Gun Incident Summary - September 2009

For the second month running and for the third time this year a boy has been killed after being shot with an air weapon. The death of the 10-year-old from Swansea was described as another "tragic accident" but provided another awful reminder of the lethality of airguns. Yet these weapons continue to be treated in a way which is far too casual for something so dangerous. They are not being stored properly, they are not being kept out of the hands of unsupervised youngsters and they are not being kept away from those who would use them to cause harm. It is a situation which makes it too easy for a group of teenagers to fire an air rifle at a group of toddlers at a birthday party, as happened in Melton Mowbray this month, for a mother and her baby to be showered with glass on a bus in Milton Keynes, for three other people to be randomly targeted by airgun snipers and for attacks on family pets and protected birds to continue to occur all too frequently. The incidents reported this month emphasise once again the need for a registration system in which ownership would be limited to those with a genuine need to have an airgun with an obligation to store the weapons appropriately and prevent their misuse in the type of incident reported in these summaries every month.

Gun Deaths and Injuries - There were eight fatal shooting incidents in September. All of the victims were male.
Six of the shootings were apparent homicides which occurred in:
- Bedfordshire - a man was shot in a street in Luton (a 17-year-old has been charged with murder)
- Derbyshire - a taxi driver found dead in the boot of his vehicle had been beaten and shot (a man has been charged with murder)
- Greater Manchester - a man was shot on his doorstep in Oldham (two brothers have been charged with murder)
- London - a man was shot dead at a house in West Norwood (south London), and another victim died after being shot in the street in Hackney (east London) (two teenagers have been accused of murder)
- West Yorkshire - a man was shot dead in a lay-by in Clayton West (Huddersfield) (one man has been arrested).
A man apparently shot and killed himself with a revolver after walking into a pub in Fazakerley (Liverpool).
A 10-year-old from Swansea died when he was shot with an airgun, reported to be his father's air pistol, whilst playing with another boy.
An inquest heard how a woman from Malvern (Worcestershire) purchased an air rifle the day before she shot herself dead with the weapon at her home in May - a verdict of suicide was recorded.
A number of other victims were injured in shooting attacks. These occurred mostly in London and the West Midlands, and the number of incidents in South London, particularly in the Wandsworth area, and Birmingham must be of particular concern.
- Berkshire (1) - a man was shot four times at a mobile home park in Crowthorne (a man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder)
- Glasgow (2) - a man was seriously injured and his partner sustained minor injuries in a shooting in Pollok in which the victim's dog was killed
- North London (7) - five teenagers suffered gunshot wounds in an incident in Tottenham (five people including one of the victims were detained), and two men, one a teenager, were shot in separate incidents in the same street in Leyton
- South London (9) - a man was shot twice in the leg in Roehampton, two men were shot in Battersea in possibly linked incidents (five youths have been arrested), a man was shot in the shoulder in Southfields, another victim was shot in the leg in Tooting, two teenage boys, aged 15 and 16, were shot with a shotgun in Wandsworth (the younger boy was in a serious condition after being hit in the back), a shop worker was critically injured when he was shot during a robbery in Croydon (two men and a woman have been arrested) and a teenager was shot and injured in Wandsworth
- West Midlands (8) - a man was shot in a street in Birmingham (two men have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder), a teenager was hit in the leg in Small Heath, two men were shot at a private party in Balsall Heath, two others were injured in a shooting in Aston, a 16-year-old was shot in the neck in Bell Green (Coventry) and a man was shot in the leg at a club in Brierley Hill
One man was shot and seriously injured by police marksmen during an operation in Haslingden (Lancashire) - a number of different guns are reported to have been fired during the incident (three men have been arrested).
A man from Exeter shot himself in the chest with his rifle as he was putting it back in its cabinet after returning from hunting.
At least 14 other people, many of them children or teenagers and some female, were injured in shootings with BB guns or airguns:
- A girl was allegedly shot with an air rifle in Whitchurch (Shropshire) (a man has been arrested), a man was shot in the stomach with an air rifle whilst attending a party in Torquay (Devon), three toddlers at a birthday party in Melton Mowbray (Leicestershire) were targeted with an air rifle as they played on a trampoline (four teenagers were arrested), a 17-year-old was shot in the stomach with an airgun in Corby (Northamptonshire) and a mother and her baby were showered with glass when a bus was shot at with an airgun in Milton Keynes.
- A man was shot with a BB gun outside a nightclub in Crystal Palace (south London), a woman walking her dog in Cheltenham (Gloucestershire) is believed to have been hit with a ball-bearing gun pellet, children playing in a park in Blackpool (Lancashire) were shot at by six youths with ball bearing guns (one boy was injured; three youths were given youth referral orders and a number of guns were confiscated), a 10-year-old boy was assaulted with a BB gun by older youths in Gloucester, an 11-year-old boy was shot in the face with a pellet gun at a school in Wembley (north west London) and a 16-year-old shot at with a BB gun, beaten and pistol whipped by other teenagers in Billericay (Essex).
- A teenage girl attacked in Chiswick (west London) may have been injured with an imitation firearm (an 18-year-old have been charged with GBH with intent and possession of an imitation firearm to cause fear and violence).
A female travel agent was shot in the arm with a stun gun during a robbery in Ashton (Greater Manchester).

