Gun Deaths and Injuries - There were five fatal shooting incidents reported during December. Three males died in apparent gun homicides: Cheshire (1) - a man died after being shot in the head in Hale Village London (2) - a man was fatally shot in the chest in Hayes, and a 17-year old died when he was shot in Peckham (two males are being held and three others have been freed) A man died of a self-inflicted shotgun wound in an incident in Old Bridge of Urr
(Kirkcudbrightshire) in which another man, his wife's lover, was also shot (see below). A man was shot dead by armed police after an 8-hour siege at a house in
Kirkheaton (West Yorkshire) - a police officer had earlier been shot and injured (see below).

In another incident involving armed police a man was shot in the throat in Eltham (south-east London) during a pre-planned raid on a commercial property (5 people including the injured man were arrested).

Sixteen other victims were shot, five of them with airguns or a BB gun (see below): Devon (1) - a man was shot, apparently with his own shotgun, in an attack in Derriford(Plymouth) - a man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder Hertfordshire (1) - a man was shot in the arm during a robbery in Watford London (2) - a man was shot in the leg in Brixton and a woman suffered a foot injury in the same incident Merseyside (3) - a man was shot in the back with a shotgun in Croxteth (two people were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder), another victim was shot in the chest in the Kirkby area (a man was charged with attempted murder), and a third man was shot in both legs in Huyton Nottinghamshire (1) - a man was in a critical condition after being shot in St Ann's (Nottingham) Scotland (1) - a man was shot with a shotgun in an incident in Old Bridge of Urr (Kirkcudbrightshire) in which the perpetrator then apparently killed himself (see above) West Midlands (1) - a teenager was shot in the leg in an incident in a shopping centre in Birmingham, apparently during a confrontation between two groups of youths (a man was arrested and later released on bail). West Yorkshire (1) - a police officer was shot and received minor injuries during an incident in Kirkheaton in which a man was later shot dead by armed police (see above)

At least 5 other people were hit by pellets from BB guns or airguns:

Dorset (1) - a man was shot in the face with a BB gun in Northbourne (Bournemouth Leicestershire (1) - an 11-year-old from Hinckley almost lost his sight after being shot with a ball-bearing gun fired by an 8-year-old Merseyside (1) - a man was shot in the head with an air rifle in Kirkdale Somerset (2) - a cyclist was shot in the leg in Yeovil with an air rifle pellet and in another incident in Yeovil a teenager was shot in the back of his knee with an airgun. Two women were shot with a stun gun during a raid on a massage parlour in Wood Green (north London).

Armed Hold-Ups and Assaults - There were robberies and attempted robberies allegedly involving guns at Bookmakers (10) in High Wycombe (Buckinghamshire), Walton (Surrey), Havant (Hampshire), Blurton(Staffordshire), King's Lynn (Norfolk), and Hillington, Paisley and Barrhead (Renfrewshire) (two men were being questioned in connection with five raids in Renfrewshire), Food Outlets and a Pub (4) in Wembley (north-west London), Radford (Nottingham) (BB guns; 5 teenagers arrested), Peacehaven (East Sussex) (pistol-shaped weapon), and North Stifford (Essex) (handgun), a Massage Parlour (1) in Wood Green (north London) (stun gun) (two women were shot), Petrol Stations (4) in Southwell (imitation firearm; a man has been charged), Rochdale (handgun; two incidents thought to be linked), and Ruthin (Denbighshire) (handgun) (four people have been arrested in connection with this and another robbery), Post Offices (3) in Hove (East Sussex), Burgess Hill (West Sussex), and Treherbert (Mid Glamorgan) and other Shops (17) in Otfor (Surrey), Bath (Somerset) (imitation firearm; a man has been arrested), Cleveleys (Lancashire), Wivelsfield (East Sussex), Canvey (Essex), Lutterworth (Leicestershire) (a security guard was injured), High Wycombe(Buckinghamshire), Wall Heath (West Midlands),Wallasey (Merseyside), Winlaton (Tyneside) (handgun), Welwyn Garden City (Hertfordshire) (handgun), Old Stratford (Northamptonshire) (handgun), Ribbleton (Lancashire) (handgun), Somers Town (Portsmouth) (blank-firing handgun), Prestonpans (East Lothian) (imitation handgun; a man has been arrested), Watford (Hertfordshire) (a man was shot), and Cardiff (pistol)Security Men were threatened at gunpoint in incidents in Nottingham and Widnes (handgun).

