Gun Incidents in Great Britain

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BBC News, 4 June 2013Christopher Sims, 40, has been jailed for a minimum of 16 years for a campaign of harassment against a couple in their 60s in which he shot dead their dog and attacked them at their home in Longparish, Hampshire, and assaulted two other men in the county. He used the Internet to scope out the couple's home before conducting a 16-month campaign of unmotivated harassment in which he shot dead their pet, attacked them several times causing the male victim grievous bodily harm, and stole a car, leaving them afraid to walk outside alone and requiring anti-depressants and sleeping medication. He also attacked a 74-year-old man with a lump hammer and assaulted a 22-year-old on two occasions with a hammer and coshes. Sims has been diagnosed with a personality disorder, which caused him believe that he had been cheated out of money in his failed business and that he was in contact with high-level police officers and MI5, and he has received treatment in hospital for the condition.

News & Star

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Scott Robinson was jailed in July after pleading guilty to possessing a firearm with a barrel of less than 30 cm in length.  A sawn-off shotgun was found in the wardrobe of his bedsit in Penrith, Cumbria, when his landlord took re-possession.  He had originally planned to kill himself with the gun, which he had shortened after taking it from his uncle who had a farm.  He was sentenced to five years in jail but has failed to have the sentence cut at the Court of Appeal.

Express & Star

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Two men, one a teenager, who are on trial both deny two charges of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, two of possession an firearm or imitation firearm to cause fear of violence and violent disorder.  The charges follow a shooting in which a nightclub boss and two bouncers were hit when at least five shots were fired from two Russian-made pistols in Bilston, West Midlands, in September 2008 (see Incidents).

the Leader

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While a family was enjoying their Christmas dinner at their home in Connah's Quay, Flintshire, an unknown assailant reportedly fired an air weapon at the front window, causing it to shatter. A toddler and a baby were among those in the room at the time of the attack but no one was harmed. The incident has been reported to police.

The Star

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A court has heard that a woman was shot at "point blank" range with a double-barrelled shotgun by her partner at their home in Thorne, South Yorkshire, in March 2009 (see Incidents).  The victim was shot after a heated argument over money.  The defendant stored a number of legally-owned weapons in a gun cabinet, but an earlier visitor had seen a shotgun propped up next to the hi-fi and witnessed the defendant running out into the garden to shoot a magpie.  The witness is quoted as saying "He always sits on the settee with the gun at arms reach away.  The gun was loaded to pounce on a cat that had been coming into the garden".

Norwich Evening News

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A woman was shot in the ankle with an airgun on her way to a hotel in Norwich, Norfolk. The impact caused her ankle to bleed, and when it failed to heal an X-ray revealed that the pellet had lodged in her leg. Police have appealed for information.

The Press

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Lasncashire Telegrah

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Lancashire Telegraph, 19 August 2010
A woman brandishing an air rifle went into a store in Darwen, Lancashire, and demanded vodka.  She was disarmed by an employee and a customer.  The woman was arrested on suspicion of robbery.  The gun turned out to be unloaded.

Telegraph & Argus

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Four men have been jailed for their roles in the torture, abduction and murder of a man from Bradford.  Anthony Davies recruited Decosta Daniel, Errol Witter and Robert Cameron, who were armed with an imitation gun and a wrench when they broke into a house in August 2007 and attacked the victim.  They had been jailed for life in August 2008 for murder and conspiracy to rob.  Davies and his subordinate Darren Martin, Johnny Daniels and Anthony Neale were jailed for a minimum of 35 years, a minimum of 24 years, 13 years and 12 years, respectively.

Shropshire Star

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Richard Cavey, aged 56 and from Telford, Shropshire, has been handed a suspended four-week prison term and ordered to pay costs after pleading guilty to failing to securely store a .22 calibre BRNO rifle and a side-by-side shotgun, and failing to store the BRNO rifle at another address when not in use as conditions of possession dictated. The offences occurred in June 2023. Magistrates said a custodial sentence was justified because of the insecure storage at an address other than that specified on his licence created a “substantial risk that the items could be taken out of the defendant's possession”. The firearms and ammunition will be forfeited and destroyed under the Prevention of Crime Act 1953.