Armed Hold-Ups and Assaults - There were robberies and attempted robberies allegedly involving guns at Banks and Post Offices in Melbourne (Derby) and Staple Tye (Essex), Bookmakers in Bury (Greater Manchester) (a shotgun was used), Hornsey (north London) and Bradford, a Petrol Station in Bilston (West Midlands) (a handgun), Pubs, Restaurants and Cafés in Horton Cross (Somerset), Chadderton (Greater Manchester) (a handgun), Cheshunt (Hertfordshire) and West Vale (West Yorkshire) (an airgun), Shops in Benton (Tyneside) (a shotgun; two men have been charged), Burnley (Lancashire) (a shotgun; two people were arrested), Sandiacre (Derbyshire) (a stun gun), Hoole (Chester) (an imitation firearm), Kettering (Northamptonshire) (one man was hit with the barrel of a shotgun; two men were being questioned), Northampton (a handgun), Croydon (a shop worker was shot and critically injured - see above) and Hurst Green (Surrey) (a shotgun was fired) and a Travel Agents in Ashton (Greater Manchester) (a stun gun; a woman was injured - see above).
Security men were robbed of cash at a petrol station in Braidwood (Lanarkshire), in Battersea (south London; shots were fired) and Kempston (Bedfordshire) (a shotgun was used).
A robber who threatened his landlady in Hove (Sussex) before escaping with £200 in cash was charged with five other robberies in Sussex, on premises in Brighton, Haywards Heath and Crawley - a replica handgun was found by police.
A car was stolen from a woman in Buttershaw (Bradford) by a man with a handgun. A taxi driver was robbed and injured and threatened with what is believed to have been a firearm in Walker (Tyneside). A youngster had a gun held to his head in Hollinwood (Greater Manchester) by teenagers who demanded his bike. A burger van trader had a cash card and cash stolen and his van trashed by four robbers with a gun in Nottingham.
A man was arrested after a number of thefts in streets in Wood Green (north London) - he was charged with eight counts of robbery and attempted robbery and seven counts of possessing an imitation firearm. Two men armed with a stun gun stole a wallet from a man on a canal towpath in Long Eaton (Derbyshire). A man was robbed of his phone and cash in Whitby (North Yorkshire) by two men armed with what is believed to have been a handgun.
A teenager was charged with robbery after a handbag was stolen at a music festival near Aspatria (Cumbria) - he is reported to have brandished a replica firearm.
A man has been accused of brandishing an imitation handgun and robbing a security van in Ilford (east London) in June this year.

