AUGUST 2007 - SUMMARY

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Gun crime returned to the headlines in August 2007 as a result of a number of high profile fatal shootings, especially the one which resulted in the death of 11-year-old Rhys Jones in Croxteth.

The total number of incidents recorded by GCN was certainly higher in August.  The heightened concerns about gun crime no doubt led to more comprehensive media reporting.  A survey by the Daily Mirror on one week's incidents based on information from the police was a reminder that GCN is only recording a proportion of the incidents.

As we have suggested on previous occasions further measures to deal with gun crime, now being discussed again, must take into account not only the most tragic incidents that have resulted in fatal and serious injuries but also the problems experienced by a wider cross-section of the community which are caused by weapons, such as airguns and imitation guns, that remain too easily available.  As this summary reveals there are far too many gun incidents involving these weapons and these happen in areas distant from those most affected by gangs and drugs, frequently cited as the causes of gun crime.

It is clear that there can be no tolerance of the carrying of guns of any description in public.  The age of someone brandishing a gun can never be considered to reflect the lethality of the weapon he is holding.  Rhys Jones' killer, armed with a lethal firearm, was reportedly in his mid-teens.

GCN will be making more detailed comments shortly.

• Gun Deaths and Injuries - There were a number of high profile gun murders in August.  Nine people were killed in shooting attacks.

  • A teenager was shot dead in the street in Brixton (south London)

  • Another teenager was fatally injured outside a club in Paisley (Renfrewshire)

  • An 11-year-old was killed in Croxteth (Liverpool)

  • In a second fatal shooting in Liverpool a 20-year-old was killed on a busy street in Wavertree

  • A motorcyclist was shot dead on the M40 in Warwickshire

  • An airgun was used to murder a pensioner from West Lothian (see below)

  • Three people, including a 17-year-old, were shot dead at a house in Bishop's Stortford (Hertfordshire): two women were injured during the attack

• A number of teenagers have been questioned about the Croxteth shooting and a teenager has been charged with murder for the airgun shooting.  Four people have appeared in court charged with offences relating to the M40 murder.

• A man whose body was found on farmland in Suffolk is believed to have died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound: a shotgun was recovered from the scene.

• A man died after an apparent shooting incident on remote farmland in County Durham.

• Victims sustained injuries in double shootings in Chorlton-on-Medlock (Manchester), Letchworth Garden City (Hertfordshire) and Mossley Hill (Liverpool).

• In London other victims were injured by gunfire at a street party in Tulse Hill, in a street in Streatham and outside a nightclub in the Old Kent Road.  Two separate shootings occurred at the Notting Hill Carnival, three people were injured in shootings at a party in Tottenham and a few days later another youth was injured in another shooting in Tottenham.

• In West Yorkshire a man was injured in a street attack in Bingley and another received minor facial injuries in a shooting in Leeds.  Another man was shot in the face in Cheetham Hill (Manchester).  In a drive by shooting in Glasgow the victim was shot five times.

• A police officer was accidentally shot by a colleague at a firing range at Gatwick police station (Sussex).

• Armed Hold-Ups and Assaults - There were robberies and attempted robberies at a shop in Port Talbot (Glamorgan), a bookmakers in Podsmead (Gloucestershire), post offices in Corby and Brigstock (Northamptonshire) and a bank in Troon (Ayrshire).  Petrol stations were held up in Corby (Northamptonshire) and in Droitwich (Worcestershire) where the robber was believed to have been armed with a replica handgun (see below).  A man attempted to rob a bus company's premises in Cowley (Oxford).  A man threatened to shoot a shop worker in Cleethorpes (Lincolnshire), two men threatened a cashier in Blackwood (Gwent) and a man pulled a handgun in a shop in Wallsend (Tyneside)

• A man in Luton was forced to hand over the keys to his car which was taken by two men, one armed with a handgun.  A teenage gunman demanded car keys from a couple in Hale Village (Cheshire) but was fought off.

• Three girls in Telford (Shropshire) were confronted by a man who pulled a handgun on them, demanding a handbag.  Two men were robbed by a gang of armed youths outside a pub in Wolverhampton.

• Other Incidents - A dog died after being shot when a house was attacked in Salford: nobody in the house was injured.  In Widnes a bullet tore through the sofa in a house minutes after a 4-year-old boy had been sleeping there.  A window was shattered when a gun was fired at a house in Lenton (Nottingham) and shots were fired through a house window in Tuebrook (Liverpool).

• Shots were fired at a police car on the M5 in Gloucestershire after a car was stopped.

• A gunman opened fire in a busy pub in Paisley (Renfrewshire).  A man was arrested in Bristol after an incident in Bristol when shots were reported to have been fired.  A man was arrested and charged after reports of shots being fired in a Dundee street.

• A teenager is reported to have fired three or four shots in Broadway Market (east London) sparking fears that a gang "turf war" was escalating.

• A woman was seen to fire a long-barrelled weapon at a neighbour in St Neots (Cambridgeshire).

