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JULY 2010 - REVIEW
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Click here for pdf version (includes full
list of incidents)
See the
Full List of Incidents
-
Gun Deaths and Injuries -
There were seven fatal shootings during July.
-
Five
men died in
apparent homicides which occurred in:
-
London (3) - a man was fatally
shot in Walthamstow, and two others died in
Cricklewood and Upton Park (a man has been charged in relation
to these two murders as well as a shooting in Hornsey in which another victim
was injured)
-
Staffordshire (1) - a man was
shot dead at a house in Chasetown (two men have been arrested)
-
Tyneside (1) -
a man was killed with a sawn-off shotgun at a house in Birtley
(the victim's girlfriend was shot and injured in the same
incident and the gunman, who later shot a police officer, died
some days later from a self-inflicted gunshot wound (see
below)
-
Two men died apparently from
self-inflicted gunshot wounds - both had shot and injured
ex-partners and, in one case, had fatally wounded another man
and seriously injured a police officer:
-
Norfolk (1) - a man who shot his
ex-partner with a shotgun in Feltwell was later found dead
with a wound from a single shot pistol
-
Northumberland (1) - a man who used a sawn-off shotgun to kill his
ex-partner's new boyfriend in Birtley (see above) and to injure his
ex-partner and a police officer (see below) is thought to
have shot himself in Rothbury at the end of a lengthy manhunt.
-
Twenty nine other victims
were hit in shooting attacks, many of them with imitation
weapons
or airguns:
-
Gloucestershire (1) - a man was
injured with a shotgun in Gloucester (a man was arrested on
suspicion of attempted murder)
-
London (6) - five people were
injured in a multiple shooting in Brixton, and a victim was shot
in Hornsey (linked to the fatal shooting of two other victims
(see above)
-
Merseyside (3) - a man was shot
in the leg in West Derby, another was shot in the buttock in
Bootle (a man was being questioned) and a 16-year-old was shot
in the leg (three teenagers were being held on suspicion of
possessing a firearm)
-
Norfolk (1) - a woman who was
with a baby was shot with a shotgun by her ex-partner in Feltwell (a
man's body was later found with a pistol beside it (see above)
-
Tyneside (2) - a woman was shot
and wounded by her ex-partner in Birtley (her boyfriend was shot dead
(see above) and later, in East Denton, the gunman shot and injured a police officer who has
now lost his
sight (the man apparently killed himself when surrounded by armed
police in Rothbury some days later (see above)
-
West Midlands (4) - four people
including a 16-year-old girl were shot outside a pub in
Bordesley Green
-
At least 12 people, including children and teenagers, were hit with pellets from BB guns or airguns:
-
Devon (2) - three boys were shot
at with a BB gun in Exmouth and two of them were hit in the stomach
and hip
-
Essex (1) - a man was shot in
the head with an air pistol in Jaywick (the victim's car also sustained damage)
-
Greater Manchester (1) - a man
was shot in the back with an air rifle in Radcliffe and
required hospital treatment - a pellet became lodged in his
lung
-
Hertfordshire (2) - two victims
were hit with BB gun pellets and another two men were shot at in St
Albans (three teenagers were arrested)
-
Northamptonshire (2) - two
primary schoolchildren were injured with an airgun in a
playground shooting in Little Harrowden (two pupils were
excluded from the school)
-
Scotland (1) - a man was shot in
the leg with an airgun whilst walking on a cycle path in
Dumfries
-
Staffordshire (1) - a teenager
was rushed to hospital after being shot in the head with an
airgun pellet between Handsacre and Hill Ridware.
