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NOVEMBER 2007 - SUMMARY
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Click here for pdf version (includes full
list of incidents)
See the Full List of Incidents
At the end of the month police mounted
raids in London, Merseyside, Manchester and West Midlands which resulted in
over one hundred arrests and the seizure of over 1300 guns as part of the
Tackling Gangs Action Programme. The majority of these guns were
imitation firearms. On 1 October measures in the Violent Crime
Reduction Act were implemented which made it illegal to manufacture, import
and sell realistic imitation guns. In view of the seizures there can
be no doubt that these measures were long overdue. During November
police and trading standards officers in a number of areas confiscated
imitation guns in warehouses and shops, and Gun Control Network was pleased
to see that positive action is being taken to ensure that the measures in
the VCR Act are enforced.
The extent to which imitation guns,
together with airguns, continue to contribute to a significant proportion of
gun crime can be seen once again from the incidents reported in November.
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Gun
Deaths and Injuries - Another London teenager was shot
dead in November (the 17-year-old was killed in Stoke
Newington, north London). Two men died in Merseyside,
one in his home in Liverpool (three people were arrested), the
other in a gangland-style shooting in
Speke. Another man was shot dead in Chilham
(Kent) (a man was arrested but released on bail).
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The lethal nature of air weapons
was in evidence again when a 17-year-old died
after being shot with an air rifle in Maesglas (South Wales)
in what was described as a tragic accident. An
8-year-old boy from Cheswardine (Shropshire) was fighting for his
life after being shot with an airgun in another 'tragic
accident' (see below).
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A 16-year-old was the victim in
a shooting in Mitcham (south London) (he was shot in the leg) and a 14-year-old was
shot in the face whilst riding a bike in Huyton (Merseyside). In
a further serious shooting in Merseyside a man was badly injured in Allerton.
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Armed Hold-Ups and Assaults - There were robberies or
attempted robberies on an off licence in Westhoughton
(Lancashire), a cash and carry in Milton Keynes and shops in
Dedham (Essex) and Barrowfield (Lancashire). One man
is believed to have been responsible for a series of robberies
on bookmakers, a post office and a travel agents in Manchester, Salford
and Stockport. There were armed raids on petrol
stations in Newton (Lancashire) and Weymouth (Dorset).
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A fast food delivery man was
robbed of cash in Balham (south London) and a taxi driver was
threatened at gunpoint in Pease Pottage (West Sussex). A
lorry was stolen in Caerwys (North Wales) and its driver
driven to Lancashire.
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A woman was robbed by armed
raiders at home in Coalville
(Leicestershire) and two women were robbed in the street, one in Beaumont
Leys (Leicester) (the gunman was on a motorcycle) and the
other outside a bank in Birtley (County Durham).
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A motorist, who earlier in the year
was robbed at gunpoint of his car and other items in Harrow
(north west London), has complained that police treated him as
a suspect: one of the gang responsible has since pleaded
guilty to robbery.
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Other Incidents - A man was arrested after a gun was fired
through the letterbox of a property in the Rothwell area of
Leeds. A gunman opened fire three times in as many
weeks in the same street in Dovecot (Merseyside).
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A delivery van was damaged after
the driver was forced to pull over on the M90 in Perthshire
and a shot was fired from a rifle.
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Six people were arrested after two men were
seen with guns at a bar in Streatham (south London).
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A man suspected of having a gun in
Sunderland was incapacitated with a stun gun fired by police.
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A man seen brandishing a firearm
in Manningham was being sought by West Yorkshire Police.
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Gun Finds and
Thefts - Over 1300 firearms, the vast majority of them
imitation guns, were seized by police in co-ordinated raids in
Manchester, London, Liverpool and Birmingham as part of the
Tackling Gangs Action Programme.
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Two arrests have been made after a haul
of guns was found
in Croxteth (Merseyside) in September (the arrests have been
linked to the murder of Rhys Jones in August).
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A sawn-off shot gun was seized
from a house in Gateshead (Tyneside) and two men arrested.
A man was arrested in Huddersfield
after a sawn-off shotgun, a stun gun and cannabis were found.
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Police found a gun on wasteground in
Huyton (Merseyside)
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Guns were stolen from a gun shop in Bolton after an
employee was kidnapped.
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An air rifle was stolen from a property
in Winterbourne Gunner (Wiltshire).
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Convictions (see also Imitation Guns and Airgun
Incidents) - A life sentence has been given to a man for the murder of another man in
Birmingham whom he pursued and shot after the victim witnessed
a raid on a building society. He was caught after
another armed robbery in Great Barr (Birmingham).
