JUNE 2007 - SUMMARY

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The incidents reported in June show a worrying number of situations in which people have been prepared to use guns for a variety of crimes in a variety of situations.  The most serious incidents resulted in the deaths of six people, one of whom was shot by armed police in Sevenoaks in Kent after she confronted officers whilst allegedly armed with an imitation gun.

A significant proportion of the incidents that resulted in injury this month involved the use, not of handguns and shotguns, but of airguns and imitation guns.  Although some of the injuries sustained by victims were not serious there is no reason to doubt that serious injury is always a possibility when such weapons are misused.  And regardless of whether a gun is real or not the fear experienced by a victim will have a lasting effect.

• Gun Deaths and Injuries - There were five fatal gun attacks in June, three in the Greater London area (Romford, Acton and Tottenham), one in the centre of Manchester and one in Bishopbriggs on the outskirts of Glasgow.  The victim in Tottenham was a 17-year-old woman, all the other victims were males.

• Armed police shot and killed a woman in Sevenoaks (Kent) after she was seen with a gun and apparently had refused to drop it: it was widely reported that the weapon was an imitation gun (see below).

• In a second incident involving firearms officers a man was shot and critically injured in Ebbw Vale (South Wales): the police were responding to reports of a man with a gun at a house.

• A second man was injured in the fatal shooting in the centre of Manchester, and in other shootings in Greater Manchester a man was shot in the leg in Swinton and two teenagers were injured in a drive-by shooting in Moss Side (the car had been stolen at gunpoint in Hulme), though none of the injuries is believed to have been life-threatening.

• A man was shot in the driveway of a house in Walsall: his injuries were also not believed to be life-threatening.  In Shrewsbury a man received an injury to his arm during a shooting in a nightclub.  A man who tried to stop an armed raid on a club in Henley Green (Coventry) was shot and seriously injured with a shotgun.

• Armed Hold-Ups and Assaults - In addition to the raid on the social club in Henley Green in which a man was shot and injured (see above) there were reports of robberies and attempted robberies on a bank in Goring (West Sussex), a currency exchange office in Croydon (south London), post offices in Arnside (Cumbria), Ryton (Tyneside) and Denshaw (Greater Manchester), shops in Northampton and Dibden Purlieu (Hampshire) and a petrol station in Wigan.

• Three masked men armed with a shotgun threatened a family in their home in Parson Cross (Sheffield).  A couple were assaulted and threatened with a handgun in their home in Orpington (Kent) by three men who stole cash and jewellery.  A man was injured when he fell onto concrete whilst escaping from an intruder armed with a handgun whom he found in his house in Woolston (Southampton).

• A car was stolen from an elderly couple at gunpoint in Wallsend (Tyneside).

• A dog was stolen from a man walking in a street in Dalston (east London) by two men, one of whom threatened him with a gun.  A man, believed to have been armed with a handgun, stole a mobile phone from a woman in a street in St Albans.

• A man was kidnapped in Bolton by a gang of three men armed with a handgun and a Samurai sword: they demanded that he pay them money within three days or else they would harm him.  Two men were arrested in Hull after reports that a man was being held hostage in a house at gunpoint.

• Three teenagers were arrested after a man appeared to threaten a taxi driver with a gun in East Bridgford (Nottingham) whilst the two female passengers ran off without paying their fare.

• Other Incidents - A man was charged with three counts of attempted murder and three offences of possessing a firearm after gunshots were fired in a street in Avenham (Lancashire).

• Police have linked two shootings in the south of Glasgow: a pedestrian walking his dog in Pollok was targeted by two men in a car (the dog was injured) and in Darnley a gun was fired through a house window.

• Shots are thought to have been fired during a fight involving 10 men in Southampton.  Two shots were fired at a house in Blackburn: the shooting may be linked to a fight between two groups of youths.

• Police were called to reports that a man had been shot by two men in Bury: no-one was injured.  Armed police surrounded a house in Filton (Bristol) after reports that a gun had been discharged.

• A man was arrested in Plymouth after police were called to reports that a bird had been killed and cars damaged: they seized an unregistered shotgun.

• Armed police were called to the station in Richmond (Surrey) when an off duty officer thought he saw a man with a small silver handgun.

