Gun Incident Summary - February 2009

There were a number of shooting incidents in London which resulted in serious injuries to the victims, three of whom died from their injuries. Elsewhere, there were relatively few other incidents in which people were hurt. There were, however, many reports of robberies in which the suspects were armed with guns. More evidence from February's incidents and court cases heard during the month indicates that in a significant proportion of these the weapon is likely to have been an imitation gun.

Gun Deaths and Injuries - There were three fatal shooting attacks during February all of which took place in London, in Stonebridge, Tottenham and East Dulwich - the victims were all in their mid-twenties and the murders are being investigated by the Metropolitan Police's Operation Trident (arrests have been made in connection with both the Stonebridge and Tottenham shootings).
A man apparently committed suicide by shooting himself in a park in Southampton - a pistol was found. Another man was found dead with a gunshot wound to his head in woods in Ottershaw, Surrey.
Shooting incidents in which victims, more than half of them teenagers, were injured occurred in:
- London (9) - a teenager was in a serious condition after being shot in Camberwell, two teenagers were seriously injured in a shooting in Neasden (three people, including boys aged 14 and 15 have been arrested), three people suffered gunshots wounds in an incident outside a pub in Greenwich and three teenagers were shot and injured in Hackney
- Merseyside (3) - a man was shot in the leg in Speke (a man has been arrested) and two teenagers received gunshot wounds to the face in Norris Green (a 15-year-old boy was arrested and released on bail)
- South Yorkshire (1) - a teenager was shot in the head, though only injured slightly, in a pub car park in Halfway (Sheffield)
- Teesside (1) - a man suffered a gunshot wound at a house in Thornaby
- West Midlands (2) - two men were taken to hospital after a drive-by shooting in Edgbaston
- West Sussex (1) - a man was shot in the head while at home in Burgess Hill
- West Yorkshire (1) - a man was found with a gunshot injury in Leeds
A man was pistol-whipped during a robbery at a flat in Croydon (south London) and a newsagent was violently assaulted when he was hit on the head with the butt of a gun during a raid on a shop in Shawlands (Glasgow).
A man was arrested and a gun recovered after another man was assaulted in Newton (Greater Manchester).

Armed Hold-Ups and Assaults - There were robberies and attempted robberies by men apparently armed with guns on:
- Banks, Building Societies and Post Offices - in Harrogate (North Yorkshire) (see below), Bexhill-on-Sea (East Sussex), Winsford (Cheshire), Woking (Surrey), Southampton and Swansea
- Betting shops - in Worthing (West Sussex) and Llandudno (North Wales)
- Petrol stations - in Marston (Oxford) (see below), Benfleet (Essex) (a 19-year-old later surrendered himself), Harlow (Essex) (a man has been arrested and charged with robbery and possession of an imitation firearm) and Deanshanger (Northamptonshire)
- Shops - in Eastwood (Essex), Gorton (Greater Manchester) (four young men were arrested and two guns seized), Rochdale (a shotgun was fired as the robber tried to escape), Wheatley (Oxfordshire) (see below), Middlesbrough (the robber was armed with a hammer and a BB gun), Milton Keynes, Slough (Berkshire), Bedworth (Warwickshire) (a ball-bearing gun was used), Wootton Bassett (Wiltshire) (a suspected imitation firearm was found near a car used in the robbery), Shawlands (Glasgow) (the shopkeeper was hit on the head with the butt of a gun) and Slateford (Edinburgh) (an imitation shotgun was used)
Security guards were robbed in Daventry (Northamptonshire), Thetford (Norfolk), Easterhouse and Riddrie (both in Glasgow)
There was a worrying number of gunpoint robberies on homes.
- Two women were robbed at a house in Northern Moor (Manchester)
- A couple were robbed of cash in Epping (Essex) (the attackers were armed with a blank-firing imitation weapon).
- A man was pistol-whipped at a flat in Croydon (south London) during a robbery (see above).
- In Surrey a woman was tied up and robbed at gunpoint in Weybridge, and in Bletchingley two armed men burst into a house and punched the homeowner.
- In Northamptonshire a disabled man was robbed in Kettering and an elderly couple were tied up and robbed in Pipewell (three men and a woman have been arrested).
- An armed gang stole jewellery and cash from a house in Shawlands (Glasgow).
In Essex a man was lured to an ambush and robbed of cash in Theydon Bois, and a mother and daughter were victims of a street robbery in Shoebury. A motorist had his car stolen by four men armed with a handgun in Liverpool.
Police found a gun on a train in Reading and arrested four men, three of them teenagers, after items and cash were stolen from a property in the town.
A man has been arrested by police investigating two armed robberies in Harrogate (North Yorkshire). A man has appeared in court charged with four counts of robbery in connection with recent incidents in Oxfordshire (in Marston and Wheatley during February). A teenager from West Reading (Berkshire) has denied one count of using a firearm to cause fear and violence in people and one of attempted robbery.

