburgh (West Lothian).  A burglar who killed a man with his own airgun in Cricklewood (north London) has been convicted of manslaughter.

• A man who repeatedly shot his wife with a .22 air rifle in their home in Leeds has been jailed for three-and-a-half years.  Another man who shot his wife in the shoulder at their home in Kinmel Bay (North Wales) was given a nine-month suspended prison sentence after admitting assault causing actual bodily harm.

• Airgun - Convictions - Other incidents.  A man who threatened a student with an air pistol in York during an attempted robbery has been jailed for five years.  A 21-year-old was sentenced to 27 months after pointing an air rifle at a group of young people during a burglary in Poulton (Lancashire).  A man from Smallthorne (Staffordshire) who threatened youths with an air pistol was given a 10 month suspended jail sentence.

• Following separate incidents in Solihull (West Midlands) one man was given an 18 month sentence after pointing an air pistol at a taxi as well as brandishing a machete and another was given a four month jail sentence after firing a pellet gun in a park where children were playing.

• A man who terrorised his neighbour in Farnworth, near Bolton, and allegedly fired an air rifle at his house has been banned from living in his own house.

• Imitation Guns - A teenager is having surgery in eye hospital after being shot in the face with a BB gun in Malvern: a teenager has been charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent.  An 18-year-old girl was shot in the face with a pellet gun during a drive-by shooting in Portobello (Edinburgh).

• Three men were arrested following an incident at a flat in Manchester in which a woman was reported to have been hit over the head with a gun: police recovered an imitation firearm.

• A man apparently brandishing a blank-firing pistol and threatening to shoot armed police in Paisley (Renfrewshire) was disabled with a stun gun before appearing in court in connection with the incident.

• Two workmen were threatened with a replica gun at a property in Wigan: a man has been arrested.  A man armed with an imitation gun attempted to steal cash from a bookmaker in Whitchurch (Cardiff).

• The Evening News in Norwich provided evidence that teenagers have been playing pretend war games (airsoft) on Mousehold Heath.

• A group of three teenagers fired a ball-bearing gun at a bus in Bamber Bridge (Lancashire).

• Four men were arrested by armed police in Rickmansworth (Hertfordshire), one for possession of an imitation gun and another for possession of an airgun.  Two men were arrested in Trafalgar Square in London on suspicion of possessing an imitation firearm.

• A man committed suicide after being terrorised by yobs who repeatedly fired a ball-bearing gun at his home in Pemberton (Lancashire).

• Pupils were evacuated from a school in Easterhouse (Glasgow) after guns were found in a gym cupboard: police later confirmed that the guns were toys.

• Pulborough Parish Council in Sussex has highlighted the potential risk of ball-bearing guns after a series of shootings in and around the village.  Children as young as four have been spotted roaming the Whitehawk estate in Brighton shooting a buses and homes with ball-bearing guns.

• Imitation Guns - Convictions - A man involved in three carjackings in Bolton, Warrington and Accrington pleaded guilty to a number of offences including three of possession of an imitation firearm.

• A 20-year-old who carried out a number of raids on banks in South London has been jailed for seven years: police found a ball-bearing gun in a rucksack in his home.  A man has been jailed for four years after pleading guilty to an attempted robbery in Westhoughton (Bolton) and possession of an imitation firearm.

• A gang of teenagers who were armed with an imitation pistol when they forced their way into a property in Northaw (Hertfordshire) have been jailed for between three years seven months and five years.

• A man who shot at a school minibus in Bradford with a BB gun has been given a two year jail sentence.  See December 2007 Incidents.

• A man who fired a ball-bearing gun at two women pensioners in Bromsgrove (Worcestershire), hitting both of them, has been sentenced to 18 months detention.

• A 16-year-old who threatened a security guard in Peterborough pleaded guilty to possession of an imitation firearm with intent.

• A man who assaulted a fellow drinker in Durham whilst wielding a plastic BB gun was given a suspended four month term in a young offenders institution.  Another man who was drunk when he pulled out an imitation gun as he was confronted by two police officers in Dumbarton has admitted possession of a firearm or imitation firearm with intent to cause the officers to believe that unlawful violence would be used against them.

• Incidents Involving Animals - Cats were again the frequent target of airgun snipers with incidents reported in Buckinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Nottinghamshire, South Wales, Wiltshire and Worcestershire.  Another cat was shot with a high powered gun in Cheshire.

• A dog owner from Stourport-on-Severn (Worcestershire) was jailed for four months for causing incredible cruelty to his dog which included shooting the pet with an air rifle.

• At a park in Wearside another swan has been found shot dead, in this case apparently with a BB gun.

 

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