25 October 2006
To Whom It May
Concern:
My son Mitchel aged 12
was killed 10 weeks ago, he was shot in the eye with an air
rifle. He had gone to a friend’s house with another boy aged
12. At the house the 12-year-old boy got his air rifle out in
the bedroom and let the others shoot at targets in the garden.
The other boy loaded the air rifle with a pellet and he then
pointed it at my son to scare him, he then pulled the trigger
and killed him. The boy whose house it was had been left on
his own during the school holiday while his parents had gone
to work. My children always had someone at home to look after
them, and any other children who came to play at our house
were safe and supervised. If I had any idea that there were
air rifles at this house and the house was unsupervised, then
Mitchel would not have been allowed to play there.
The boy who shot Mitchel
has been charged with manslaughter. Court Case pending.
The other boy did not
get charged with anything.
The father of the boy
whose house and gun it was has also not been charged, he had
brought the air rifle as a gift for his son, and he has told
the police that he had brought the air rifle for his child but
he was to have it when he became 14. He is also a shot gun
license owner, who told police he tried to lock the air rifle
in his gun cabinet and it would not fit, so he left it out
with the pellets within easy reach, why did he not lock the
pellets away? He told the police he did not know his son was
using the air rifle while he was not there. The police and
the CPS have both said that he is partly responsible for what
has happened but he has been well informed what to say and
this would not stand up in court.
We feel very let down by
the law system and the police- to be told that leaving an air
rifle together with pellets unsupervised in a house is not
committing a crime. We are now seeking legal advice to pursue
this matter ourselves.
We feel very strongly
that air rifles should be treated as a firearm and fall under
the same restrictions and not treated as “toys” these air
rifles kill and badly injure people yet are readily available
in toy shops and on the internet. How many more people need
to be killed or badly injured to make people stand up and take
notice? How different would it be if it was Tony Blair’s son
that had been killed in this way?
A time scale must be set
for air rifles to be licensed and sales restricted to
registered air rifle suppliers for all new air rifles sold.
All air rifles in existence should be licensed with a time
period of say 2 years. An air rifle amnesty should also go
ahead to give people the opportunity to give air rifles up.
Please help us, our
family has been devastated, Mitch was a kind, caring, healthy
and fun loving boy, who touched the hearts of many. He had
everything to look forward to and so did we.
We cannot bring Mitch
back, our only way forward now is to prevent senseless acts
like this happening. We do not want other families to
experience the horrific hurt and loss that we have had. Air
rifles should not get in the hands of children or
irresponsible adults.
Please help
Yours sincerely
Mr & Mrs Picken