Other Incidents - Shots were fired during a number of other incidents:
- Bedfordshire - a gunman fired a shot outside a club in Luton
- Birmingham - a road was closed in Bordesley after shots were fired
- Cheshire - a gun was fired in a street in Winsford
- Essex - a man has charged with possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life after gunshots were head in a car park in Southend (a handgun was recovered)
- Leicester - two men were charged with attempted murder after shots were fired
- London - a car was damaged in a street in Gants Hill, another car was damaged on an estate in Tulse Hill and a front door was hit by shotgun pellets in Battersea
- Merseyside - shots were fired at four people in a car in Everton, and three shots were fired at a house in West Derby
- Scotland - the front door of a house in Dalkeith (Midlothian) was shot at during the night, probably with a shotgun
- Somerset - a shotgun was fired through the letterbox at a home near Brushford
- West Yorkshire - shots were fired at the occupant of a vehicle in Birkby, and a shotgun was fired from a car in West Bowling (Bradford), shattering a window in another vehicle
In Battersea (south London) a man tried to shoot a gun from the back of a motorbike.
A woman was threatened with a shotgun by two men who smashed into her home in Droylsden (Greater Manchester).
Three men from Birmingham were charged after police found a loaded sawn-off shotgun in a car. A man from Plymouth has been accused of a number of offences involving a number of different guns including a shotgun, a handgun and stun gun. Following an incident in Ayr a man was charged with possession of a firearm and a woman faces other charges. A man from Ribbleton (Lancashire) has been charged with possessing a handgun and possessing a gun when prohibited from doing so. A man from Golders Green (north London) faces a charge of possessing a prohibited firearm and ammunition as well as other charges after police searched thousands of safety deposit boxes. Seven men were arrested in a series of raids in Huyton (Merseyside) as part of a crackdown on gun crime.
North Wales Police mounted a search after reports of men being seen with guns in a nature reserve in Conwy.
A teenager from Blackbird Leys (Oxford) was arrested after brandishing a stun 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 at least six robberies allegedly carried out by the same man in Sussex, the theft of a handbag in Cumbria, seven street robberies allegedly committed by one man in Wood Green (north London), in a security van hold up in Ilford (east London) and robberies at a pub in West Vale (West Yorkshire) and a shop in Hoole (Cheshire). The frequent use of imitation firearms in armed robberies is also apparent from media reports of court cases (see below).
A 16-year-old was arrested following a siege at a house in Marshchapel (Lincolnshire) - an air weapon and knife were recovered.
In Mansfield (Nottinghamshire) a man was charged with possession of a BB gun with intent to cause fear of violence.
In Bellsbank (Ayrshire) armed police were called to an incident in which three teenagers had a plastic BB gun.
A 19-year-old was arrested and a BB gun seized after a man was seen wielding a handgun at a bowling alley in Ipswich.
More than 40 people had to be evacuated from a building in Swindon (Wiltshire) - a man was arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm, allegedly a replica, in a public place
Two men were arrested in Walton (Surrey), one for affray and possession of a ball bearing gun after what is believed to have been a drinking session
Two teenagers were charged with possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence after a brawl in Chorley (Lancashire)
One of two brothers involved in a fight in Bristol in July has been charged with possession of an imitation handgun
A 16-year-old was arrested on suspicion of possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence after two youths were seen pointing pistols at motorists in York
Seven teenagers were arrested after they filmed YouTube videos of themselves with an imitation gun in Wood Green and Hornsey (north London).
A woman forced to flee her home in Scotstoun (Glasgow) discovered weapons, including an airgun, belonging to her neighbours in a communal cupboard.
The following acts of vandalism were carried out with airguns and BB guns:
- Airguns were probably used to damage a school bus in Cardiff, two cars driving along the same road in Warfield (Berkshire), three cars whose drivers reported damage in Oswaldtwistle (Lancashire), other cars in Sheringham and North Walsham (Norfolk) and in Halifax (West Yorkshire), the Coastwatch station in Felixstowe (Suffolk), the windows of a charity base in Scunthorpe (Humberside) and a care home window in Bridlington (East Yorkshire)
- Windows were shattered at a home in Dorking (Surrey) possibly as a result of an attack with a BB gun, the window of a home in Bishop's Cleeve (Gloucestershire) was smashed with a BB gun pellet and another house window was damaged in Almondbury (West Yorkshire) by a BB gun or air weapon
Five teenagers were arrested in Walmer (Kent) when a paintball gun was fired at cars and houses.
A 15-year-old has been cautioned for possession of an imitation firearm in Whitley (Berkshire). A man was charged with possessing an air weapon in a public place after being seen carrying the weapon in Polegate (East Sussex).
A ball bearing gun was among items confiscated from away fans at a football match in Oxford.
Imitation guns were confiscated by police from two shops and a market stall in Burnley.

