SEPTEMBER 2007 - SUMMARY

> Click here for pdf version (includes full list of incidents)

See the Full List of Incidents

• Gun Deaths and Injuries - Two men were killed in shooting attacks in September, both in London.  One victim was found in a park in Camberwell (south London), another man died when he was shot in the head in Acton (west London).

• Two men alleged to have been involved in an attempted armed raid on a bank were shot and killed by police in Chandler's Ford (Hampshire).

• Victims were injured in a number of incidents in the four areas to be targeted in a Government initiative to tackle gangs and gun crime.

  • In London there were reports of gun injuries in shootings at a party in Thornton Heath (south London), at a nightclub in Wembley (north London) (two men were injured) and outside another nightclub in the Elephant and Castle (south London) where there were two separate shootings in the space of two days resulting in two men being shot.

  • In Greater Manchester there were reports of four people being hurt: two teenagers were shot in Fallowfield, receiving minor injuries, and two men received gunshot wounds whilst they were sitting in a car in Oldham.

  • A victim was injured in a gun attack in a street in Toxteth (Liverpool).

  • In the West Midlands victims were injured in shootings in Cotteridge, Whitmore Reans and Wednesfield.

• Two teenage boys were shot in Sheffield, one in the arm in a drive-by shooting (two people have been arrested), the other in the knee in a targeted attack.

• A number of people were questioned after a man was found with gunshot wounds in Annesley Woodhouse (Nottinghamshire).

• A police officer accidentally shot himself in London.

• Armed Hold-Ups and Assaults - There were reports of robberies and attempted robberies on a supermarket in Paisley (Renfrewshire), an off licence in Wallsend (Tyneside), other shops in Small Heath (Birmingham) (a shot was fired) and Headington (Oxford), a bookies in Paisley, a cash office at a railway station in Cardiff and petrol stations in Pwllmeyric (Monmouthshire) and Didcot (Oxfordshire) (involving a 16-year-old brandishing a BB gun or an airgun, see below).  A man was robbed of his wallet and a mobile phone at gunpoint in a travel agent's in Walworth (south London).

• Four men armed with shotgun-style weapons and an axe stole money from a hotel in Northwold (Norfolk): the raid may be linked to armed raids on other homes in various locations in Norfolk and in Wisbech (Cambridgeshire). A man demanded money at a pub in Gateshead: a ball bearing gun (see below) was recovered and a man is in custody.

• The driver of a postal van was tied and bound at gunpoint in Buckinghamshire: three armed robbers fled with cash.

• A family was threatened in their home in Southampton by three men armed with a handgun.  Residents of two properties in the Bristol area (Longwell Green, Kingswood) were threatened in similar attacks by burglars armed with a stun gun: in the attack in Longwell Green a man was incapacitated.  Three men were arrested after a robbery at a home in Newhaven (Sussex) in which a handgun was thought to have been seen.

• A motorcyclist, possibly armed with a handgun, stole the collection money from a church official in Darenth (Kent).

• A man in a parked car in Wandsworth (south London) was threatened with a gun and had his mobile phone and Sat Nav accessory stolen when he left the vehicle to call the police. 

• Other Incidents - Two police officers escaped injury when they were shot at in Kirkdale (Liverpool): an 18-year-old has been charged with attempted murder.

• Police used a stun gun to subdue a man who was wielding a pistol at a pub in Chadwell Heath (east London).

• A man escaped injury after a shot was fired following an altercation at a takeaway in Stretford (Manchester).

• A man was arrested in Norwich after a five hour stand-off: armed police went to the house after reports of a man with a handgun.

• The window of a flat was shot at in Ribbleton (Preston).  Shots were apparently fired at a car in Liverpool.

• A man was arrested in Brighton after pulling out a gun in a restaurant: armourers were determining whether it was a replica or real weapon.

• A lorry carrying shotgun cartridges caught fire on the M42 in Worcestershire and the motorway had to be partially closed whilst the blaze was brought under control.

• Gun Finds and Thefts - Weapons including a handgun and a rifle were found at a house in Wythenshaw (Manchester): a man has been charged.  Police arrested a man after they found a large amount of cocaine and a firearm and ammunition at a house in Stockton (Teesside).  A number of handguns, ammunition and cannabis were recovered by police at a house in Haydock (Merseyside): two men were arrested.  A 15-year-old, one of four teenagers arrested in Cheetham Hill (Manchester), has been charged with possession of a firearm, ammunition and cannabis.

