JUNE 2008 - SUMMARY

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There have been some indications that a grip has been taken on gun crime in Great Britain.  For the third month running the number of homicides in England and Wales was significantly less than the previous average of four to five per month, and there have been no gun homicides in Scotland since August 2007.  There were also a number of important convictions of those involved in serious gun crime.

Nevertheless, it is obvious from the incidents reported here that, despite the implementation of new measures to deal with air weapons and imitation guns in the Violent Crime Reduction Act last October those measures must be viewed as having closed the stable door too long after the horse had bolted.  Too many imitation guns and air weapons continue to be held by people who use them for crime and anti-social behaviour.  No matter what restrictions are now placed on their sale, these weapons remain in many hands which misuse them.  This month, for example, Cheshire Police reported that four out of every five times the county's police are called to a school to deal with a weapon, a gun is involved.  Last year air rifles, ball bearing guns and several "unidentified firearms" were found at 10 Cheshire schools.  Innocent victims are still being targeted by airgun snipers.  Attacks on animals continue to take place with nauseating frequency.  These matters require urgent attention.

• Gun Deaths and Injuries - There were three fatal shootings in June.  Two men were killed in deliberate attacks: a cyclist died after he was shot while riding in Kirkdale (Liverpool) (a man has been arrested), and a man died after he was shot at his sister's home in Harehills (Leeds).  The other fatality was a  police officer who died after being hit with a dummy CS gas cartridge during a training exercise in Newton Heath (Manchester).

• Shooting incidents that resulted in injury (other than fatal attacks (*)) occurred in:

  • Edinburgh: a victim was shot outside a casino - two men have been charged with attempted murder

  • Leeds*: one victim was reported to be seriously ill after a shooting in Chapeltown, and a man was injured with a shotgun at his home in Wortley

  • Huddersfield: eleven people were arrested after a man was shot outside a nightclub

  • Lincolnshire: a man and a woman were shot with a shotgun in South Ormsby, the man receiving serious facial injuries - a man has been charged with attempted murder

  • Liverpool*: a male victim was shot in the leg in a street in Garston, and a man was shot outside his home in Kensington

  • Manchester: a man has been charged with the attempted murder of another man in Partington, and a 19-year-old has also been charged with attempted murder after a 16-year-old girl was shot in the head in Gorton

  • South London: there were two shootings, one in New Cross and one in Peckham, in which the victims sustained life-threatening injuries - two men were arrested after the Peckham shooting

  • West Midlands: a man was shot in the leg in a street in Smethwick - his injuries were not thought to be life-threatening

• A man found wandering around fields near Pathhead (Midlothian) was found to have a gunshot wound to his leg.

• A man was injured by flying glass after a gun was fired at a window of a house in Ardwick (Greater Manchester).

• Armed Hold-Ups and Assaults - There were robberies and attempted robberies by men apparently armed with guns on stores in Fareham (Hampshire), Poole (Dorset) (man armed with fake gun), Hurn (Dorset) (a blank-firing pistol was used), Stockport (Greater Manchester), and Cleckheaton (West Yorkshire), on a bookmakers in Langley (Berkshire) and at takeaways in Bolton (Greater Manchester) and Banbury (Oxfordshire).

• An armed man stole an undisclosed quantity of cash from a building society branch in Burgess Hill (Sussex), another stole money from a cheque cashing company in Spenborough (West Yorkshire) and two men robbed a bank in Lymm (Cheshire).

• An armed man stole cash from a petrol station in Haverhill (Suffolk).

• A teenager pulled a handgun on a man in Banbury (Oxfordshire) and stole a mobile phone and cash.

• Other Incidents - A gunman opened fire on a police officer in Debden (Essex) - he was arrested in Hornchurch after a high-speed chase.

• A bullet was fired through a kitchen window at a house in Derby.  A gunman was being hunted after reports of a shot being fired at a house in Walton (Merseyside).  A shotgun was fired at a house in West Bowling (Bradford) after street gang clashes in the area.  Residents in East Craigs (Edinburgh) reported hearing gunfire.