Other Incidents - Shots were fired at houses in Sarisbury Green (Hampshire) (this was the second time in a month, three men have been arrested and released on bail), Whalley Range (Greater Manchester) and Shiregreen (Sheffield). A gun was reported to have been fired at a house in Heaton (Bradford) in an incident which may be linked to earlier reports of shots being fired in Lidget Green.
A car was shot at in Heywood (Greater Manchester) (two men have been charged with attempted murder). Shots were fired in a street in Birmingham where a car was damaged.
A man in a car pulled a gun on a teenager as he walked along a road in Worle (Somerset).
A man was held on suspicion of supplying a firearm after an incident involving a hand grenade in Hull. Two men were arrested in Hanley (Staffordshire) in connection with firearms offences. Four men arrested on the M6 near Stoke-on-Trent after reports of a firearm being carried were released without charge.
Police investigating organised dog fighting questioned a man and a woman arrested in Drighlington (West Yorkshire) on suspicion of possession of a dangerous dog, along with drugs and firearms offences.
A police helicopter was scrambled after reports of a man with a gun in a nature reserve in County Durham.

Gun Thefts and Recoveries - Guns were stolen from properties in:
- Berkshire - two airguns and a pump gun were stolen from a storage unit in Lambourn, and a bolt action rifle was stolen from a car in Speen.
- Derbyshire - an air rifle was among items stolen from a caravan in Barrow-upon-Trent
- Lincolnshire - two shotguns were stolen from a house in Stamford
- North Yorkshire - in Boltby an elderly man was tied up and assaulted as a gang stole two shotguns and two rifles
Firearms were recovered in a number of police raids targeted at criminal activity:
- Imitation guns and drugs were among items recovered during a series of raids across Northumberland.
- A .22 air rifle was among nearly 30 items recovered by police during an operation to beat burglary in Whitley (Reading).
- A sawn-off shotgun and drugs were recovered from an address in Manor Park (east London) (a 17-year-old was arrested).
- An air pistol and a ball-bearing gun were recovered along with suspected cocaine at a property in Bovey Tracey (Devon).
- A man was arrested after a sawn-off shotgun was found in Cambridge.
- A firearm was found when cash cigarettes and drugs were seized at an industrial unit in Cannock (Staffordshire).
- Firearms were found in an operation tackling the supply of drugs, firearms and counterfeit clothing in Hertfordshire
- A stun gun was found with cash and drugs during a raid in Earlsfield (south London)

Airguns and Imitation Guns - In all previous Summaries incidents involving Imitation Guns were dealt with separately from those involving Airguns. However, because of the confusion over definitions (see GCN Comment) future summaries will include them in one section.
Three men have been charged with possession of a firearm without a certificate following the death of a teenage girl who was shot in the head with an air rifle at a party in Bury in December 2008.
Victims reported to have been shot with airguns and imitations during February included:
- a teenager shot in the face when an air rifle was fired at him in a park in Collier Row (east London)
- three teenagers hit when they were shot at with an air rifle in Blacon (Chester)
- a 9-year-old boy who was left 'covered in blood' after being shot in the head with a BB gun in Plymouth
- a man shot in the chest with an air rifle in a drive-by shooting in Nantwich (Cheshire)
A man was arrested after shots were fired from the window of a flat in Manchester with what is believed to have been an airgun. A street in Faifley (West Dunbartonshire) was closed off after shots were allegedly fired from an air weapon (a man was arrested).
Police seized an air rifle and two knives from two men in Ashington (Northumberland) who have been charged with affray.
There were a number of attacks of vehicles:
- Buses were fired at with an airgun in North Baddesley (Hampshire) (shards of glass were splattered over a passenger) and with a BB gun in Billericay and Tiptree (both in Essex) (windows were broken in both cases).
- A car window was smashed by a ball-bearing, probably fired from an airgun, in Chester-le-Street (County Durham).
A parked car was hit with an airgun pellet in Harwich (Essex). A house window may have been damaged by an air rifle or BB gun in Whitby (North Yorkshire). Damage to homes, bus shelters and a community centre in Exwick (Exeter) is believed to have been caused by an airgun.
Imitation firearms have been linked to armed robberies carried out in Epping (Essex), Middlesbrough, Bedworth (Warwickshire), Wootton Bassett (Wiltshire), Harlow (Essex) and Slateford (Edinburgh). It is very likely that the weapons used in many more of the armed robberies reported this month (see above) were also imitation weapons.
Armed police swooped on a street in Hove (Sussex) after reports of a man pointing a gun at a baby - it turned out to be a toy gun.
Two teenagers were seen carrying an airgun in Tile Hill (Coventry) in what is being described as a "suspicious activity".
Police said that they have a duty to treat all reports of firearms as genuine after they were alerted when a group of people attending a party at a pub in Castle Donington (Leicestershire) were seen carrying guns which turned out to be cap guns or water pistols.