• Four shotguns and ammunition were stolen in a burglary in Millom (Cumbria).  Three shotguns were among items stolen from a property in Kingston (Hampshire).

• Convictions (see also Imitation Guns and Airgun Incidents) - Three youths convicted of murdering a leading member of a Merseyside gang were jailed for life (minimum terms of 28, 20 and 18 years).  A fourth person was jailed for 20 years for manslaughter (see August 2007 Incidents).

• The mother of a girl who was shot dead in Gorton (Manchester) has admitted possessing the gun which killed her daughter.  A man who had hidden two pistols in the cistern of his toilet in Longsight (also in Manchester) was given an indeterminate sentence with a minimum of four years and 35 days.

• A man believed to be the boss of a notorious gang in Peckham (south London) is facing a life sentence after being found guilty of eight charges including possession of a number of firearms and ammunition.

• A man has pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence after he triggered a police siege in Newton Poppleford (Devon).

• A man has been ordered to carry out 300 hours of community service after being caught in unlawful possession of a shotgun at his home in Linwood (Renfrewshire).

• A man who paralysed a teacher in a stun gun attack outside a school in Bristol has been sentenced to six years in a young offenders' institute (see July 2007 Incidents).

• A soldier has been jailed for three years for trying to sell ammunition to an undercover police officer.

• Airguns - More people became victims of airgun attacks in September.

  • Three people were hit in three linked airgun attacks in Burton-on-Trent (Staffordshire): at least one of the victims required hospital treatment

  • Two 13-year-old schoolgirls were injured by a shot from a gas-powered air pistol in Stafford: two men have been arrested

  • A 14-year-old was shot in the leg by an airgun in Great Wyrley (Staffordshire)

  • A 16-year-old girl was shot with an air weapon in Weymouth (Dorset)

  • A man was shot in the cheek in an air rifle shooting in Bolton

• A man had to undergo lifesaving surgery after apparently shooting himself in the head with an air rifle in Exeter.

• A man sustained a pellet wound to his chest after accidentally discharging his air rifle in Beaford (Devon).

• A man was arrested in St Mellons (Cardiff) and a firearm found in the boot of a car after an air weapon was apparently fired at a vehicle in the Rhymney Valley.

• An air rifle was recovered from a caravan in Seaton Burn (Tyneside) where a man was arrested for public order offences and firearm offences.

• A man from Aberdeen believes his family are under attack after a number of their cars were hit by pellets from air weapons.

• An air pistol was seized by police from two 9-year-old boys who were pointing the weapon at passers by in Trowbridge (Wiltshire).

• Damage estimated at £600 was caused by an airgun sniper to a window on a bus in Dartmouth (Devon).  An airgun pellet shattered a window on a train between Exeter and Axminster and in Kintore (Aberdeenshire) the driver's cab of a train was cracked after someone took pot shots at it with an airgun.

• Windows of a library were smashed after being shot at with a ball-bearing gun in Worthing (West Sussex) and damage costing £800 was caused to a shop window in Mertsham (Surrey).

• A dentist who showed off an air pistol to the manager of his dental practice in Worthing (Sussex) has been cleared of misconduct by the General Dental Council.

• Convictions (Airguns) - A man who shot his son with a modified air rifle and almost killed him was jailed for 18 years after admitting attempted murder and possessing the rifle without a certificate (see April 2007 Incidents).

• A man was given a jail sentence of three and a half years after he had shot one person in the leg and threatened others during an incident at a party in Sandhurst (Berkshire).

• A man who lay in wait for his father and stepmother whilst armed with an air rifle and who pleaded guilty to various charges following the incident in Weston-super-Mare has been jailed for two and a half years (see May 2007 Incidents).

• A Mansfield man who pointed an air rifle at a police officer was jailed for 15 months.

• The Crown Prosecution Service decided that a 14-year-old who shot a teenage girl in the face with an air rifle in Botley (Hampshire), causing injuries which required surgery, was too young to understand the implications of what he was doing and no case was brought against him.

• Two men were fined after a pensioner had been shot in the back with a stray air rifle pellet in Bracebridge Heath (Lincolnshire).

• A man could face jail after admitting recklessly discharging air rifle pellets in a street in Greenock.

