JULY 2008 - SUMMARY

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It was widely reported this month that the latest statistics for England and Wales had shown an increase in gun crime, up by 2% over the corresponding period in 2006-07 (see Data).  However, few reports emphasised that the number of incidents which resulted in death and serious injury had actually decreased.  The incidents collected by Gun Control Network for July reflect this continuing trend.  There are still too many serious problems relating to guns but these are not always the ones depicted by the national media.

For the fourth successive month the number of homicides was less than the recent average of approximately one per week.  The number of serious injuries reported was also comparatively low.  There were, however, a significant number of armed hold-ups and assaults, at least some of which are known to have involved imitation weapons (their widespread use in armed robberies was confirmed in a number of court cases), and it seems likely that many other robberies that we report here were also carried out by men who found it easy to obtain a fake weapon.  Airguns remain a threat, with victims, both human and animal, targeted at locations around the country.

• Gun Deaths and Injuries - There were reports of three fatal shootings in July.

• A 17-year-old died when he was shot in Spital Hill (Sheffield): a number of people have been questioned by the police about this apparent gang-related shooting.  A man was shot dead outside a nightclub in Limehouse (east London).

• The other death, from a shotgun wound, occurred in Chapel St Leonards (Lincolnshire) and appears to have been a suicide.  At inquests held in July coroners recorded verdicts of suicide after two other men shot themselves in Upper Gornal (West Midlands) and in Orwell Park (Suffolk) earlier this year, also with shotguns.

• Shooting incidents that resulted in injury occurred in:

  • Buckinghamshire: the victim was found with a gunshot to the stomach in Totteridge, near High Wycombe

  • Merseyside: a man was shot in a targeted attack in Kensington, and another was critically ill after being shot in Everton

  • North London: police found a teenager who had been shot in Camden Town

  • West Midlands: a man was shot in the stomach in Dudley

• Injuries were also sustained by victims of shooting incidents involving airguns and imitation guns (see Below).

• Armed Hold-Ups and Assaults - There were robberies and attempted robberies by men apparently armed with guns on banks in Oxted (Surrey) and Hull, a post office in Northampton and a takeaway in Goole (East Yorkshire) (involving a teenager with an imitation firearm - see Imitation Guns below).  There were a large number of raids on betting shops reported in July - these occurred in Glasgow, Swaythling and Bassett (both in Southampton), Broadfield Barton (Sussex), Ingoldmells (Lincolnshire), Leicester and Caversham (Berkshire).

• A security guard delivering cash to a bank in Clydebank (West Dunbartonshire) was threatened by a gunman who fled with an empty cash box, and a masked robber waved a pistol at a security guard during a robbery at a building society in Hove (Sussex).  A security guard was robbed at gunpoint at a service station in Digbeth (Birmingham).

• A pub landlord was robbed at gunpoint in Knitsley (County Durham).

• Taxi drivers were robbed of their takings during armed hold ups in Clayton Bank and Fishwick (both in Lancashire) and in Wythenshawe (Greater Manchester).  Two other cabbies have been robbed at gunpoint while waiting for their fares in Crawley (Sussex).  Armed robbers stole a few pounds in loose change from a bus driver in Waltham Abbey (Essex).

• A man had his Bentley car stolen in Standish (Lancashire) after three men pointed a handgun at him.

• A man was threatened at gunpoint by two men who stole goods from his home in Oxley (Wolverhampton).  In Barton (Devon) in another robbery at a family home a man and his sons were tied up and robbed of over £400,000 worth of stamps by gunmen armed with ball-bearing guns (see Imitation Guns below).

• A man had a handgun held to his head when his mobile phone was stolen in Manchester.  A teenage girl was robbed of a small amount of cash by a man who threatened her with a gun at a bus stop in Newport (Gwent).

• Five teenagers were arrested after a man was threatened with what police believed was a gun at a shopping centre in Basingstoke (Hampshire).

• Three men were arrested after two men were kidnapped at gunpoint in Southwark (south London) and taken to a house in Kingston (south west London).