• A man was arrested in Newquay (Cornwall) after someone was seen pointing a gun through a pub window. 

• A shotgun was pointed at children in Ellesmere Port (Cheshire): two men were arrested.  Three 18-year-olds said a shotgun was fired at them in New Mills (Derbyshire).  A woman was threatened with a shotgun at a railway station on Merseyside.

• Police arrested a man in Godalming (Surrey) after threats were made with a gun.

• A man was released on police bail after being spotted with a gun in Bridgewater (Somerset) on CCTV.  Four men were questioned by police after being found with a firearm in an Ipswich street.  A 16-year-old was arrested for possessing of a firearm in Sheffield.  Other men and youths were reported being seen with guns in Cambridge, Bristol, Wilmslow and Widnes (Cheshire), Peterborough, Kegworth (Leicestershire), Pocklington (Humberside) and Spittals (Cambridgeshire).

• A 10-year-old threatened a man with a handgun on a train in Preston.

• Gun Finds and Thefts - In London a teenager was arrested when police found a massive arsenal of weapons including a handgun in Bermondsey, three people were arrested in Bayswater Road on suspicion of possession of firearms and another four were arrested for possessing a firearm after a raid on an address in Maida Vale.

• A woman has been charged with firearms and drugs offences after police found a handgun and accessories in her car during a routine stop-check in Preston.

• A handgun and ammunition were found by police in an alleyway in Ardwick (Manchester): an 18-year-old has been arrested.  Children discovered a sawn-off shotgun in a bag close to a jail in Durham.

• A loaded air rifle was stolen from an allotment in Middlesbrough.

• Convictions (see also Imitation Guns and Airgun Incidents) - A teenager who was part of a gang responsible for the murder of a man in Wembley (north London) was found guilty and was warned he would be sent to jail for life.  A third man was jailed for the murder of a man shot dead in Willesden (north London).

• One of the country's most feared and dangerous criminals, who was involved in a number of gun crimes linked to Nottingham was identified after receiving long jail sentences for his involvement in the murders of a jeweller in Arnold (Nottingham) and a couple at their bungalow in Trusthorpe (Lincolnshire).

• Three youths were convicted of the murder of a Merseyside gang leader who was shot dead in Fazakerley (Merseyside).

• A teenager has been given 28 months youth custody after police found a converted firearm and 9mm bullets at his flat in South Norwood (south London).

• Airguns - A pensioner was shot dead with an airgun at his home in Winchburgh (West Lothian): a 17-year-old has been charged with murder.

• Other victims of airgun attacks sustained injuries in incidents in:

  • Cleethorpes (shot fired from a car leaving the victim unable to see out of one eye)

  • Tovil (Kent) (a boy was shot in the leg and two youngsters arrested)

  • Maidenhead (Berkshire) (a 16-year-old girl was shot in the leg)

  • Carlisle (a teenage cyclist suffered a collapsed lung)

  • Dundee (two 15-year-olds were shot with an airgun in a park)

  • Hulme (Manchester) (the victim was a 13-year-old boy)

  • Inverness (a man was taken to hospital)

  • York (two men were hit with air rifle pellets: three teenagers were arrested)

  • Huddersfield (a woman removed a pellet embedded in her head and was taken to hospital)

  • Killingholme (Humberside)

  • Blaby (Leicestershire)

  • Mansfield (Nottinghamshire) (a man was reportedly hit in the back)

• A 3-year-old girl was left with an airgun pellet in her brain after what was described as "a tragic accident" at a pub in Stoke-on-Trent: it appears her 6-year-old sister may have fired the gun.

• At Elderslie golf club in Renfrewshire two women players had to run for cover when two boys took pot shots at them.  A youth turned an air rifle on an elderly man at a reservoir near Rotherham (South Yorkshire).  Firefighters in Portland (Dorset) responding to a 999 calls were shot at with an airgun.

• An air rifle was recovered after a youth was arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and for allegedly threatening a woman in Bedworth (Warwickshire): the air rifle is not believed to be linked to the incident.

• A man armed with an air rifle and a knife was arrested after he refused to leave his flat in Blandford (Dorset): he was arrested after police officers used a stun gun to disarm him.  In Wales a man with an air rifle made threats to kill in Bargoed (Caerphilly) and police disarmed a man with an air rifle during a domestic incident in Newport.

• Police in Warminster (Wiltshire) are stepping up measures to combat a rising spate of air rifle attacks on residents and animals.  Later they seized a gas-powered BB gun from youths in the town.

• Two teenagers were issued with a warning for possessing a loaded air rifle in public after being arrested in Newport (Essex).  Two youths were seen firing an air rifle in a country park in Cambridgeshire.

• Windows at a cricket club clubhouse in County Durham were smashed: airgun slugs were found.

• Convictions - A man who left a trail of havoc in Lyndhurst (Hampshire) when he raided a shop and entered a restaurant whilst armed with an air pistol has been jailed indefinitely.  Another man who attempted to rob a corner shop in Thornbury (Bradford) whilst armed with an airgun was sent to a young offenders institution for 18 months.

