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JULY 2009 - SUMMARY
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Click here for pdf version (includes full
list of incidents)
See the Full List of Incidents
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Gun Deaths and Injuries -
There were eight shooting deaths reported in July, of
which six were homicides:
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A man died in what was described
as a gang-related shooting in Broomhall (Sheffield) (three
other men were injured and four men
have been charged with conspiracy to murder).
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There were two fatal shootings
in Greater Manchester - a shop worker was shot dead in Winton
(two men have been charged with murder) and another victim was
shot and killed in a car park in Chadderton.
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There were also two fatal
shootings in south London - a football manager died when he
was shot several times at a playing field in West Wickham (one
man has been arrested) and
a man died in hospital after being found injured in a car in New Cross.
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A pub landlord died when he was
shot after breaking up a row in Bilston (West Midlands) (seven
people have been charged with murdering the victim).
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A man's body was found in
Potterhanworth (Lincolnshire) after his ex-partner's daughter
had been shot in the leg - the man died of gunshot wounds
and a shotgun was found close the body.
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A post-mortem showed that an
elderly man
whose body was found in Allestree (Derby) had died as a result
of a single gunshot wound - police are not treating the death
as suspicious.
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A number of other
victims sustained shooting injuries - in most cases the
victim's condition was not thought to be life-threatening. The incidents
occurred in:
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Birmingham (4) - two men
suffered injuries when they were shot in the street in
Handsworth, a man was shot in the stomach at his house in
Edgbaston and another victim was shot in the leg in Willenhall
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Bristol (1) - a man was injured
in the leg during a shooting outside a pub
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Greater Manchester (2) - two men
were injured in shootings in Rochdale (one man has been
charged with attempted murder)
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Lincolnshire (1) - a teenage
girl was shot in the leg in an incident linked to the
discovery of a man's body in Potterhanworth (see above)
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North London (4) - two teenagers
were shot on an estate in St John's Wood (a third teenager was
pistol whipped), and two men were shot, one by armed police, in
Leyton (a man has been arrested and a loaded firearm
recovered)
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Merseyside (4) - a man
was hit by one of four shots fired in Dovecot, another
victim was shot in the legs in Toxteth and two victims were
shot in Croxteth in separate incidents, one was hit in
the arm (a teenager has been arrested) and the other, a teenager,
was shot in the leg (four teenagers and a man have been
arrested and a firearm recovered)
-
Sheffield (3) - three men were
shot and injured, one seriously, in the incident in which a
fourth man died (see above)
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South London (4) - one man was
shot at a kebab shop in Woodside Green and three men have been shot
in Clapham on two separate occasions
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Sunderland (1) - a man was shot
in the back at his home
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Sixteen other victims were shot with airguns and BB guns (see below).
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Armed Robberies - There were robberies and attempted
robberies allegedly involving guns at Banks, Building
Societies and Post Offices in Bristol, Rowley Regis (West Midlands) (a
customer was injured in the leg), Hyde (Greater Manchester)
(a security guard foiled the raiders), Ewell (Surrey) and
Thorney Wood (Nottingham) (a shotgun was fired), Bookmakers in
Luton (Bedfordshire) and Cambridge (three premises were
targeted in four days), Shops in Southampton (two men
were arrested), Cowes (Isle of Wight) (two
men have been charged), Dukinfield (Greater Manchester) and
Nottingham, a
Bar in Withington (Manchester) and Social Clubs in
South Bank (Teesside) and Gipton (Leeds). Some of the
incidents are known to have involved imitation guns (see
below).
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Two security guards were robbed
of cash at a petrol station in Newmains (North Lanarkshire),
armed robbers stole cash from two security workers in
Lenton (Nottingham), a cashbox was seized from a security guard in
Bournemouth (Dorset) and another guard was robbed of cash in
Maidstone (Kent).
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There were armed robberies
involving guns at homes in Hackenthorpe (Sheffield) and Derby
and in a garden in Streatham (south London).
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Two men armed with a gun stole a
car in Sutton Coldfield (West Midlands).
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A taxi driver was robbed at
gunpoint in Hartlepool - a ball-bearing gun was found at the
scene and a teenager charged. A delivery driver was
robbed of cash in New Ash Green (Kent).