Guns Recoveries and Thefts - Guns were found during searches in which drugs were recovered in Lower Caversham (Berkshire) (a blank-firing pistol) and Cardonald (Glasgow).
A gun was recovered during a series of raids in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire aimed at organised crime, and police found a cache of air weapons during a raid in Houston (Renfrewshire).
A shotgun and cartridges were stolen from a home in Rhyl (Clwyd), and three shotguns were among items stolen from a house in Chinnor (Oxfordshire).
An air rifle was stolen from a flat in Leamington Spa (Warwickshire) by men who threatened the owner with the gun, an air pistol was stolen from the boot of a car in Bolton (Lancashire) and a .22 air rifle was stolen from a car in Meltham (West Yorkshire).

Incidents Involving Animals - More animals and birds suffered as a result of shooting incidents reported during September, some of which were fatal. Cats fell victim to a number of airgun and pellet gun attacks, this month in Derbyshire, Essex (two incidents), Lincolnshire (two incidents), Suffolk, Surrey and Swansea
There were reports from Cheshire and the West Midlands of swans and geese being shot. A rare kestrel was shot with a BB gun in Tyneside and a protected peregrine falcon was found wounded following a shotgun attack in North Yorkshire.

Convictions - A man has been found guilty of murder following the death of his partner who was shot at "point blank" range at their home in Thorne (South Yorkshire) with the killer's legally-owned shotgun - he will serve a minimum of 21 years. A man has pleaded guilty to murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life - he shot and killed a man with a revolver in Mottingham (south London). A man who shot dead a teenager in Walworth (south London) was found guilty of murder and will serve at least 32 years.
A man has been jailed indefinitely for an attack on a 15-year-old girl and a robbery in which he was armed with a gun and a knife - both crimes took place in Kingsbury (north west London).
A teenager, one of eight men responsible for serious violence and disorder in Leeds, was given a 12 year sentence for various offences including possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear and violence and possession of a prohibited weapon.
Three men were found guilty of their involvement in a gunpoint kidnapping of two shopworkers who were falsely imprisoned in Plumstead (south east London) - three others had already pleaded guilty.
One of two men responsible for an armed robbery at a home in Torquay during which three men were tied up at gunpoint and stamps stolen has been found guilty and jailed for at least 10 years.
A man thought to have been armed with a gun when he robbed a betting shop in Brighton has been jailed for 4 years. A man has admitted robbery and possession of a gun following a robbery at a store in Tilehurst (Berkshire).
An 18-year-old from Timperley (Cheshire) was jailed for three years after pleading guilty to possessing a sawn-off shotgun and other charges. A 19-year-old woman was sentenced to two years for hiding a revolver for a man at her home in Cricklewood (north west London).
An ex-Scotland international under-19 shooter from Longniddry (East Lothian) was jailed for nearly 4 years after pleading guilty to 8 charges relating to the purchase of prohibited weapons over the internet.
Four teenagers from Parson Cross (Sheffield) have been jailed for between 2 and 4½ years after displaying weapons including shotguns on social networking sites.
A man from Newport (Gwent) was given a conditional discharge after pleading guilty to possession of rimfire ammunition.
Four men were given sentences of between six and eight years for a series of raids on stores in the West Midlands in which they were armed with a stun gun, hammers and knives. A man who used a stun gun to beat his victim during a street robbery in Glasgow has been jailed for 5½ years. An Oxford woman who pleaded guilty to managing brothels received a further 18 months sentence for possession of a stun gun and a knife.
A police officer who shot a civilian worker during a training exercise in Kidlington (Oxfordshire) pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety rules. Thames Valley Police who had also pleaded guilty were fined £40,000.

Gun Factories (Convictions) - There were two more examples in September of how the easy availability of replica weapons has provided a supply of real guns for criminal use. A man who bought up replica firearms and starting pistols and converted them in his home in Huyton (Merseyside), and was described as a "dealer in death" by the judge, was jailed for 20 years after pleading guilty to a number of charges of conspiring to supply guns and ammunition - other members of the gang were convicted and three have been sentenced to between 30 months and 7 years. Another man, an ex-soldier who used skills he acquired in the Royal Artillery to convert replica guns into real weapons in factories in Essex and Bath, pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, converting imitation firearms into real guns and possessing or manufacturing prohibited ammunitions - the weapons he converted were supplied to street gangs in Liverpool, Manchester and the West Midlands and have been linked to 28 incidents including one alleged murder.