• Imitation Guns - A 20-year-old man was charged with possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, an offence believed to be linked to the murder of a man in Huyton (Merseyside).

• A number of young children were hit with pellets fired from imitation guns

  • A seven-year-old boy was shot just below the eye with a BB gun in Sidford (Devon)

  • Another boy, aged 9, was taken to hospital with a serious eye injury after a BB gun pellet hit him in Chesterfield

  • A 10-year-old boy shot at two schoolgirls, one of whom was hit on the arm, in an attack in Heath Hayes (Staffordshire)

  • A 10-year-old boy was the victim of a ball-bearing gun attack in Midway (Derbyshire) following which a 15-year-old was reprimanded by police

  • A 10-year-old girl suffered minor facial injuries in Cannock (Staffordshire)

  • A 9-year-old boy lost part of a front tooth after being shot with a ball-bearing gun in a caravan park on the Isle of Arran

  • A 3-year-old was hit on the hand in High Valleyfield (Fife) (a 13-year-old has been reported)

  • A 9-year-old was shot outside a Dumfries primary school (an 11-year-old will be reported)

  • An 11-year-old in Crewe was reported to be firing at other children in the street

• There were also attacks on a number of adults

  • A council worker was hit by a missile fired from a ball bearing gun by a gang of youths in Luton

  • A shopper was nearly blinded in Chadderton (Oldham) when a 14-year-old fired a ball-bearing from a replica gun

  • A male cyclist was shot and injured with a BB gun in Lowestoft (Suffolk).

  • Several pedestrians were hit by pellets fired from a BB gun in Skegness (Lincolnshire): two men were arrested and two BB guns seized from their vehicle

• Two masked men armed with a starting pistol terrified a family in their Ilkeston (Nottinghamshire) home: the pistol was fired.

• A man armed with an imitation gun held a number of people hostage in Sittingbourne (Kent).

• A man was charged with attempted armed robbery and possession of an imitation firearm while committing a serious offence after an incident on a street in Worsley (Manchester).  A man responsible for a robbery in Droitwich (Worcestershire) was believed to have been armed with a replica handgun.

• A man was arrested for possession of a BB gun in a public place after alarming passers by in St Neots (Cambridgeshire).  A man was threatened with a replica pistol in Slough (Berkshire).  A 15-year-old was arrested for aiming an imitation handgun at people in Levenmouth (Fife).

• Police believe that someone taking potshots with a ball-bearing gun may be responsible for damage to windows at a care home in Renfrewshire.

• Youths firing paintball gun pellets damaged a number of vehicles in Lowestoft.

• Three men were arrested and later released after a blank-firing pistol was fired in a garden in Bath.

• Two 15-year-old girls have been cautioned by police after being seen with a replica gun in Manchester.  A group of youths in Eye (Cambridgeshire) were reported with a 9mm Glock pistol.  A man was charged with possession of an imitation gun in Nuneaton (Warwickshire) a few hours after a man had been seen waving a handgun at youths.

• Convictions - Two young teenagers who were armed with a ball-bearing gun were sentenced to five years and two years and eight months in custody for their part in a vicious attack on a teenager in Preston.

• Two men were jailed for a total of 19 years after a raid on Atherton railway station (Bolton) when a cashier was threatened with a fake handgun.  A 19-year-old has been detained in a young offenders' institution for four and a half years after threatening a woman with a ball-bearing gun in a Croydon street and demanding that she hand over money.  A 16-year-old admitted robbery and attempted robbery on two women in Edinburgh when he was armed with an imitation gun (a cigarette lighter).

• A man who shot a 13-year-old schoolgirl in the leg with a ball-bearing gun in Blackford (Perthshire) was jailed for 100 days.

• A Burnley man was given a one year suspended jail sentence and 12 months supervision after he had pointed a ball-bearing gun at a man at his ex-girlfriend's house.

• A 16-year-old girl whose offences included shooting at youngsters with a ball-bearing gun has been given an Asbo.

• A man from Crayford (Kent) who was given a rehabilitation order for child cruelty and assaulting his wife was reported to have shot his daughter in both knees with a ball-bearing gun.

• A 19-year-old who fired a ball-bearing gun while at work in Louth (Lincolnshire) was given a four month prison term, suspended for 12 months.

• A man was given a suspended jail sentence after police found him with an imitation gun in his jacket pocket when his car was searched in Droitwich (Worcestershire).

• Incidents Involving Animals - There were further reports from across the country of cats falling victim to airgun attacks (Aberdeenshire, Bolton, Cambridgeshire, Chester, Clwyd, Inverness-shire, Shropshire, Sussex )

• Cygnets and swans were victims of attacks with air rifles and BB guns in Doune (Perthshire), Telford (Shropshire) and Mablethorpe (Lincolnshire).

• Two men have been fined for killing four deer near Alford (Aberdeenshire).

 

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