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Other Incidents - A man was arrested on suspicion of
conspiracy to commit murder after a shot was fired outside a
pub in Beswick (Greater Manchester).
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In Huyton (Merseyside) two men
were shot at from a passing car and in an incident later in
the month a
parked car was hit by a bullet when shots were fired.
-
Two men have been charged with possessing a
firearm with intent to endanger life after shots were fired
from a handgun by occupants of a car in Preston (Lancashire).
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Two teenagers were
arrested after reports that someone had discharged weapons
from a vehicle in Ilketshall St Andrew (Suffolk) (the incident
may be linked the theft of shotguns from a house in Rumburgh
(see below)).
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A group of Norwegian crop circle
enthusiasts were shot at near Devizes (Wiltshire) (a man was
arrested).
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A firearm was
discharged during an altercation in Basingstoke (Hampshire).
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In Lostwithiel (Cornwall) four
teenagers were arrested after three cars were damaged - a
shotgun was found in a hedge.
-
A man was arrested and charged after being
disabled by police with a Taser gun after being seen with a
handgun at Gatwick Airport.
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Two men ditched a stolen car
containing a loaded gun in Nine Ashes (Essex).
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A man was arrested in Worthing
(Sussex) after reports he had a gun in what was described as a
domestic incident.
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There were other suspected
firearms incidents in Tonypandy (Mid Glamorgan) (three men
have been arrested) and Cropwell Bishop (Nottinghamshire (one
man was arrested).
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Airguns and Imitation Guns - At least sixteen people were
injured by being shot with airguns and BB guns in July:
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A man found with superficial
injuries in Norris Green (Liverpool) is believed to have been
shot with an airgun.
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A man was shot in the head with
an airgun pellet in Sunderland - a pellet had to be removed
from his skull.
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In London there were four
apparent airgun shootings - a victim was hit in the shoulder
in Norbury (south London), another suffered minor injuries
when he was shot in the head in Soho, a teenager received a
puncture wound to his chest in Bromley and a 12-year-old girl
was shot by two boys with an airgun or BB gun in Streatham.
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A dog walker was shot with an
airgun pellet in Weymouth (Dorset).
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In Scotland a teenager had to
undergo surgery after being shot in the chest with an airgun
in Dundee (a 16-year-old was arrested and charged), and a
woman was shot with an airgun pellet whilst she was walking in
Ardcroy (Inverness-shire).
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A man was shot twice with a pellet
gun attack in York - the perpetrator may have been seen later
firing the gun at a hotel in the city.
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A 12-year-old boy was shot in
the arm when another boy fired a BB gun at him in Beverley
(East Yorkshire).
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A teenager suffered head and knee
injuries after being shot with a BB gun in Barnstaple (Devon)
(four men were arrested).
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Two boys were shot with a BB
gun in a drive-by shooting in Kettering (Northamptonshire).
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Two people were hit with BB gun pellets in Cirencester
(Gloucestershire) (two teenagers have been arrested).
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Two other children sustained air
rifle injuries. A 5-year-old girl was shot in the neck
with an air rifle while playing at home in Muirhouse (North
Lanarkshire). A 15-year-old shot himself in
the hand with an air rifle on a farm in Melksham (Wiltshire).
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A driver was forced to duck when
an airgun was fired from an oncoming vehicle in Hartford
(Cambridgeshire).
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Following other incidents
involving air weapons and imitation guns:
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a man has been charged with possession of
an air weapon and intent to cause fear
and violence after an incident in Hertford.
-
a 15-year-old was arrested in
Bletchley (Buckinghamshire) where a BB gun was recovered
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a man from Burton
(Staffordshire) is to appear in court charged with possession
of an imitation gun and a rice flail
-
a man was arrested and received
a caution after a BB gun was fired through a window in
Yarmouth (Norfolk)
-
a man appeared in court after
reports that a man was threatening and harassing another man
with an airgun in Ealing (west London)
-
armed police subdued a naked man
with a Taser after he was reported to be running around with a
fake gun in Stanmore (north west London)
-
a man sparked an armed police
alert in Hillsborough (Sheffield) and was charged with
possessing an imitation gun with intent to cause fear of violence
-
a man who was abusive to staff
at a store in Andover (Hampshire) whilst brandishing a BB gun
was arrested on suspicion of possessing an imitation firearm
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a man was arrested after a
replica gun was fired in front of two police community support
officers in Allenton (Derby)
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a man with a BB gun sparked an
armed police raid in Romford (Essex) - he was arrested but
released without charge
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Police in Darlington have condemned the "indiscriminate" use of
air weapons after being called out to more than 90 incidents
since January.
