Gun Incident Summary

MAY 2007 - SUMMARY

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A police firearms officer was shot dead when he attended a domestic incident in Shrewsbury. The gunman apparently shot himself with the same gun. It was widely reported that the gun was legally-owned pest control rifle. In another incident involving armed police a man, who was found to have a loaded gun, was shot dead in Ealing (west London) during an operation on alleged illegal gun transactions. The incidents highlight the potential dangers which the police may have to face from guns, whoever owns them and however they have been obtained.

During May police in Manchester and the West Midlands expressed concerns about the number of gun incidents in their areas, and this month's summary includes a significant number of incidents and convictions from these two regions.

When gun crime is discussed in the media it is rarely reported that nearly two thirds of all recorded gun offences in Great Britain are committed with imitation guns and airguns, the vast majority of which do not need to be registered making them too easy to obtain, especially by youths. The Violent Crime Reduction (2006) Act includes measures that should by now have limited their availability (i) through a ban on the sale, import and manufacture of imitation weapons and (ii) through restricting the sale of airguns to registered firearm dealers. Despite the continuing concerns of many, including the police, the Government has still not implemented either measure. In May Surrey Police ran a campaign to highlight the dangers of imitation guns, while in the Mansfield area Nottinghamshire Police were the latest force to issue a warning about the misuse of airguns. The incidents and convictions recorded in this Summary show that the warnings are still not being heeded. So long as there are further delays to the implementation of the VCR Act, there will be even more incidents involving imitation guns and airguns, inflating the gun crime figures and affecting hundreds of victims throughout the country.

Gun Deaths and Injuries - A firearms officer was killed when police attended a domestic incident in Shrewsbury. Another man was later found dead. Both victims died from a single gunshot wound: the gun used was a .222 calibre rifle, commonly used in pest control.

A man was shot dead after being chased through a block of flats in Lewisham (south east London). Another man died after being shot as he tried to flee from an attack on a busy road in Cardonald (Glasgow).

A man died after being shot in Ealing (west London) by police during an "intelligence led" operation on alleged illegal firearm transactions: it is reported that the man had a loaded weapon.

A man apparently shot himself and died at a property in the centre of Lewes (Sussex).

Victims were injured in shooting incidents in Woodley (Berkshire), where two teenagers, aged 16 and 15, received shotgun wounds (a 17-year-old has been charged), and in Rayleigh, where a member of the public was shot when he went to the aid of a security guard. In Greater Manchester a teenager was shot in the leg and received minor injuries as he ran away outside a club in Moss Side, and a man was in hospital after being shot during an incident involving two gangs of men in Oldham. A man received minor injuries when he was shot in the back while sitting in a car in Moseley (Birmingham).

A police support worker was shot and serious wounded during a firearms training session run by Thames Valley Police at Kidlington (Oxfordshire).

Armed Hold-Ups and Assaults - There were attacks on security guards delivering cash in Rayleigh (Essex) (in which a member of the public was shot and injured, see above) and Isleworth (west London). A security van driver was threatened with a gun and abducted in East Whitburn (West Lothian): the van and driver were dumped at Muldron Forest.

Two armed men stole cash from a social club in Lakenheath (Suffolk). Two pubs in the Reading area (at Playhatch and Caversham) were robbed by gangs armed with knives and guns: the police believe the raids may be linked.

There were robberies or attempted robberies on shops in Southampton, Breightmet (Manchester) and Atherstone (Warwickshire) (two separate robberies), on a travel agents in Northampton, a petrol station in Warmington (Northamptonshire), a fast food outlet in Portsmouth and bookmakers in Dennistoun (Glasgow) and Haverhill (Suffolk). An armed gang stole thousands of pounds from a slaughterhouse in Highgate (Birmingham) (shots were fired into the air).

A car was stolen from a house in Wyken (Coventry) after the family were threatened with a shotgun. Seven masked men, one armed with a gun, robbed a woman and her son at their home in Hulme (Manchester): a car was stolen from outside the property. A man was hit on the head at a house on Preston Docks during an apparent attempted burglary by an armed man. Men armed with a gun tried to attack the occupants of a house in Milton Keynes: three men have been arrested.

In Manchester, a teenager threatened a mother, her child and a pensioner with a gun in two separate incidents on streets in Peel Hall and Woodhouse Park. A man was robbed in the street in Brownsover (West Midlands) and had £50 stolen at gunpoint.

Other Incidents - A 15-year-old boy was arrested after someone was reportedly seen with a handgun outside a school in Bromsgrove (Worcestershire). Students and staff were evacuated from a school in Newbury (Berkshire) after reports of youths heading into nearby woods with what was thought to be a firearm.

Following reports that shots had been fired four youths were arrested at a party in Old Swan (Liverpool) and a handgun was found at a garage in Holloway (north London). A series of gunshots were heard in Upper Shirley (Southampton) and police officers recovered a bullet. A man was arrested in Barton Seagrave (Northamptonshire) about firearms offences after a shooting incident at a house in Kettering when shots were also fired.