• A suspected gunman was on the run after an armed siege in Blackpool.  There was one arrest following an armed siege in Fawdon (Newcastle) sparked by a man brandishing a paint gun

• A farmer in Benwick (Cambridgeshire) has been arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence after an incident at his home.

• A man was arrested after being seen with a gun outside a pub in Saffron Waldon (Essex).

• A youth threw a gun into a front garden in Huyton (Merseyside) after being spotted acting suspiciously by police.

• Armed police patrolled the Shelton area of Stoke-on-Trent after information was received that people were carrying weapons including guns.

• Gun Thefts and Finds - Two men were arrested for possession of a firearm during a police crackdown aimed at knife crime in Dagenham (east London).  A man was charged with possession of a prohibited weapon after a shotgun and ammunition were recovered in Oldham (Greater Manchester).

• A gun was seized by police during an operation to catch rogue motorists in Portsmouth.  Police seized five guns when they stopped a car in Hindley (Lancashire) - two men were arrested. 

• Three men, including one aged 17, were in court in connection with drug and firearm offences after a series of police raids in East Ham (east London).  Four young men spotted by CCTV operators were arrested after drugs, an air rifle and ammunition for clay pigeon shooting were seized by police in Consett (County Durham).  Police officers also found drugs and an air rifle at a property in Leadgate (County Durham) - a man was arrested.

• A cache of weapons was apparently found in a car in St Rollox (Glasgow)

• Two air rifles were among items stolen from a shed in Neath (South Wales), and two guns were among items stolen during a burglary in Birchgrove (Cardiff).

• A shotgun was discovered when a lake in Stevenage (Hertfordshire) was drained.

• Airguns - More people were hurt, some seriously, after being targeted by airgun snipers:

  • Two people required treatment after being shot in Drumchapel (Glasgow)

  • An 18-month-old girl was shot in the leg while out with her mother in St Helens (Merseyside)

  • Two people were hit by air rifle pellets in separate incidents in Barnoldswick (Lancashire) (see Court Cases below)

  • A woman was shot in the leg in Bradley (Huddersfield) and has a pellet embedded deep in her leg

  • Another woman was shot in the head by an airgun sniper in Camden (north London)

  • A council worker in Loughborough was hospitalised after he was shot in the leg with an air rifle in a park

• A teenager has been charged after schoolchildren saw a man holding a gun in an area close to their school - an air rifle was recovered near the scene.

• Armed police called to a nightclub in Stowmarket (Suffolk) arrested a man and seized an air rifle.

• Damage by airguns was caused to property in the following incidents:

  • A car was sprayed with airgun pellets in a car park at a school in Bassett (Southampton)

  • Three airgun attacks have taken place in the last month in Bishop's Cleeve (Gloucestershire)

  • Windows in the village hall in Sedbury (Gloucestershire) have been smashed with an airgun and lumps of rock

  • Shop windows have been smashed by airguns for a third time in Tettenhall (Wolverhampton) - three teenage boys have been arrested

  • In the third airgun attack on the seafront in Morecambe (Lancashire) this year the glass door of a new cafe was damaged

  • A man from Winlaton (Tyneside) described how he was shot at by two youths who caused damage to his vehicle: he then caught the culprits but was unhappy that they had only been reprimanded

  • A house in Gateshead was reported to have been peppered with airgun pellets

  • The windows of the rugby club at Guisborough (Cleveland) have been shattered by airgun pellets

  • An airgun is believed to have damaged several windows in Barry (South Wales)

• A 90-year-old man from Teignmouth (Devon) has appeared in court on firearms charges accused of possessing a .22 air rifle without holding the required firearms certificate.

• Imitation Guns - A 12-year-old was being questioned after an eight-year-old boy was shot five times with a BB gun in Matlock (Derbyshire).

• The men involved in two raids on stores in Dorset were armed with imitation guns (Poole, fake gun - Hurn, a blank-firing pistol) (see above).