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Among the Armed Robberies listed above
imitation guns were used at a shop
in Southampton, a jewellers in
Cowes (Isle of Wight) and an attack on a taxi driver in
Hartlepool.
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Damage has been caused by air
weapons to property in Edenbridge (Kent), where shop signs have
been shot, Caister (Norfolk) where windows of a housing
estate have been targeted, Kelbrook (Lancashire) where a window
was shattered (in this case it is suspected that it may have
been accidental) and Doncaster where a 90-year-old's house
has been targeted. An airgun may also have been used when a
pellet was fired through a window in Largs (Ayrshire).
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Police recovered two air rifles
after a gun was seen lying in the back seat of a car by a
shopper in Diss (Norfolk).
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A stall holder at a marker in
Cardiff was told to remove two deactivated guns from open
sale.
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A lead pellet has been found in
the skull of a man shot with a BB gun in Lancaster in 2008 and
he says he will sue the local NHS trust - the perpetrator had
previously been given a 12 month custodial sentence.
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Guns Recoveries and Thefts - More guns were found during
police drugs raids in Derby (a loaded handgun was discovered, four people were arrested
and a teenager has been charged),
Highbridge (Somerset) (a man was arrested and charged with a
firearm offence after a high-powered air rifle was recovered),
Anchorsholme (Lancashire) (four people have been arrested
after two stun guns were found), Sittingbourne (Kent) (two
people were arrested after a stun gun was seized) and
Hartlepool (an air rifle and air pistol were among a haul of
weapons found - three people were arrested). A man
was arrested and drugs and a weapon were found after someone
was seen in a street in Skegness (Lincolnshire) with a
handgun.
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A man from Nelson (Lancashire)
has been charged with a number of offences including
possessing a prohibited firearm after the weapon was found at
his home. A man from Mawsley (Northamptonshire) has been
charged with firearms offences after a pistol, silencer and
ammunition were found in a car earlier in the year.
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A 13-year-old girl was questioned
after a machine gun, later shown to be a replica, was found in
her bedroom in Croydon (south London) - two teenagers have
been arrested
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There were thefts of shotguns
from houses in Didsbury (Greater Manchester),
Stocksfield (Northumberland) (two rifles were also stolen),
Fishtoft (Lincolnshire) and Rumburgh (Suffolk) (the theft may
be linked to an incident in which two teenagers were arrested
in Ilketshall St Andrew - see above). Air weapons were stolen from a caravan
in East Calder (West Lothian) and a home in Stowlangtoft
(Suffolk). Thieves took paintball
guns from a centre in Farr (Highlands).
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Incidents Involving Animals
- Many newspapers publicised the warning from the RSPCA about
the likelihood of airgun attacks on animals during the summer
and included accounts of recent incidents. However,
warnings alone will not enough. These continue to go
unheeded and more action is essential to prevent those
responsible for targeting animals from getting hold of their
guns. There was further evidence of the scale of the
problem with the incidents reported in July.
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Airgun attacks on cats, some of
which did not survive, were reported from Bradford,
Gloucestershire, Greater Manchester, Oxfordshire (two
incidents), Lancashire, Leicestershire, London, Midlothian,
South Wales, West Midlands (two incidents) and West Sussex.
Following a similar incident in the county last month there was another
shotgun attack on a cat in Norfolk.
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A dog died after being shot with
an air rifle in Berkshire, and a second dog was targeted with
an air weapon in Pembrokeshire.
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There were also attacks on
birds. Two swans were shot dead in Cheshire and another
was attacked in the West Midlands. Three pigeons were
shot dead in Melton Mowbray (Leicestershire), probably with an airgun.
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Convictions - Murder trials in which the victim was shot were concluded:
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Two men were convicted of the
murder of a man in Netherley, Merseyside, and
given 36 year and 28 year sentences - one of the men was also
convicted of the attempted murder of a man who was shot in
Coventry.