-
Sussex (1) - a woman was shot in
the arm with what was thought to be an air rifle in Brighton
(three teenagers were arrested)
-
Wales (1) - a firefighter has
been shot in the face with an air rifle in Abercwmboi (Mid
Glamorgan)
-
Armed Hold-Ups and Assaults - There were robberies and
attempted robberies allegedly involving guns at Banks and
Post Offices (6)
in East Barnet (north London) (imitation gun), Denton (Greater
Manchester), Hopton (Suffolk) (handgun), St Mary's Bay (Kent)
(shotgun; two teenagers have been charged), Cheadle (Greater
Manchester) (handguns; there were reports that shots were
fired), and Cefn Mawr (Wrexham) (imitation handgun; one man has been
charged and another three people arrested), Bookmakers
(2) in
Old Swan (Liverpool) and Peterborough (sawn-off shotgun), Petrol Stations
(3) in Donnington Wood (Shropshire),
Colne (Lancashire) (imitation firearm), and Maryport (Cumbria)
(imitation gun; a man has been charged), a Restaurant
(1)
in Gloucester (handgun), Shops (8) in
Middleton (Greater Manchester) (handgun), Nantwich (Cheshire)
(bolt guns), Bromley (south London) (handgun; three people
were arrested), Leytonstone (north east London), Thurrock
(Essex) (stun gun), Girlington (Bradford) (shotgun), Worthing
(West Sussex) (handgun), and Peterborough, and Travel Agents
(2) in Epsom (Surrey) and
Hayes (west London) (handgun). A man who fatally shot
another man, shot and injured his ex-partner and a police
officer and later killed himself (see above) is
also believed to have been responsible for an armed robbery at
a fish and chip shop near Blyth (Northumberland).
-
Security men were robbed
at a supermarket in Stevenage (Hertfordshire) (handgun) and at
a bank in Pinner (initial reports that the suspect was
carrying a gun were not confirmed by the police).
A Post Office Van was robbed in Tunbridge Wells (Kent).
-
A man had his Car stolen
at gunpoint in Belle Vue (Greater Manchester). A rider
handed over his Moped to two teenage boys who threatened him at
gunpoint in Warley (Essex) (two suspects have been charged
with robbery and possession of an imitation firearm).
-
The following incidents occurred
at victims' Homes. Three men broke into a house in
Burneside (Cumbria) and threatened the occupants with a
handgun and knives (a man was charged with attempted robbery
and possession of a firearm with intent to commit an
indictable offence). A family was threatened with a shotgun in
a robbery at their home in Fishburn (County Durham).
Mobile phones were stolen from flats in Blackburn (Lancashire)
(stun gun; two people have been arrested). A man was
bundled into a car and assaulted at gunpoint whilst robbers
broke into his house in West Didsbury (Greater Manchester).
Six puppies were stolen at gunpoint from a house in Luton
(Bedfordshire).
-
In Outdoor incidents three men demanded money from a
man in Rode Heath (Stoke-on-Trent) (air rifles), two
10-year-olds were held up and a bike stolen in a park in Belle
Vale (Liverpool) (BB gun; a 15-year-old was arrested), and a
woman was attacked by a youth carrying what appeared to be a
handgun in a park in Hornsey (north London) but stopped him
from stealing her purse (a 16-year-old was arrested).
-
A man was charged over six
robberies which have taken place in Nottinghamshire in the
last eight months.
-
Other Incidents - Shots were fired during a number of
other incidents:
-
London - several vehicles were
damaged in a shooting in Streatham
-
Merseyside - gunshots were heard
and a car dealership window was damaged in Anfield (two men
were arrested)
-
Nottingham - a gun was fired in
Basford and a man was being questioned on suspicion of
attempted murder
-
Oxfordshire - police were
investigating whether a firearm was fired at trains in
Steventon after two windows were damaged
-
West Midlands - a shotgun was
fired at a passenger in a car in Chelmsley Wood, shots were
fired by people leaning out of a moving vehicle in an incident
in Handsworth Wood, and shots were heard in Dudley where
trouble flared at a car wash
-
Victims were threatened in the
following incidents:
-
A gang of youths
threatened to shoot two 16-year-olds in a park in Salford (one of the victims was repeatedly hit over the head with a
handgun).
-
A pistol was pointed through the
window of a man's car in Edgware (north west London) and he was attacked and hit with wooden sticks.
-
A
17-year-old boy was threatened with a gun and knife in
Stockbridge Village (Merseyside) (a 16-year-old was arrested
on suspicion to commit robbery).
-
In Northampton a man was chased
by another man with a gun in Abington (four men have been
arrested), and a man at the wheel of a newspaper van was
threatened with a gun.