• A man involved in a stand-off with armed police in Forfar (Angus) faces a number of charges including possession of an imitation gun.  A man detained under the Mental Health Act after a siege in Sefton Park (Liverpool) was in possession of a blank-firing starter pistol.

• A man has been charged with possessing an imitation firearm after a couple were threatened with a gun in Llandudno (Conwy).  Another man faced the same charge after he had taken refuge in a house in Maidstone.

• Two men were arrested in Stoke after being spotted in the street with a replica gun.

• A home in Southampton was shot at with a pellet gun.  Four people have been arrested for criminal damage on buses in Calderdale (West Yorkshire) - ball-bearing guns have been fired at windscreens.  In Plymouth three windows on a moving bus were smashed, apparently with a ball-bearing gun.

• Children in a street in Mortlake (south west London) were seen waving a gun, described as an AK47, which apparently turned out to be a toy airgun.  An 18-year-old received a police caution after a man was seen loading a handgun in Torquay (Devon) - police recovered two BB guns.

• Plastic pellets from ball bearing guns have been blocking jets in a fountain in Clacton (Essex).

• Incidents Involving Animals - Many cats were again targeted with airguns and ball-bearing guns.  This month there were reports of cats being seriously injured or killed in Cheshire, Dorset, County Durham, East Lothian, Lancashire, Lincolnshire (two incidents), Northumberland, Surrey, Sussex, West London and the West Midlands.

• Other animals targeted by shooters were a goat (shot in North Wales), ten sheep (killed in Stroud, Gloucestershire), a deer (shot in Axbridge, Somerset: her fawn was saved by a walker) and a pony (injured in Stanley, County Durham).

• Birds continue to be victims of attacks by gunmen.  This month's victims included a swan (Telford, Shropshire), various birds in the Sleaford and Ruskington area of Lincolnshire, two oyster catchers (Perth), a seagull in Torpoint (Cornwall), a buzzard (Northamptonshire) and a red kite (Berwickshire).

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• Convictions - A number of men charged with murder were convicted and/or sentenced this month:

  • A serving soldier has been found guilty of murdering a waiter in Kirkwall (Orkney) - he was aged 15 at the time: he will be sentenced later

  • A man has been jailed for a minimum of 20 years for killing a man in Cumbernauld (North Lanarkshire)

  • Two men have been found guilty of murdering a 15-year-old boy who was shot dead as he slept at his home in Peckham (south London) - they will each serve a minimum of 30 years in prison

  • The 17-year-old found guilty of murdering a woman in New Cross (south London), even though he did not fire the fatal bullet, has been jailed for at least 20 years (see May 2008 Incidents)

  • Another 17-year-old found guilty of killing a youth worker in Brixton (south London) will serve 21 years in jail (see May 2008 Incidents)

  • A man who admitted killing a man in Cardonald (Glasgow) has been jailed for a minimum of 20 years (see May 2008 Incidents)

• A number of other men were convicted for shootings that resulted in injury to the victims:

  • A man who shot a man with a sawn-off shotgun in Blantyre (Lanarkshire) has admitted a charge of attempted murder and a firearms offence and been jailed for nine years

  • A man who wounded his victim in the face and body after shooting him with a double-barrelled 0.410 shot pistol in Mayhill (Swansea) has admitted a number of offences and been told he can expect a jail term of at least five years

  • A man will serve a minimum of five years for shooting his former boss with a sawn-off shotgun in Kirkby (Nottinghamshire): he admitted wounding with intent and possession of a firearm

  • A man was jailed for a minimum of 13 years after being convicted of the attempted murder of a man in Deptford (south London)

  • A 15-year-old who shot a man in a revenge attack in Peckham (south London) has been given an indeterminate sentence with a minimum term of six years

  • Two men have been jailed for 12 years and eight years for their involvement in a pub shooting in Willenhall (West Midlands)

• The gunman who pleaded guilty to having a firearm with intent to cause fear after firing a shotgun into the home of his landlord in Raunds (Northamptonshire) has been sentenced to six years in prison (see May 2008 Incidents).