• Other Incidents - A window at Aberdeen Town House was smashed with what appeared to be a bullet.  A single shotgun round was fired through a house window in Northampton: a man was arrested.  A teenager has appeared in court after an incident in June in which a shot was fired at a house in Winsford (Cheshire).

• On Merseyside police cordoned off part of an estate in Norris Green after reports of a shooting, and bullets were fired at a car in Bebington.  Streets in Birmingham were sealed off after reports that shots were fired, possibly from two vehicles.

• Following an armed siege in Consett (County Durham) a man was arrested on suspicion of making threats to kill and possessing a firearm.  A man thought to be brandishing a gun in Kenton (Newcastle upon Tyne) was shot by police with a plastic bullet and stun gun.  A man who claimed to have a gun and was threatening to harm himself and others was taken into custody in Norwich.  A man arrested for firearms offences after reports of a man brandishing a firearm in Blacon (Chester) was released without charge.  Five men were arrested and then released after police were called to a firearms incident in Desborough (Northamptonshire).

• Armed police arrived at a primary school in Dumbarton after reports of an assault involving a shotgun: no gun was found.

• Gun Finds and Thefts - A man was arrested for allegedly being in possession of a firearm and a quantity of drugs following an incident in Berwick (Northumberland).  A shotgun, ammunition and a quantity of drugs were recovered by police from a house in Northern Moor (Manchester).

• A man from Burnley (Lancashire) was expected to appear in court charged with two counts of battery and possession of a firearm and ammunition.

• One man was being questioned after a gun was found at a house in Blackpool (Lancashire).  Two men were arrested on suspicion of firearms offences when a bag containing a shotgun and cartridges was pulled from a car involved in a crash in Pelaw (Tyneside).  A teenager was arrested and then released without charge after a gun was found at a house in Ribbleton (Lancashire).

• A woman who tried to hand in a gun belonging to her late ex-husband to the police in Leyland (Lancashire) was told she had risked arrest.

• A shotgun was stolen during a house burglary in Alfington (Devon) and an airgun was among items taken from a business park in Paddock (West Yorkshire).

• Airguns - The following airgun incidents resulted in injury to the victims:

  • A cyclist was hit in the body with an airgun pellet in Corby (Northampton): two teenagers were arrested

  • A quad biker was hospitalised after being shot with an air rifle pellet in Rolleston (Staffordshire)

  • A 16-year-old was taken to hospital with a pellet embedded in his forehead following an incident in a pub in Eighton Banks (Tyneside)

  • A man was shot in the stomach whilst walking across a field in Chorley (Lancashire)

• Two firearms were seized and a man arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence after a man allegedly threatened youths with an air rifle in Newent (Gloucestershire).

• An air pistol was fired during an argument at a petrol station in Batley (West Yorkshire): six people including a number of teenagers were arrested.  An airgun was among weapons recovered by police after a fight between schoolchildren at a restaurant in Crownhill (Plymouth).

• There were airgun attacks on a tram in Rossall (Blackpool) on successive nights.  Armed police were called after reports of an air rifle being fired at a car in Gainsborough (Lincolnshire).  Armed police surrounded a property in Teignmouth (Devon) after a man was reported to be firing shots from an air rifle in the area.  Two men were charged with firearm offences after they were seen driving around Newquay (Cornwall) wielding an air pistol.

• A house in Derby was damaged after shots, apparently from an airgun, were fired.  The village of Pewsey in Wiltshire has been suffering from a spate of criminal damage caused by pellets from an airgun or ball-bearing gun.  Elderly residents in an area of Grove (Oxfordshire) have suffered threatening behaviour including airguns being fired at windows.  A teenager has been charged after a window was damaged in Slatyford (Newcastle) allegedly with an air rifle.

• Two air rifles have been seized by police in Moresby Parks (Cumbria) following concerns about their use and the associated risks to pet animals.

• Imitation Guns - A man has been charged with selling realistic imitation firearms in Salford, but this necessary action by police and trading standards officers has not yet stopped those guns already in circulation from continuing to be misused.  More people were hit with BB gun pellets.