-
A number of firearms were seized
from a home in Louth (Lincolnshire) and a man was charged with
making threats to kill. A man was arrested on suspicion
of possessing a firearm after a house in Old Swan (Liverpool)
had been placed under siege by police.
-
A loaded revolver was thrown
into a garden in Bootle (Merseyside) (a man and a 17-year-old
have been charged). A pistol was seized from an
18-year-old who was stopped in Edgbaston (Birmingham).
Two men were arrested after a suspected handgun was found in a
van in Brislington (Bristol). An 18-year-old is due in
court in Aberdeen charged with possession of a shotgun.
A man was arrested and charged after a stun gun and a lock
knife were found in a vehicle in Matlock (Derbyshire).
-
A stun gun was seized after a
suspected kidnapping in St Leonards (East Sussex) (five
people were arrested).
-
Police conducted a roadside
search in a lay-by near Hartlepool (Teesside) for what was believed to be a firearm as part of an on-going case.
-
Police were called to a site in
Elephant & Castle (south London) after bullet casings were
discovered - they had been left by actors shooting a film.
-
No firearm was found after
police called to a primary school in Seal (Kent) after a
parent was threatened with being shot (a man was arrested on
suspicion of threatening behaviour), nor was any gun
recovered following reports of a man
brandishing a handgun in Tamworth (Staffordshire). A man
was brought out of a property in Fishponds (Bristol) after
threatening to shoot himself but it is not known whether he
had a gun.
-
Airguns and Imitation Guns - Besides those incidents which
resulted in injury (see above) there were many other incidents involving airguns and
imitation weapons. They were probably used in many of the armed robberies
and this was certainly so in Belle Vale (Liverpool), Colne
(Lancashire), East Barnet (north London), Rode Heath (Stoke-on-Trent),
Maryport (Cumbria), Warley (Essex) and Cefn Mawr (Wrexham)
-
A 19-year-old shot at armed
police with an airgun in Oldham (Greater Manchester).
-
A BB gun was fired at passers-by
in Bedford (two youths were arrested). An air weapon was fired on a
street in Portgordon (Banffshire).
-
The following incidents also involved
the use of imitation guns to threaten:
-
A 16-year-old has been charged
after an incident in which a gun was allegedly aimed through a
car window in Stockton Heath (Cheshire)
-
A group of youths brandished a
BB gun and pointed it at passengers on a train bound for
Aintree (Merseyside) (a 12-year-old boy has been bailed)
-
A man has been charged with
possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear
of violence after an incident in Hakin (Pembrokeshire)
-
A man threatening to shoot
himself was arrested in Brierfield (Lancashire) and an air
weapon found.
-
A family has been thrown off a
campsite in Port Eynon (Swansea) after a possible air rifle
incident was investigated and weapons found.
-
A bag of airgun pellets was
discovered after a man was accused of a breach of the peace in
Paisley. In an incident in Howwood (Renfrewshire)
another man was detained for breach of the peace and police
confiscated an air weapon.
-
Three men, two aged 18, were
detained in Barton-under-Needwood and accused of possessing
imitation firearms. Three men were arrested and two
weapons, believed to be BB guns, were confiscated after
reports of shots being fired at flats in Lincoln. A
replica handgun was seized from a teenager in Lerwick
(Shetland).
-
A man may have been carrying an
air pistol during a fight involving eight people in Telford
(Shropshire).
-
A child's toy gun caused a mass
evacuation when it was dropped in a bank in Maldon (Essex).
-
Cars were damaged by shots
fired from weapons believed to have been air rifles in Gloucester,
Stanground (Peterborough), Brighton, Hatfield (South
Yorkshire) and Kenfig Hill (Mid Glamorgan)
-
Transport police in Kent and
Hampshire have reported incidents involving guns fired at
trains in Birchington-on-Sea (pellet gun) and Hilsea and
Winchester (air rifle)
-
A priceless window at a church
in Morpeth (Northumberland) has been damaged by an airgun
shot.
-
Guns Recoveries and Thefts - Guns were found during
searches in which drugs were recovered in Leytonstone (north
east London) (two loaded converted handguns) and Bolton (Greater
Manchester) (stun gun).