Incidents Involving Animals - In addition to the growing list of cats injured and killed in airgun attacks (this month there were reports from Devon, Oxfordshire and Staffordshire) there were a number of reports of birds being shot.
- Swans were attacked in Hartlepool, Leicestershire (a bird shot in flight with a shotgun) and Surrey (two dead birds found with puncture wounds to their heads).
- Other birds have been shot with air rifles on pathways in Skegness (Lincolnshire) (where squirrels have also been attacked) and between Heckmondwike and Norristhorpe (West Yorkshire). A kestrel found in Mablethorpe (Lincolnshire) will never fly again after being shot with an airgun.

Convictions - A 20-year-old has been convicted of killing a teenager in Stoke Newington (north London) in a possible gang-related shooting. Three men have been convicted of the murder of a man shot dead with a sub-machine gun in Romford (Essex).
A man has admitted the attempted murder of his estranged wife's boyfriend whom he shot with a shotgun near South Ormsby (Lincolnshire).
A man has been warned that a custodial sentence is inevitable after he pleaded guilty to possession of a gun and ammunition following a dispute between opposing groups in Nottingham.
A man who fired a sawn-off shotgun at a police officer in his patrol car in Loughton (Essex) and had earlier shot a friend in the shoulder will serve a minimum of 11 years in jail. Another man who threatened two police officers with a gun after firing shots in West Bromwich (West Midlands) has been jailed for ten years.
A drug dealer was jailed for 10 years after being caught with cocaine, a sawn-off shotgun and cartridges in Derby.
There were convictions for a number of people caught possessing firearms:
- A woman and a teenage boy have been given custodial sentences of two-and-a-half and two years, respectively, after a loaded self-loading pistol was found at the woman's house in Levenshulme (Greater Manchester).
- A drug dealer was jailed for seven years after a machine gun was found during a search of his home in Mitcham (south London): the same gun had been used in the murder of a man in Chingford in 2005.
- A man has been jailed for five years after pleading guilty to possessing of a 9 mm pistol and ammunition found at his girlfriend's house in Newtown (Birmingham).
- Another man from Wymondham (Norfolk) was jailed for five years after pleading guilty to possession of a .22 revolver and ammunition he had shipped from the USA and kept in storage.
A gun enthusiast and firearm certificate holder from Ulceby (Lincolnshire) has been jailed for three years after admitting conspiring to import a pistol from the USA and to possessing a sawn-off shotgun, a semi-automatic shotgun and an air weapon.
Two men admitted possessing an illegal weapon after stun guns were found, one at a home in Holcombe (Somerset), the other after a disturbance in Darlaston (West Midlands).

Airguns and Imitation Guns (Court Cases) - see note above.
A man who had been drinking fired a gas powered air pistol at friends working in a barbers shop in Wall Heath (West Midlands) and fired shots in the street: he was jailed for four years after admitting possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
A man who threatened his neighbour in Purley (Surrey) with an air rifle pleaded guilty to possession of an imitation firearm and threatening behaviour: he was warned that a custodial sentence was likely.
A man who threatened police with an air rifle and a samurai sword in Bognor Regis (West Sussex) has been warned he would face a jail term. Another man who pointed an imitation shotgun, a paintball gun, at police officers in Ilkeston (Derbyshire) has been given a one year suspended jail sentence.
A man from Stourbridge (Worcestershire) has been remanded in custody after admitting being in possession of an imitation rifle with intent to cause fear of violence.
A number of people appeared in court after using airguns and imitation guns in robberies and attempted robberies.
- An 18-year-old has been jailed for nine years after a robbery at a shop in Bradford in which a ball-bearing gun was pointed at the shopkeeper.
- A man who pointed a BB gun at betting shop staff in Bothwell (South Lanarkshire) during a robbery has pleaded guilty to presenting an imitation firearm and demanding money and robbing one of the staff.
- A man has been jailed for two-and-a-half years after he stole a BB gun in a burglary and then wielded the weapon in Ipswich town centre, demanding a kebab from a takeaway.
- Three teenagers who were armed with an airgun have been sentenced to six and seven years in custody after robbing a betting shop in Bedworth (Warwickshire) and speeding away in a stolen car.
A man has been jailed for 56 months after he pointed an imitation gun at a toddler at a flat in Glasgow.
A boy who was given an air rifle by his mother which he then used to threatened people in Darlington has been given a two-year anti-social behaviour order.
A 17-year-old has admitted being in possessing of a machete and a loaded air rifle in a public place in Norwich and has been given a six-month referral order.
A man who stole knives and an air rifle from a flat in Birchwood (Cheshire) has been jailed for eight months.
An ex-prisoner who was not permitted to have a firearm as a condition of his release pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm and ammunition following an incident in St Neots (Cambridgeshire) when he pointed an air rifle out of a window: he was given an 18-month conditional discharge. A man from Ambleside (Cumbria) who had a dismantled air rifle at his home whilst he was banned from being in possession of a firearm has been jailed for 12 months.
A shooting enthusiast who was caught storing an air rifle without a proper certificate at his home in Hastings was fined £65.