  • Another boy has required surgery after being shot with a ball-bearing gun: he was hit in the eye whilst fishing in Northampton

  • A homeowner having a party in Hatfield (South Yorkshire) was hit when ball bearings were fired at the garden: a bedroom window was also smashed

  • A 10-year-old girl was hit in the face with a BB gun pellet in Astley Bridge (Bolton): a 10-year-old boy has been cautioned

• A man was arrested on suspicion of robbery and possessing an imitation firearm after he pulled a handgun on a teenager and a woman in a park in Long Ashton (Bristol).  A 12-year-old girl was chased by boys wielding knives and BB guns in Laindon (Essex).

• A ball-bearing gun was discovered after three teenagers were arrested in Formby (Lancashire) for allegedly threatening a train inspector with a gun.  Two 17-year-olds in Chorley (Lancashire) were being questioned by police after separate incidents involving BB guns: in one a gun was held to the head of another teenager.

• A teenager was charged with possession of an imitation gun with intent to cause fear of violence, possession of an imitation firearm in a public place and attempted robbery after an incident in Goole (East Yorkshire).  Two men who tied up a man and his two sons and stole over £400,000 worth of stamps from their home in Barton (Devon) were probably armed with BB guns (see Above).

• Part of Woking (Surrey) was closed off by police after shots had been fired: a ball bearing gun and pellets were found.  A street in Exeter was also closed off following reports of a ball-bearing gun being aimed at seagulls: a man was arrested.

• A teenager spotted carrying a machine gun in Creswell (Sheffield) was found to have a ball-bearing gun which was destroyed.

• Incidents Involving Animals - Gun attacks on animals continued unabated in July, apparently unaffected by recent legislation on sales of airguns.  The gratuitous cruelty of these incidents is beyond belief.  More must be done to take the guns away from those who are misusing them to cause such harm.

• One of two horses killed on a farm in South Wales had been hit by airgun pellets.  Another horse was lucky to be alive after being shot with an airgun in Whitehill Mains (East Lothian).

• There were airgun attacks on cats in Cardiff, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Devon (three cats shot in the same area of Honiton and one in Axminster), Essex, Greater Manchester, Lincolnshire (three incidents reported including two in Horncastle), Moray, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, South Wales and Suffolk.

• A dog was shot twice whilst playing in a back garden in Highgate (North London).  A rabbit was shot dead in the back garden of a house in Rushden (Northamptonshire) - the perpetrator went into the garden through a side gate and shot the pet at close range in the head.

• Herring gulls have been shot with an airgun in Newquay (Cornwall) and a baby seagull was killed with an air weapon in Lowestoft (Suffolk).

• Swans have recently been shot with airguns in Peterborough, Northamptonshire and Leicestershire.  A pair of swans were shot in Iver (Buckinghamshire): the male died and the female has had to have a wing amputated.

• Ball-bearing gun pellets were found near the scene of an attack on a donkey sanctuary in Scarborough (North Yorkshire).

• Convictions - More men were convicted of serious offences involving firearms:

  • A man will serve a minimum of thirty years in prison for murdering a man at a party in Carshalton (Surrey)

  • A man, who pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of a man who was shot in a car in Halewood (Merseyside), has been jailed for twelve and a half years

  • A man who shot a nightclub doorman in Bristol has been sentenced to a minimum of three years in jail

  • A man who shot the brother of a landlord after he had been thrown out of his pub in Kensington (Liverpool) has been jailed for 12 years

  • A man who shot a fellow clubber with a mini four-inch keyring gun in the City of London was found guilty of unlawful wounding and two firearms offences

• Two men were cleared of murder and manslaughter but one admitted holding the gun which killed a man in Woolwich (south east London).

• A drug dealer from Radford (Nottingham) faces a long prison term after he admitted two counts of possessing firearms and drug offences - he was reaching for a loaded handgun when he was arrested.  Two men have been sentenced to 10 years and 8 years for drugs and firearms offences following a police raid in Wigan (Greater Manchester): they had previously been sentenced for drug offences in Tayside.