In one of a number of incidents in the West Midlands, shots were fired and two policemen suffered minor injuries (though not as a result of a firearm going off) when they struggled with two men in Birmingham city centre. Two cars were shot at in Halesowen, and a man was seen firing a handgun in a street in Handsworth.

A woman was arrested after she had barricaded herself into a house with a gun in Havant (Hampshire).

Armed police were called to a supermarket in Leominster after reports that a man had been seen with what appeared to be a handgun: no weapon was found.

Gun Finds, Thefts and Losses - A shotgun and dangerous drugs were seized by police from a flat in Monkwearmouth (Sunderland): two men have been charged. A gun was found in a house in Derbyshire after two men had been arrested for drug offences in County Durham, and five men were arrested on suspicion of possession of firearms and drugs offences after a quantity of handguns and ammunition were recovered by police during a raid on a property in Stretford (Greater Manchester). A gun was found during a raid on an address in Llanddeusant (Gwynedd) in which a large amount of class A drugs and cash were recovered: two men were arrested. Air weapons were found during a drugs raid in Portishead (Somerset) (see below).

A handgun was seized by police during raids on a number of homes in Leeds which resulted in seven people being arrested over a credit card fraud.

A man was arrested at a house in Rugby by police who found a sawn-off shotgun and three air rifles.

A rifle and 50 rounds of ammunition were in the boot of a car stolen in Urmston (Greater Manchester).

Police have warned that two replica guns stolen in Beaumont Leys (Leicester) could easily be mistaken for the real thing. Police are also concerned about the theft of two guns used in Wild West re-enactments that were stolen from a house in Meriden (West Midlands).

Convictions (see also Imitation Guns and Airgun Incidents) - A hitman who shot two men, killing one of them, in separate incidents in Basford (Nottingham) has been jailed for a minimum of thirty five years after being convicted of murder and attempted murder.

There were a number of convictions for serious gun crimes in the Greater Manchester area. Two men will serve a minimum of 21 and 20 years after planning a contract killing in which the hit men were themselves shot dead at a pub in Salford. An 18-year-old was found guilty of the attempted murder of a 17-year-old in Stretford and possession of a section 1 firearm: three other teenagers, aged 16 and 15, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to cause actual bodily harm. Seven members of a gang from Moss Side have been given jail terms or are awaiting sentence for their involvement in the intimidation and kidnap of victims: one man had been shot whilst trying to escape.

Two men were given sentences of 18 and 14 years, respectively, for the attempted murder of a man who was shot in Brighouse (West Yorkshire) (see April 2007 Incidents).

Three men have pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and possession of a firearm, and one of them pleaded guilty to GBH, following a robbery at Portslade (Sussex) in which a shopkeeper was shot in the face: they will be sentenced in July. A man who shot the cashier of a petrol station in Hooley (Surrey) in the head during an attempted robbery was given a 12 year sentence (see March 2007 Incidents).

A man has been jailed for a minimum of four and a half years for a doorstep attack in Tynemouth in which the victim was shot with a sawn-off shotgun.

After police had found a sawn-off shotgun hidden under a man's bed in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, the offender pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm and has been jailed for four years.

A man was jailed for seven years after he brandished a gun as police tried to arrest him in Stamford Hill (north London).

A man who admitted having an illegal revolver at his home in Lochgilphead (Argyllshire) was given 200 hours community service (see April 2007 Incidents).

Airguns - Another child has been seriously injured after being shot with an air weapon. The 9-year-old was in a garden in Drumchapel (Glasgow) when he was hit in the leg and had to undergo an operation to remove the pellet.

Two people were injured during a spate of air weapon shootings from a car driven around the Penshaw and Washington areas of County Durham: armed police arrested three men, aged 19 and 21, at a house in Penshaw.

A pensioner had her car stolen at gunpoint in Rushmere St Andrew (Suffolk): an airgun found when her car was recovered and a man has been arrested.

Another pensioner was traumatised after four shots from an airgun were fired through her window as she lay in bed in Paisley.

In Cumbria, two cars had their windscreens smashed in Flimby, probably by shots from an air rifle, and windows of houses and flats were smashed by an airgun or BB gun in Grange. A Carlisle councillor is calling for tighter controls over airguns after windows were smashed in Harraby.

At least two drivers reported that their vehicles had been hit by a youth firing an air weapon in Chorlton and Whalley Range in Manchester. A train window was hit with an air rifle shot at it travelled through Cheadle Hulme, also in Greater Manchester. British Transport Police reported that an air rifle had been fired at a train in Neville Hill (Leeds).

A man was detained under the Mental Health Act after an air rifle was seized from a van parked at a supermarket in Dunstable (Bedfordshire).

Three air pistols and an air rifle were found at addresses in Portishead (Somerset) during a police drugs raid: four men were arrested. Three air rifles were among weapons seized by police in Rugby: one man was arrested.