• A stun gun was found by police in a caravan following a crash on the M5 near Avonmouth: a man was arrested.

• An armed police officer accidentally fired a weapon inside a police station in Exeter.

• Gun Finds, Thefts and Losses - A soldier was charged with illegal possession of ammunition after being arrested at a barracks near Chichester (West Sussex).

• A powerful air rifle was stolen from a pigeon loft in Colne (Lancashire).  The theft of two shotguns and cartridges was reported from a house in Edinburgh.

• Police found CS gas and BB guns during a raid on a house in Kempston (Bedfordshire) following the interception of a package of stun guns at Heathrow Airport.

• Convictions (see also Imitation Guns and Airgun Incidents) - Two men were convicted after shooting police officers.  One man was jailed for life (with a minimum of 15 years) for shooting and seriously injuring an unarmed officer in Wolverhampton, and a second has been jailed for at least six years after he was found guilty of wounding with intent and a firearms charge following a shooting in Leytonstone (east London) in which an undercover police officer was injured.

• An 18-year-old will serve at least six years in jail after shooting a 16-year-old in the stomach with a sawn-off shotgun in a park in Neasden (north west London).  Another 18-year-old was jailed for three years for threatening a man with a shotgun in Gloucester.

• Two men received jail sentences of 15 years and six years for their part in a robbery in Horsham (Sussex) in which a man was saved from serious injury when a shot hit his mobile phone (see May 2007 Incidents).

• Members of a gang involved in the gunpoint kidnap of a man from his home in Glasgow have been given long jail sentences (see September 2006 Incidents).

• Airguns - There is a widespread perception that virtually all reported gun injuries are caused by handguns and shotguns.  But that perception is wrong.  Airgun attacks account for a significant proportion of the injuries to gun victims.  According to the latest data for England & Wales, in 2005-06 23% of all serious gun injuries and 30% of all slight injuries were caused by air weapons (see News Items).

• In June 2007 the following airgun incidents that resulted in injury were reported

  • A taxi driver was shot in the head with an air rifle in Bearsden (East Dunbartonshire) after a row over a fare

  • An 18-year-old female driver was shot in the head in Rosyth (Fife)

  • Two 12-year-olds were questioned after a bus driver was shot in the face with an airgun in North Baddersley (Hampshire)

  • Two youths were arrested after a mother was shot with an airgun in front of her children when they were at a funfair in Kirkheaton (West Yorkshire)

  • A cyclist was struck with a pellet, probably fired from an airgun, in Prestonpans (East Lothian)

  • A man was taken to hospital after being shot in the chest in Lincolnshire: a man was later arrested

  • A woman was hit in the back and injured with a plastic pellet fired from an airgun in Chatteris (Cambridgeshire)

• Further incidents were reported that could also have resulted in injury to innocent victims

  • A man armed with an air rifle and a knife threatened members of the public in Lincoln

  • A firefighter narrowly escaped injury after air rifle shots were fired at the fire station in Alloa (Clackmannanshire)

  • Air rifle shots were fired at cars driving through an estate in Lewes (Sussex)

  • An air rifle may have been used in an attack which shattered the window of a car driving along the A473 between Llanharan and Llantrisant, South Wales

  • It is believed that an air weapon was fired at two vehicles which were damaged on the A68 between Tow Law and Butsfield in Country Durham

• A man and a teenager were arrested by armed police who seized air rifles and imitation guns after reports of a group of people handling a gun in a park in Wellingborough (Northamptonshire).

• Airguns (Convictions) - An 18-year-old from Barry who pointed an air rifle at a family and threatened to shoot them was given an eight-month suspended jail sentence and 150 hours community work.

• Two boys, aged 13 and 14, have admitted robbing a shop in Stranraer (Wigtownshire) whilst armed with an air pistol.

• A man who fired an air rifle at a group of teenagers in Strathpeffer (Easter Ross) has admitted a number of public order and firearm offences.

• A man was given a four-month suspended jail sentence after he had dropped a loaded gas-propelled airgun in a bar in Sheffield.