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Two men were convicted of the
murder of a man in Harlesden (north west London) and
both have been given minimum sentences of 20 years.
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A man who shot and killed his
ex-girlfriend's father and injured her mother at their home in
Porth Kea (Cornwall) has pleaded guilty to murder and will
serve at least 25 years.
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A man who killed a teenager in
Paisley in a drive-by shooting was found guilty of murder and
also of attempting to murder a second man who was the intended
victim of the attack.
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A man who fired five shots at
and injured a
love rival in Norwood (south London) must serve at least 15
years in jail.
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A man who supplied a gun to his
father who then shot himself dead in a Northampton hospital
has admitted six firearms offences.
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A number of men were sentenced
for possession of firearms or ammunition:
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A man from Dukinfield (Greater
Manchester) who had a loaded key ring gun which fires .22
bullets has pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm, a CS spray
and drugs.
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A man has been sent to a Young
Offenders Institution after police found a shotgun, pistol and
ammunition at his home in Leeds.
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A man from Neath who sold a
shotgun, which he held without a certificate, to his son's
friend has been jailed for two months. The purchaser,
who claimed he thought he was buying an air rifle, was given a
12-month community order and ordered to complete 200 hours of
unpaid work.
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A man who claimed to have a
machine gun and a pistol at his home in Coton (Cambridgeshire)
for work he undertook for the Ministry of Defence was given a
16-month prison sentence, half of which will be served under
licence.
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A man was sentenced to 11 years
after an assault and firearms offences - police found a pistol
in a car which they had followed through Leicester.
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A man is awaiting sentence after
police found a shotgun during searches on houses in Dalton and Crosland (West
Yorkshire).
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A gang of five men was jailed for
between five years and seven years for having a firearm in a
street in Pimlico (central London).
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A man was fined £2000 for
possessing ammunition at his home in Duston (Northampton).
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A man who carried out an attack
with a stun gun, claimed to have been an electric cattle prod,
in Dilton Marsh (Wiltshire) has been jailed for 21 months.
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Other men were sentenced for possession of stun guns:
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A man caught with a stun gun and
a CS gas canister at his home in Marston Green (West Midlands)
was jailed for 15 months after pleading guilty - he also
admitted drug charges.
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A man found with a stun gun at
his flat in Devonport (Plymouth) has been given 200 hours of
unpaid community work - he too admitted drug offences.
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A six month suspended sentence
was given to a man from Middlesbrough after a stun gun and
drugs were found at his previous address.
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Two men have been told to
prepare for possible prison sentences after they took a stun
gun to a nightclub in Northampton.
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A man was given a 12 month jail
sentence after a stun gun he bought over the internet was
found at his home in Port Glasgow (Renfrewshire).
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Airguns and Imitation Guns
(Court Cases)
- There were convictions of a number of people who injured others
with airguns and imitation guns:
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Two 18-year-olds were jailed
(for four and a half years and for nine months) for an attack
on another man in Barton (Oxford) which resulted in life
changing injuries.
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A man from Stanley (Perthshire)
who shot a boy with an air weapon was jailed for nine months.
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A man who fired an airgun
recklessly and shot a young woman as she left a party in
Stockton (Teesside) received a 16 month prison sentence.
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A man who left his teenage
victim with a ball-bearing gun pellet in his neck after a
shooting at a bus stop in Baildon (West Yorkshire) has been
jailed for three years.
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A man who shot a 14-year-old,
one of a group of youths playing in the street in Glascote
(Staffordshire), with his airgun has been jailed for 30
months.
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A man was given a five year jail
sentence for shooting a teenager with an air pistol in Leyland
(Lancashire) - the victim lost an eye.
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A woman who ruined a model's
career when she shot him with an airgun in Dagenham (east
London) has been given a nine month suspended sentence and
ordered to pay compensation - her husband was also given a
suspended jail sentence and a two year supervision order.
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There was plenty of evidence
from court cases of the further use of
imitation guns during robberies:
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Following two separate incidents in Norfolk
one man has been jailed for
five and a half years after threatening a shop assistant in
New Buckenham with an airgun during a robbery, and another admitted possession of an imitation firearm with intent to
commit a robbery after he attempted to rob a store in Norwich
whilst armed with a BB gun.