Airguns (Convictions) - A 19-year-old who fired an air rifle in the face of a 16-year-old girl in Paulton (Somerset) has been sentenced to three years at a young offenders institute: the victim is still ill in hospital.

A man who used an air pistol during a raid on a betting shop in Horwich (Greater Manchester) has been jailed for 5 years. A man has admitted robbing a shop in Rhu (Dunbartonshire): he was armed with an air pistol.

A 17-year-old was given a 40 month custodial sentence after he shot a 16-year-old and threatened three shop workers in Greenock with air weapons (see April 2007 Incidents).

An 18-year-old who fired an air rifle and injured a man whom be believed was trying to break into his flat in Maryhill (Glasgow) has been given a 12 month custodial sentence.

A Wild West enthusiast who fired a shot at police called to a disturbance at his house in Hume (Scottish Borders) has pleaded guilty to discharging an airgun pellet towards a police officer and two charges of possessing prohibited weapons: he has an outbuilding kitted out like a Wild West set which housed replica guns.

A man was jailed for five years after police found a modified air weapon and CS gas cartridges at his caravan in Clayton-le-Dale (Lancashire).

A man who threatened his father and stepmother at their home in Weston-super-Mare whilst armed with an air rifle pleaded guilty and will be sentenced next month.

A motorist pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and was given a suspended six months prison sentence and ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work after he gestured with an airgun at another driver in Southport.

A man was given an eight month suspended prison sentence and 200 hours of unpaid work after an incident in Thetford in which he was spotted with an air rifle.

Imitation Guns - An elderly woman was shot in the face with a BB gun as she walked along a road in Huntingdon: a 9-year-old boy was spoken to in connection with the incident. A woman was hit in the ribcage with a BB pellet whilst walking in a street in Grantham.

A 13-year-old boy held a fake gun to a teacher's head during a lesson at a school in Northampton.

Police in Grantham had to deal with four incidents involving BB guns within a week. A BB gun with the appearance of a long-barrelled shotgun was seized, a car windscreen was hit in the same street where a woman was later hit (see above), and in Long Bennington two youths, aged 14 and 16, were given a warning and their BB guns seized after reports of a young man seen with a firearm. Also in Lincolnshire shots were fired from a BB gun at a car in Boston. A motorist was threatened with an imitation gun as he was driving through Trowse (Norfolk).

A BB gun was recovered and seven people were arrested after reports that a man had brandished a gun in Bedlington (Northumberland).

Four youths were arrested after a cache of weapons, including BB guns, was found at a house in Leasowe (Wirral) after reports of an alleged assault.

Two teenage boys appeared in court after police saw mobile phone footage of a group brandishing guns: an imitation MP5 firearm was recovered during raids in Ellesmere Port (Cheshire).

Armed response teams had to track a motorist spotted with a silver pistol in his hand in Hove (the man was given advice about carrying a BB gun in public). Two teenage women, dressed in Wild West costumes, were arrested in Brighouse (West Yorkshire) after one of them had been seen pointing a gun at other drivers on the M62: the gun turned out to be a toy.

Two teenagers were arrested after passengers on a bus in Bristol reported seeing them with a gun. A man was arrested in Oxford after being caught on CCTV cameras pointing a gun at passers-by: the weapon was a toy gun and he was later released. A man who pointed a handgun at people in the centre of Cardiff is thought to have been armed with an imitation gun.

Despite the fact that Surrey Police have been running a campaign warning of the dangers posed by replica guns, there were a number of incidents in the county in May. A 13-year-old was given a formal reprimand after being found with an imitation gun in Woking. Two replica guns were seized from two boys, aged 11 and 13, in Caterham: the boys were reprimanded. Extensive damage was caused by BB guns to cars in Godstone. A teenager was seen with a handgun in Redhill town centre: he dropped the weapon, a BB gun, when confronted by armed officers but was caught later. A local newspaper in Caterham described how easy it was for a 13-year-old boy to purchase a frighteningly realistic Colt pistol replica gun in the town.

Imitation Guns (Convictions) - A man has been jailed for 15 years for stealing £24,000 from a security guard at a service station in Stafford when he was armed with an imitation gun.

A man who presented a starting pistol at a takeaway in Glasgow whilst demanding a free kebab was jailed for four years.

A woman was jailed for 18 months after admitting possessing an imitation firearm which she pulled on a man during a dispute over parking in Trowell (Nottinghamshire).

Three boys who shot at primary school children in Rugeley (Staffordshire) with BB gun pellets, hitting 17 of them, have been given final warnings.

A man who was jailed for two years for drug dealing had a ball-bearing gun at his house in Darlington.

Incidents Involving Animals - There were more airgun attacks on cats reported in May (in Brighton, Greater Manchester, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Somerset), and a puppy died after being shot with a BB gun in Strood (Kent).

Protected birds are often targeted in shooting attacks. This month a buzzard was found shot dead in St Cyrus (Aberdeenshire).

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