• A gunman who fired a shotgun during a fight in Burslem (Staffordshire) has been jailed for five years.

• A man already sentenced for the attempted murder of a police officer in Wolverhampton was jailed for a further five years after pleading guilty to possessing a Mauser pistol.

• The Attorney General has lost an appeal against the leniency of a sentence given to an American who fired a gun at police in Ardwick (Manchester): he had been jailed for five years.

• A man has admitted five charges of robbery and five of possessing a prohibited weapon: the robberies were committed in England and Wales and included raids on post offices in Cymmer and Dyffryn Afan (South Wales).

• Two men were sentenced to six years and eight years for robbing a woman of her car at gunpoint in Accrington (Lancashire).

• Three men have been jailed for their involvement in a disturbance at a party in Luton when a semi-automatic weapon was fired randomly on a street.

• A teenager from Nelson (Lancashire), whose father called the police after finding bullets in his room, has been jailed for 3 years after being convicted of possessing a firearm and ammunition.  A Carlisle man was sent to prison for three years for keeping a loaded sawn-off shotgun beside his bed: he also had a blank-firing imitation pistol.

• A man whose shotgun went off in Basildon (Essex) when it was stuffed down his trousers has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail for possessing an altered firearm, and two years to run concurrently for possessing a prohibited gun.  A man from Nottingham who shot himself in the arm with a shotgun was jailed for two-and-a-half years after he pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited gun.

• An 18-year-old pleaded guilty to possessing a shotgun which he claimed he was asked to keep for a gang in Croxteth (Liverpool).

• Airguns (Court Cases) - Two men who fired an air rifle from a window in Dundee and shot a 14-year-old boy in the head were each given 240 hours community service.  A 17-year-old was ordered to complete 60 hours of community work after taking potshots with an air rifle from his family's home in Gloucester - four people were hit with pellets.  A man from Barnoldswick (Lancashire) has admitted two counts of assault and one of discharging a firearm within 50 feet of a highway after he shot two people while repeatedly firing an air rifle from his window (see Airguns above).

• A man from Swansea who pointed an air rifle at a friend and hit her at a party was given a six month suspended prison sentence and ordered to complete 200 hours community work.  A man from Padiham (Lancashire) has admitted assaulting his mother and threatening to shoot her with an air rifle.

• A 17-year-old has been fined £208 for firing pellets into a neighbour's garden in Winsford (Cheshire).

• A man is awaiting sentence after admitting trespassing on land with a firearm and possessing a loaded air rifle in a public place, a tow path at Salterforth (Lancashire).  A man from Stonehouse (Gloucestershire) has pleaded guilty to having an air rifle with intent to cause people to fear that unlawful violence would be used against them.

• A man was given a 12 month conditional discharge after firing an air rifle on a beach in Plymouth when he was banned for life from possessing any firearm.  Another man, from Portobello (Leeds), has been jailed for eight months for keeping firearms while banned: he was found with three air rifle and an air pistol at his home.  A market trader from Cleethorpes was given a six-month suspended prison sentence and 100 hours unpaid work for possessing firearms while banned: he was found with air rifles, air pistols, a ball bearing gun and an imitation gun.

• Imitation Guns (Court Cases) - A man has been jailed for five years for an attempted armed robbery at a post office in Inverkip (Inverclyde) where he threatened staff with a fake gun.

• Another man has admitted robbery and possessing an imitation firearm, and been jailed for five-and-a-half years, for his part in a raid on a house in Seacroft (Leeds).

• A man who was seen playing with a handgun at a tenement block in Paisley has admitted unlawful possession of a pistol (a replica of an 8 mm police pistol) and blank cartridges.

• A teenager has been admonished after he was seen leaning out of a car and pointing a ball-bearing gun in Inverness and on the A9 to the south of the city.

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