• Imitation Guns - Police repeatedly warn about the dangers of carrying imitation guns, which even a trained firearms officer may be unable to distinguish from a real firearm (see Police Campaigns).  The potential tragic consequences were all too apparent in Sevenoaks (Kent) where police shot and killed a woman who was apparently carrying a realistic looking ball-bearing gun (see above).  Too many are still not heeding the warnings and put themselves and others in danger by carrying and using these pointless weapons in public.

• The following incidents, reported in a single month, highlight yet again how often imitation guns are being misused by youngsters, with other youngsters the most frequent victims.

  • A 12-year-old schoolgirl was shot twice with a ball-bearing gun in Hartlepool

  • A teenager was left with blurred vision after being shot with a ball-bearing gun in Peterlee (County Durham)

  • A 13-year-old received injuries after being shot with a ball-bearing gun from a passing car in Leominster (Herefordshire)

  • Three children, aged between six and eight, may have been responsible for a 15-year-old being shot in the eye with a BB gun in Dalkeith (Midlothian)

  • Also in Midlothian, a 14-year-old girl was shot in the head with a BB gun in Mayfield (a 12-year-old boy was charged with assault)

  • In another attack in Midlothian two girls had a BB gun pointed in their faces in Loanhead (a 13-year-old has been charged with breach of the peace)

  • An 8-year-old boy from Edinburgh was shot in the eye with a BB gun by a gang of youths 

  • A 10-year-old was arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm after a number of children at a junior school in Laindon (Essex) were hit when he fired a BB gun at them

  • A 13-year-old pupil has permanently left a private school in Llanelli after firing plastic pellets at other pupils: one boy was taken to hospital after being shot in the eye

  • An Oldham teacher has included an incident of a child parading a ball-bearing gun in the classroom in a dossier of abusive and threatening behaviour in his school

• And there were other examples of youths misusing imitation guns

  • BB guns were confiscated from teenagers after they fired them inside an underpass in Hereford

  • It is thought that the rifle-style gun pointed at a pensioner by a youth fleeing a club in Wigan was a BB gun: he fired the gun as he escaped.

  • A 19-year-old was arrested in Wootton (Northamptonshire) for carrying an imitation gun bought at a car boot sale.

  • Two 15-year-olds were criticised for brandishing an imitation gun in Yate (Gloucestershire).

  • Nine BB guns were seized by police in Hook (Hampshire), six from youngsters aged between 12 and 14: the guns had been bought at a market in Yateley.

• In another incident in Hereford a man was arrested after firing pellets at vehicles on the city's ring road.

• A teenager was hit with a paintball as she walked along a street in Redditch (Worcestershire).

• Imitation Guns (Convictions) - These convictions provide further evidence that imitation guns are being used in serious crime (also see Airgun (Convictions) above)

• A man was jailed for four years after robbing a post office and newsagents in Henlow (Bedfordshire) whilst armed with a small imitation handgun and a knife.

• An 18-year-old from Swindon admitted a charge of possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence after he had threatened a woman with the gun: he will be sentenced next month.

• A man who hit a bar manager in Peterborough with a BB gun after pointing it at his head was given a suspended 12-month jail sentence and ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work and compensation.

• A man who discharged an airgun pellet towards a police officer in Hume (Scottish Borders) was jailed for five years for possession of two modified replica handguns in addition to his four year sentence for shooting towards the police (see May 2007 Incidents).

• Incidents Involving Animals - During June the RSPCA in two areas (Wales and the West Midlands) released reports which revealed the increasing number of airgun attacks on animals, in particular cats and wild birds.  The list of incidents reported this month reflected these concerns.

• Cats were injured or killed in the West Midlands (two reports), County Durham, Midlothian, South Wales, Somerset (two reports), Bolton and Hampshire.  GCN also heard from a correspondent about cats being shot with air weapons in the Lincoln area.  There were two other attacks on cats involving more powerful guns, one in Hampshire (a shotgun was used) and the other in Suffolk.  There is little doubt that these reported cases represent only the tip of the iceberg.

• The RSPCA mounted a successful prosecution against a number of people who played a part in the torture of a cat in Stoke-on-Trent which included shooting it with an airgun.

• A cygnet was shot and killed in Sandwell (West Midlands) and eight pigeons have been killed in a two year period in Ipswich.  All involved an air weapon.

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