• A man who fired a sawn-off shotgun through a neighbour's window in Rushden (Northamptonshire) has been given an indeterminate jail sentence.  Another from Welwyn Garden City (Hertfordshire) has been given a five year jail sentence for possessing a sawn-off shotgun: the weapon was fired in a field behind his home.  A man who threatened youths with a sawn-off shotgun in Luton (Bedfordshire) has been warned that the minimum jail sentence for having a prohibited firearm is five years.  A man has admitted a string of firearms offences after police seized a shotgun and rounds of ammunition following raids in Bury (Greater Manchester).

• An offender has pleaded guilty to taking a revolver with cartridges to his mother's house in Childwall (Merseyside) and attacking another man.

• A man has admitted holding up a pub in East Kilbride whilst armed with a Taser gun.  Another faces a lengthy jail sentence after pleading guilty to possessing a stun gun when he was found following a domestic incident in Wellingborough (Northamptonshire).

• An Army quartermaster has been found guilty of seven offences after a cache of illegal firearms was found at his parents' home in Dunoon (Argyll) - he faces a heavy jail term.

• An air passenger has pleaded guilty to putting cabin crew and passengers in a state of fear and alarm after claiming he had a gun on a flight from Edinburgh Airport.

• A father who escaped trial after his daughter retracted her statement had apparently allowed a loaded shotgun to go off in his home in Mickle Trafford (Cheshire) after he had argued with her.

• A man who was caught with a prohibited pistol at his home in Kirkby Stephen (Cumbria) has been given a suspended jail sentence and order to do 200 hours unpaid work.

• Airguns (Court Cases) - One of five men who pleaded guilty to common assault after an incident in Plymouth was given two 16 month terms at a young offenders institution after returning with an airgun in an attempt to terrify the victim into dropping charges: he shot at the house repeatedly.

• A man who threatened to kill someone with an air rifle in Bathgate (West Lothian) has been given a supervised attendance order after pleading guilty to a breach of the peace.

• A man who held an air weapon to his head after he had been ejected from a hotel in Dunster (Somerset) has pleaded guilty to carrying an air weapon in public.

• A teenager was given 80 hours community service after pleading guilty to brandishing an air rifle in a street in Cheltenham (Gloucestershire).

• A 90-year-old from Shandon (Devon) was fined after admitting possessing a .22 air rifle without the required firearms certificate

• Imitation Guns (Court Cases) - A number of offenders were convicted for robberies involving imitation firearms:

  • A man has been jailed for three years after trying to rob a Glasgow post office whilst armed with an imitation firearm

  • Another man was sentenced to two years for the attempted robbery of a store in Plains (Lanarkshire): he was armed with a knife, a noose and a fake gun

  • A man has admitted carrying out a robbery on a bookmakers in Glenrothes (Fife) whilst armed with an imitation firearm

  • Three men have admitted conspiracy to steal and possessing an imitation gun following a staged armed robbery on a supermarket in Malmesbury (Wiltshire)

  • An ex-soldier was jailed for three-and-a-half years after threatening a petrol station cashier in Northampton with a ball-bearing gun

  • Two men, aged 19 and 20, have been jailed for four-and-a-half and two-and-a-half years respectively after threatening staff at a shop in Willenhall (Coventry) with a knife and an imitation gun

• Two men were given suspended custodial sentences and 120 hours community service after firing a ball-bearing gun at members of the public in Worthing (Sussex): a 12-year-old boy was nearly blinded when he was hit.

• A man who was arrested at Blackpool Airport attempting to bring a replica pistol and blank-firing ammunition into the country from Spain has been given a suspended 28 day prison sentence.

• A man is awaiting sentence after admitting taking an imitation firearm back to a nightclub in Exmouth (Devon) after he had been asked to leave

• A protester has admitted having an imitation firearm near 10 Downing Street (London) and at a service station on the M1 motorway: he will be sentenced later.

• A man from Shilbottle (Northumberland) was given a 12-month community order after he was caught with an imitation firearm on the A1.

• A court heard that a paedophile from Billingham (Teesside) convicted of the rape and sexual assault of a young girl engaged children to play with BB guns.

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