-
Nine firearms were seized and
four people charged by police investigating recent shootings
in Birmingham. In Liverpool a handgun and ammunition
were recovered in Toxteth (a 14-year-old boy and a woman were
arrested) and a gun was found hidden in a garden in Dovecot.
Police investigating a robbery at a casino in Edgbaston
(Birmingham) recovered a handgun and ammunition (six men and a
woman were arrested). A revolver was recovered from a
house in Blakenhall (Wolverhampton) (a man was arrested). A BB
gun was found in Worcester during raids aimed at seizing
dangerous dogs. A stash of guns has been found at a
property in West Reading and a gun was found buried in Whitley. A pistol and a sawn-off shotgun
were found buried in Poole (Dorset). See also Other
Incidents.
-
Boxes of shotgun cartridges were found dumped in a fiver in Aberffraw
(Anglesey).
-
A sniper-style .22 air rifle was stolen
from a rifle range in Swathling (Southampton), an air rifle
and pellets were stolen in Farcet (Cambridgeshire) and another
air rifle was taken from a
car in Cyncoed (Cardiff). Four shotguns and a rifle were
stolen from a farm in Murrow (Cambridgeshire). Two boxes
containing 18 replica shotguns were stolen from an industrial
unit in Westhoughton (Greater Manchester).
-
An imitation firearm was found
when a massive haul of suspected stolen goods was recovered in
Boothtown (West Yorkshire).
-
Incidents Involving Animals - There were further reports
of cats being shot with airguns and pellet guns, this month in
Banffshire (two cats targetted), Clwyd, Coventry, London, Mid
Glamorgan, Nottingham, Surrey (a number of attacks), West
Sussex (two separate reports), West Yorkshire (two separate
attacks including one on a pregnant cat), and Wolverhampton.
-
A horse was shot and badly
injured with an air weapon in County Durham, and two teenagers
were arrested after firing an air weapon at another horse in
Northumberland.
-
Several rabbits have been shot
dead in a nature reserve in South Shields (Tyneside) where no
hunting is allowed.
-
A seal had to be put down after
being found with multiple gunshot wounds in a river near York.
-
Songbirds may have been killed
with an airgun in Morpeth (Northumberland), and a kestrel died
after being shot in Uffington (Shropshire).
-
Convictions - There were a number of convictions for
murder:
-
A gun club member was convicted
of the murder of a taxi driver, whom he did not know and whom
he shot dead in Cromford (Derbyshire) - he will serve at least
30 years.
-
Three teenagers were convicted
of murdering a man who was shot dead in Hackney (east London)
and were jailed for life with a minimum of 27 years.
-
Two men were convicted of murder
and one of conspiracy to murder a man who was shot dead in
Stonebridge (north west London) in 2004 - all three will serve a
minimum of 25 years.
-
A man has been convicted for the
second time for the murders of two men who were shot with the
same bullet at a party in Hackney (east London) in 2002 - he
was given two life sentences.
-
A member of the INLA was
sentenced to 24 years after pleading guilty to the murder of
an army recruitment sergeant in Derby in 1992.
-
A man who killed his friend at
the other man's house in Coventry when they were "messing
around" with his friend's prohibited pistol has pleaded guilty
to manslaughter.
-
After the case collapsed a man was cleared of the
murder of a man with whom he had a fight and shot dead at his home in Alderley Edge
(Cheshire).
-
Two men have been jailed for at
least 6½ years over the shooting of a man in Leyton (north
east London) - they were convicted of grievous bodily harm and
possessing a firearm and ammunition.
-
A man who shot another driver in
the stomach with a homemade gun in Alkham (Kent) during a road
rage incident has been convicted of wounding with intent.
-
A man who fired a shot into the
door of a nightclub in Bilston (Wolverhampton) was given an 8½
year sentence.
-
Two men who bundled a
businessman into a car at gunpoint in Salford have admitted
kidnapping and blackmail, wounding with intent, false
imprisonment and attempted blackmail and been jailed for 11
and 7½ years.
-
Four men involved in a raid
during a cash delivery at a store in
Haslingden (Lancashire) admitted conspiracy to commit robbery
and have also been convicted of possessing a firearm.
-
A man who held up a supermarket
in Coventry whilst armed with a handgun has admitted a charge
of robbery and of possessing a firearm with intent to cause
fear of violence and been sentenced to 5 years and 4 months.