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A man was jailed for 16 years
for the attempted murder of a man in Walthamstow (north east
London): the victim was lucky to survive after being left with
a bullet in his liver.
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Two men were sentenced to 18 and 15
years for a robbery in Finchley Road (north London) during
which shots were fired at a police officer.
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A shooting victim who lied about
the circumstances of the incident in Harrow (north west
London) was jailed for two years.
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Airguns - An airgun shooting claimed another life when a
17-year-old who was killed in Maesglas (South Wales) in an
apparent accident. An
8-year-old boy from Shropshire was fighting for his life after
being shot in the head with an airgun, also reported to be an
accident.
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Victims who were shot with
airgun pellets in November included a number of children and
youngsters
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A 9-year-old girl was in
hospital after being hit in the head with an airgun pellet in
Shard End (Birmingham)
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A 13-year-old girl was hit with
an air rifle shot in Welwyn Garden City (Hertfordshire)
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A schoolboy was hit in Nelson
(Lancashire)
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A woman shot in the neck in Bury
(Greater Manchester) and needed surgery in hospital (three
people have been arrested)
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A 17-year-old door-to-door
salesman was hit with an air rifle pellet on an estate in
Blackpool
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There were reports of three
airgun incidents in Darlington including one in which a
pregnant woman was hit.
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A builder was hit in the back
with a pellet in Corby (Northamptonshire)
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A motorcyclist's helmet was
shattered when he was fired at in Loddiswell (Devon)
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A man threatening to harm himself
in Horden (County Durham) was armed with an air rifle.
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A man was arrested after
pointing an air rifle at staff at a kebab shop in Whitstable
(Kent)
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Shots from an airgun were fired
at houses in Rugby and in Glasgow (the home of Tommy Sheridan
who has campaigned to tighten airgun laws in Scotland).
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A car was damaged in Irchester
(Northamptonshire) in an incident which is believed to have
involved an airgun being fired from another vehicle.
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Windows at a theatre in Aberdeen
have been damaged by airgun pellets.
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Convictions - A man who
hoped to be shot by armed police whilst armed with a gas-fired
air pistol in Harrogate has been given an 18-month community
order
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A man who showed off an airgun
in a pub in Urmston (Greater Manchester) has been jailed for
five months.
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A 17-year-old from Tranent (East
Lothian) has been given an Asbo after terrorising the town by
brandishing an air rifle.
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A man from Bathgate (West
Lothian) who pointed an air weapon at two police officers has
pleaded guilty to assaulting the officers by threatening to
shoot them will be sentenced next month. Another man who
pointed an airgun at police officers was jailed for two years
after an incident outside his home in Rassau (South Wales)
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Imitation Guns - A woman was hurt during a probable attack
with a BB gun as she walked in Chippenham (Wiltshire).
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A nine-year-old was robbed by a
youth armed with a BB gun in Dalton (Huddersfield). An
imitation gun was used in an attempted robbery in Williton
(Somerset) following which a woman was arrested.
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A couple in Northampton have been
subjected to threatening behaviour at their home which has included ball-bearing guns being fired at
their windows.
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Bus passengers in Hartlepool
were showered with glass after someone fired a pellet gun. Vandals
with BB guns have damaged a shop in Harleston (Norfolk).
A car being driven in Peterborough was damaged by a shot from
a BB gun.
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In Peterlee (County Durham) a
youth was spotted with an AK-57 assault rifle later
found to be a ball-bearing gun. An armed response was
triggered
by a boy who threatened his friend with an imitation gun in
Walney (Cumbria). A 14-year-old was arrested for
allegedly carrying an imitation gun at his school in Crawley
(Sussex).
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A man brandishing a BB gun and a samurai
sword in Exmouth (Devon) was stopped with a Taser gun.
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Convictions - A man
has admitted six charges after a series of raids across the
country on banks and
building societies when he was armed with a BB gun.
Three
men have been jailed for their part in two armed robberies in
South Wales during which an imitation firearm was brandished.
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A 16-year-old pleaded guilty to
having a plastic gun in public in Port Glasgow (sentence has
been deferred).
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A teenage soldier was fined
after admitting possessing an imitation gun in Holywell (North
Wales).
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Incidents Involving Animals - Airgun attacks on animals
continue to occur with sickening frequency. Reports in
November described attacks on swans in Merseyside and
Denbighshire and cats in Angus, Cambridgeshire, Cumbria,
Gloucestershire, Greater Manchester, Lincolnshire, Norfolk and
Worcestershire.
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In Sussex the RSPCA warned
youngsters that shooting animals with airguns was not only
cruel but illegal.
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.5 License.
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