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A 15-year-old was armed with an
air rifle when he stole chips from another youth in
Chester-le-Street (County Durham) - he has been ordered to
wear an electronic tag for the next three months.
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A man who stole a car at
gunpoint, he had a BB gun, in Little Hadham (Hertfordshire)
was jailed for three years.
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A man has admitted aggravated
burglary, possessing a bladed article and carrying an
imitation firearm in Barnsley (South Yorkshire) and been
jailed for six years and ten months.
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Two men who robbed a building
society branch and a store in Harrogate (North Yorkshire)
using an imitation firearm were each sentenced to six years
imprisonment.
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A man who attempted to rob a
cinema in Huntingdon whilst armed with an imitation gun has
been given four years in prison with two years extended
licence.
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Two men who robbed a store in
Waterloo (Merseyside) have pleaded guilty to robbery and
possession of an imitation firearm (a ball bearing gun) - one
of the men received a two year sentence, the other who
admitted a total of 13 robberies with an imitation gun was
sentenced to four years imprisonment.
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One of three men who robbed a
jewellers in Reading and had pleaded guilty to robbery and
possession of an imitation firearm with intent to commit an
indictable offence has lost his appeal against the length of
the sentence he was given (six years imprisonment).
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Others faced charges of using
airguns and imitations guns to threaten:
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A man who terrified a friend by
holding an imitation pistol to his head at a bedsit in
Worcester has been jailed for 18 months.
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A man who
threatened his teenage sister with an air pistol in Irvine
(Ayrshire) when she refused to give him money is awaiting
jail.
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A man from Seaham (County
Durham) who threatened another man with a metal bar and an air
weapon has been jailed for 10 months.
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One of three men involved in an
incident in Warwick, who pointed an air rifle out of his flat
window at the other two, has been given a
six-month suspended sentence and 180 hours of unpaid work.
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Two men who fired BB gun pellets
at pedestrians from a car in Norwich have been warned they
could be jailed after pleading guilty to having an imitation
firearm in a public place.
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A teenager and another man have
been warned they face jail after a man and a woman were
threatened with an imitation gun in Penhill (Wiltshire).
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A man has admitted brandishing a
fake handgun to resist arrest in Shoebury (Essex).
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A man who had an
imitation revolver on a cycle track in Lancashire was given a
12-month community order and 100 hours unpaid work.
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A man was jailed for three years
for blackmailing three brothers and threatening them with an
imitation firearm in Middleton (Greater Manchester).
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A former soldier admitted firing
an air rifle into a car in Borough Green (Kent) in which his
ex-girlfriend was sitting and has been given a two-and-a-half
year sentence - his current girlfriend was convicted of the
same charges, possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear
of violence and damaging property, and awaits sentence.
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A man admitted possessing an
imitation firearm (a plastic toy gun) in a public place
following an incident involving armed police in Shirley (Southampton). Another man has admitted a breach of the
peace and placing people in a state of fear and alarm after
brandishing a toy gun outside a bookmakers in Hamilton
(Lanarkshire).
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There were two more cases in which men had been drinking at
the time they committed an offence with an air weapon - a man
has been jailed for three years after he shocked bystanders by
walking down a street in Loughborough (Leicestershire)
pointing his air rifle, and a second man was jailed for two
years for firing an airgun at a car in Billingham (Teesside).
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A former firearms officer who has pleaded guilty to blackmail
used a replica handgun during the attempt.
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A Banbury (Oxfordshire) man was
jailed for 10 weeks after admitting possession of an air
weapon and ammunition when prohibited. A man from Tideswell
(Derbyshire) who admitted two offences of possessing an air
rifle without a firearms certificate and other offences was
given a two-year conditional discharge for the gun offences.
A man from East Bowling (Bradford) who was jailed for stealing
received an additional six months imprisonment for illegally
possessing an air rifle at his home.
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A man who was involved in the
theft of four air rifles and other items from a home in
Bridlington (East Yorkshire) has been given a 12-month
community order and 200-hours unpaid work - another man who
pleaded guilty has
failed to appear in court for sentencing. A shoplifter who stole a BB gun
in Sidmouth (Devon) was fine £80 by the police.
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Charges of possession of an
imitation firearm do not always relate to actual guns. This
month two men admitted charges for having:
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