• A York man who made threats to his wife over the phone and had an air pistol in his vehicle was given a jail sentence of two and a half years.

• A drug dealer from Roath (Cardiff) who has been jailed for three years had an air rifle in his car.

• Imitation Guns - Imitation guns are still being used to attack people of all ages.

  • A toddler was shot in the eye after a BB gun, apparently bought for £1, was fired at a show in Pontarddulais (Swansea).

  • A man was attacked with a BB gun whilst sitting on a bench in Great Yarmouth (Norfolk).

  • An 11-year-old was shot in the torso with a ball-bearing gun in Gillingham by a group of three teenagers (Kent)

  • Two men were hit by pellets fired from a BB gun in Reading: two young men may be linked to the incidents.

  • The father of an 11-year-old old boy has only just been informed by the police that his son was the victim of a BB gun attack which took place near Wrexham in August.

  • Two teenagers burst into a pub in Preston claiming they had been shot by a gang: the shots were apparently fired from an imitation gun.

• A 16-year-old was questioned on suspicion of trying to carry out an armed robbery at a petrol station in Didcot (Oxfordshire): he was brandishing a BB gun or an airgun.

• In Lancashire two men apparently used an imitation firearm when they stole cash from a takeaway driver in Morecambe, and a man was threatened with a BB gun in Fishwick.

• A ball-bearing gun was recovered after a man demanded money at a pub in Gateshead: a man is in custody.

• The police dealt with a number of incidents involving youths carrying imitation guns in public.

  • A youth was spotted brandishing a weapon that looked like an AK47 assault rifle at Newton Station (Greater Manchester): a boy has been arrested.

  • A BB gun was confiscated from three youths after reports of a teenager brandishing a gun in Calne (Wiltshire).

  • Four youths were arrested over the summer in South Shields (Tyneside) following incidents involving BB guns.

  • Armed police were called to a housing estate in Rushden (Northamptonshire) after a youth was spotted with a ball-bearing gun.

  • A BB gun was recovered when two youths were arrested by police after an incident in a Lincoln street.

  • Police arrested six teenagers after they were seen firing handguns (BB guns) at each other along the A158 in Lincolnshire.

  • Two young men spotted waving a BB gun out of a car in Southport were released without charge.

  • An 11-year-old was made to hand over a BB gun after two boys were spotted with a gun in Caterham (Surrey).

  • A 16-year-old handed over an imitation gun after an armed response unit was called to the centre of Nottingham.

• A man was arrested after a blank-firing firearm was found in baggage at Blackpool airport.

• A gun shop owner in York has been placed on City of York Council's Staff Warning Register after allegedly threatening a council worker with a replica rifle.

• Convictions (Imitation Guns) - Two BB guns were found in the getaway car of two men who have now been sentenced to 11 years and six years for offences relating to a series of armed raids on bookmakers in Raynes Park and Twickenham, a bank raid in Barnes and off licences in Acton.

• A man was jailed for three years after he had pointed an imitation AK47 at a female police officer in Corby (Northamptonshire): the man also had a replica pistol.

• Two 18-year-olds were jailed for a year each after an attack with a BB gun on a pedestrian in Carlisle.  Another man was jailed for 15 months for an attack on a man in Swindon with a BB gun: one of the pellets punctured the victim's skin.  A man has been sent to prison for six months after shooting a woman in the bottom with a ball-bearing gun in Rhyl (North Wales).

• A 20-year-old was found guilty of robbing a student whilst armed with an imitation gun in Strood and has been jailed for six years.  A 15-year-old was given two years probation after robbing school children in Shrewsbury whilst armed with an imitation gun.

• Two men who threatened and demanded money from victims on a bus in Derbyshire, whilst armed with an imitation handgun, were jailed for 14 months and 2 years.

• A 20-year-old man was given a caution and an 18-year-old charged with possessing an imitation firearm in public after an incident in Derby recorded by CCTV cameras in July.

• No action was taken against a Devizes (Wiltshire) man who had been seen at a supermarket with a gun stuck in his belt (police raided his home and recovered a BB gun).

• Incidents Involving Animals - In addition to another catalogue of incidents in which cats have been shot and injured with air weapons (in Carlisle, Hartlepool, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Nottinghamshire) there was a further report of a swan being killed with an air rifle (in York) and an airgun attack on a horse (near Peebles).

 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.5 License.