-
A man from Top Valley
(Nottingham) was jailed for 5 years after a loaded sawn-off
shotgun was found in his wardrobe - he also had pellets and
gunpowder in his jeans. A man caught with a sawn-off
shotgun at his home in Wavertree (Liverpool) admitted
possessing the weapon and was jailed for 6 years. A man
from Cockermouth (Cumbria) has been jailed for 1 year for
illegally owning a shotgun. A man from Inverness who
kept two shotguns in his loft has been jailed for 2 years.
-
A man who kept an illegal
handgun and a shotgun at his home in Shifnal (Shropshire)
admitted possessing a firearm without a certificate and
possessing a prohibited firearm and ammunition without a
firearm certificate.
-
A 19-year-old student who kept a
handgun and bullets at her home in Tottenham, north London,
has admitted unlawful possession of the firearm and ammunition
and been jailed for 5 years. Another student, aged 18,
pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to
endanger life, possession of ammunition with intent to
endanger life, possession of a silencer and possession of
cannabis after he was caught carrying a gun on college
premises in Kingston (south west London).
-
A man who worked on a gun owned
by the man convicted of murdering a taxi driver in
Derbyshire (see above) pleaded guilty to four charges of
unlawful possession of ammunition without authority and also
admitted possession of a shotgun for which he had no
certificate - he was given a 21 month sentence.
-
Stun Guns - A man from
Daubhill (Greater Manchester) has admitted possessing cannabis
and a stun gun and been given a 12-month community sentence
and ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.
Another offender from Hartlepool (Teesside) who admitted
producing cannabis and possessing a stun gun has been given a
12-month community order with supervision. A man from
Southcote (Berkshire) admitted possessing pepper spray and a
stun gun and will serve a 2-year community order with 12
months supervision.
-
A judge has
accepted that a man from Eaglescliffe (Teesside) who imported
18 stun guns into the UK from Thailand did not know they were
illegal.
-
Airguns and Imitation Guns
- An ex-soldier who threatened his victim with a ball bearing
gun has admitted rape and having a firearm with intent to
commit an offence and been given an indeterminate jail
sentence (minimum 4 years and 78 days) - the attack took place near Peterborough.
-
A man who was armed with an
imitation sawn-off shotgun when a man was kidnapped in
Drinkstone (Suffolk) has been jailed for a total of 8 years -
a second man was found guilty of kidnapping, blackmail and
false imprisonment.
-
Two 15-year-olds have both
pleaded guilty to firing an air rifle in public in York where
they shot a woman in the face and also assaulted another boy and caused criminal damage
- they were given referral orders for 9 months and 6 months and
ordered to pay compensation.
-
Three men from Telford who shot
a number of pedestrians with an air pistol out of the window
of a car have admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm
- two received suspended 34-week custodial sentences and were
ordered to carry out 250 hours community work and the third
was given
a 12-month community order with 150 hours unpaid work.
-
A man who wounded his cousin
when he fired a .22 air rifle at his home in Daventry
(Northamptonshire) has admitted unlawful wounding and been
given a suspended 30-week sentence, a 12-month community
order, a 10-day employment course and told to do 100 hours of
community work.
-
One man pleaded guilty to common
assault and another admitted grievous bodily harm after a man
visiting his neighbour in Workington (Cumbria) was
shot three times with a BB gun.
-
The following cases involved the
use of imitation guns and airguns as a threat or to cause fear:
-
A man who fired an air rifle at
his sister's partner in Hartlepool (Teesside) and narrowly
missed him was convicted of possessing a firearm with intent
to cause fear of violence and affray - jailed for 1 year.
-
A man who threatened to use a
gas-propelled BB gun and terrified people at a nightclub in
Southampton admitted two counts of possessing an imitation
firearm with intent to cause fear of violence - jailed
for 4 years.
-
A man who threatened a
15-year-old boy and his friends in Brentford (west London)
with an imitation pistol pleaded guilty to possession of an
imitation firearm with intent to cause alarm or distress -
jailed for 3½ years.
-
A man who threatened bin men
with a BB gun outside his house in Wolverhampton admitted
possessing an imitation firearm - made subject to a
hospital order.