Airguns and Imitation Guns (Court Cases) - Three men were cleared of firearms charges following the death of a teenage girl who was shot in the eye with an airgun pellet at a party in Bury - they were cleared of possessing a firearm without a licence because the .22 airgun did not require one.
A man who shot a postman in Barrhead (Renfrewshire) with an air pistol has been jailed for 3 years and 9 months. Another man has admitted assaulting and injuring a young teenager by firing a BB gun at him in Cumnock (Ayrshire).
A 19-year-old from Leeswood (Clwyd) who held an air rifle to the head of a man has admitted possessing his father's gun with intent to cause fear of violence and received 2 years youth custody. An offender who drunkenly pointed an air rifle at his partner's chest at their home in Worcester was given a 16 week suspended custodial sentence and ordered to carry out 60 hours unpaid work. Another man who had been drinking heavily has admitted brandishing an airgun at a police officer during an incident in Tenterden (Kent) - he pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and two other offences. A man who waved a toy gun at police in Melton Mowbray admitted affray and possession of an imitation firearm and was given a suspended 15-week jail sentence.
A man who called paramedics to his home in Worthing (Sussex) and pointed a gun at them was found guilty of possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and jailed for 4 years.
A man involved in a siege at his house in Cresswell (Northumberland) threatened to kill himself and suffered superficial wounds from a .22 air rifle - he admitted possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear and was jailed for 21 months. Another man who pointed an air rifle at himself during a siege at a house in Kilmacolm (Renfrewshire) has pleaded guilty to various offences. A man was stopped from hurting himself by two police officers when he walked into a police station in Woodford (Essex) armed with an airgun and a kitchen knife - he was found guilty of possessing an air weapon and possessing a knife.
A woman arrested in Glasgow with a toy gun has admitted possession of an imitation firearm and possessing such an item with intent to commit assault - she had travelled over 200 miles with the apparent intention to attack her husband.
A man who sparked a gun scare when he was seen with an air pistol on a train and in a taxi in Airdrie (Lanarkshire) has been jailed for 16 months after admitting two charges of possessing a firearm with intent to cause someone to believe that unlawful violence might be used. Another man from Burton (Staffordshire) admitting possessing an imitation handgun with intent to cause three men to fear that unlawful violence would take place.
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 Dundonald (Ayrshire) (the man admitted presenting an imitation firearm), Bearwood (Dorset) (a man has been jailed for 3 years) and in Brislington (Bristol) when a store supervisor was shot in the back with a gas-powered air pistol (a man has been convicted and jailed for 10 years)
- at bookmakers in north west London (two men were sentenced to 3 years and 18 months) and in north London and Hertfordshire (two brothers have been jailed for 6 years)
- at homes in Hartlepool (one of the men who pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary and possession of an imitation firearm was armed with a fake submachine gun), Crewe (Cheshire) (five men pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary and possession of an imitation firearm) and Doncaster in which one of three men brandished an imitation firearm (he was given a 39 month sentence)
- in Pinner (north west London) where motorists were targeted (a man has been sentenced to 6 years in a detention centre)
- in Birmingham where the offenders' brother-in-law was pistol-whipped and his taxi taken (two men were jailed for 8 years)
- in a robbery in Woking (Surrey) in which the victim was ambushed after the placement of fake car adverts on the internet (two men have been jailed for 7 and 6 years)
A man who walked into a pharmacy in Paisley (Renfrewshire) with a fake gun whilst "out of it" has been jailed for 10 months.
A 16-year-old has admitted breaching his curfew order, possession of a fake gun (an imitation handgun) and assaulting a police officer in Sunderland.
A man and a woman caught with an imitation firearm and cannabis plants at their home in Little Downham (Cambridgeshire) were given suspended prison sentences and community service.
Two teenagers who were firing an air rifle on wasteland in Hartlepool admitted having a weapon in a public place and were fined £65 each. A man arrested in Weston-super-Mare (Somerset) was given a suspended 12-week prison sentence after pleading guilty to possessing an air rifle in a public place.