-
A man from Irthington (Cumbria)
who brandished a starter pistol at four youths has pleaded
guilty to affray - 6-month suspended sentence
and placed under a 12-week curfew order.
-
A man who brandished a
ball-bearing handgun in a bar in West Reading admitted one
count of having an imitation firearm with intent to threaten - jailed for 12 months.
-
A woman from Exeter has admitted
possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear or unlawful
violence - she had been drinking when she was seen waving two
imitation handguns in her garden and was just seconds away
from being shot by a police marksman.
-
A man who had a 6-hour stand-off
in Tullibody (Clackmannanshire) and threatened police with an
air rifle has pleaded guilty to a number of offences including
possessing a firearm with intent of causing a person to
believe violence would be used against them.
-
A man who pointed a toy gun at
people in Kinloss (Moray) and threatened them has been
convicted of possessing an imitation weapon and making others
believe he would use it against them.
-
A man who was drunk when he
fired an air rifle from a boat on Loch Venachar (Perthshire)
was fined £750.
-
There were a number of
convictions for robberies and attempted robberies in which the
offender(s) was armed with an imitation firearm. The
incidents occurred:
-
at Shops and Post Offices
- in
Leicester (involved an air pistol and a blank-firing handgun;
four men received sentences of between 4 and 7 years), central
London (three teenagers have admitted armed
robbery, one of them, aged 15, admitted possessing an imitation
firearm), Thornton (West Yorkshire) (two men have been found
guilty of attempted robbery and with having an imitation
firearm with intent), and Northampton (a man pleaded guilty to
attempted robbery and possession of an imitation firearm (an
air pistol) and was jailed for 4 years)
-
at a Bookmakers - in Bedford (a
man was convicted of attempted robbery and possessing an
imitation firearm with intent to commit robbery and been
jailed for 11 years)
-
The following cases involved
offenders seen with imitation guns or airguns in public:
-
A man seen with an air pistol in
Barrow (Cumbria) took the weapon to a bar where the barman
confiscated it after he cocked it and waved it around whilst
drunk - he pleaded guilty to carrying an air weapon in public.
-
A man who appeared to be
pointing an air rifle at people in Middlesbrough has admitted
having
an air weapon in a public place and other offences - a 12-month community order with supervision.
-
A man who was seen in combat
gear crouching near a military training base in Lympstone
(Devon) with an M4 carbine BB gun admitted possessing an
imitation firearm - a year's community order
involving 80 hours of unpaid work.
-
A man who sparked an armed siege
by carrying an air rifle in the street in Coatbridge (North
Lanarkshire) - ordered to carry out 90 hours of community
service.
-
Two men have been given
community orders for possessing loaded air rifles at a country
park in Yeovil (Somerset).
-
A man from Shirebrook
(Nottinghamshire) found with an unloaded air weapon in a
rucksack admitted possessing the gun - ordered to
do 70 hours unpaid work.
-
A man from Stourbridge (West
Midlands) who had an unloaded air pistol - a
suspended 6 months sentence (he had also been charged with
having a fighting dog).
-
A man sentenced for carrying
daggers in Burnham (Buckinghamshire) also received a
conditional discharge for 18 months for being in possession of
an airgun.
-
A pub landlord spotted with a
gun in his back pocket - given a 16-week suspended
sentence.
-
An 18-year-old admitted having
an imitation firearm and a number of other offences after
incidents in St Austell (Cornwall) - he has been issued with a
6-month detention and training order.
-
A man who dressed as a police
officer and put a blank-firing imitation Glock pistol in his
pocket to go to an incident in Streatham (south London) has
been found guilty of having an imitation firearm in public.
-
A man who admitted possession of an imitation gun in Dumbarton
was jailed for a further 60 days for this and other offences
relating to an incident at his ex-girlfriend's house when he
jumped out at police with a dangerous weapon.
-
A farmer from South Shields
(Tyneside) found with two illegal airguns at his home has
been given a 12-month community order and a 12-month
supervision order.
-
A man from Keynsham (Bristol)
has been given a community order, curfew and an electronic tag
for possession of an air weapon when prohibited from owning
one for 5 years.
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