Guns were involved in five raids on Houses in Moss Side (Manchester) (handgun), Alphington (Devon) (shotgun), Horsham (West Sussex) (shotgun), Loughton (Essex), and Sebastopol (Gwent) (three people have been arrested).

Street robberies with guns occurred in Trowbridge (imitation firearm; three men and a youth charged), Battersea (south London), and Liverpool (handgun).
A Driver who had her car stolen in the centre of Liverpool believes the robber was armed with an imitation firearm.

Other Incidents - Shots were fired during two other incidents: West Midlands - there were reports of a shot being fired at a house in Walsall - one man was injured but not from a gun (a man and a woman were arrested)Wiltshire - a road sign near Wilcot has been peppered with shot which may have come from a high powered rifle. A man was charged with possession of a firearm or imitation firearm with intent to cause harassment, alarm or distress after a 6-hour stand-off in Norwood (Sheffield). A taxi driver was threatened with a gun during a disturbance in Haghill (Glasgow). A man from Formby (Merseyside) has been accused of conspiracy to possess a machine pistol with intent to endanger life.

Airguns and Imitation Guns - Besides those incidents in which victims were hit (see above) there were many other incidents involving airguns and imitation weapons. They were probably used in many of the armed robberies including those in Liverpool, Bath (Somerset), Trowbridge (Wiltshire), Southwell (Nottinghamshire), Radford (Nottingham), Somers Town (Portsmouth) and Prestonpans (East Lothian). A woman was arrested for possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life after a domestic disturbance in Leeds where an air rifle was recovered. Two people were arrested in Crumpsall (Greater Manchester) and an air pistol seized after shots were fired on wasteland in Bury. A man arrested after being seen waving a gun in Middlesbrough was found to be in possession of an imitation firearm. A man dropped a ball-bearing gun when he was disturbed by police in Whitchurch (Shropshire) - he was disappeared after a car chase to Whixall.

There were further incidents involving imitation weapons which caused alarm: - A man was arrested and an air rifle seized after an incident in Callington,
Cornwall, following reports of a man with a firearm who was allegedly going to harm himself. A man was spotted with a firearm in Hastings (East Sussex) - two men were later arrested and one was charged with possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and attempted robbery. A man arrested in Bath(Somerset) after an armed siege at a flat has been charged with possession of a firearm, an airgun, with intent to cause fear of violence and making threats to kill. One of four men charged with abduction and serious assault after an incident in Paisley during which the victim was struck with a rifle or similar weapon is alleged
to have had unlawful possession of an imitation rifle. Damage to the window of a cemetery in Worcester may have been caused by an air weapon.

Guns Recoveries and Thefts - Guns were found during searches in which drugs were recovered in Wallington (south London) (shotgun; two teenagers have been
charged), Shelton Lock (Derby) (BB gun), Rugby (Warwickshire) (sawn-off shotgun), Royston(Hertfordshire) (stun gun; four men were arrested) and
Edinburgh (shotgun; a man and a woman were arrested). Three men have been charged with possession of firearms after being arrested in Bermondsey (south London). In Birmingham two men were arrested in the centre of the city on suspicion of possessing a firearm and possessing an offensive weapon, and four men were arrested in Handsworth on suspicion of possessing a firearm after an illegally-converted pistol was seized by police. Replica firearms and a replica grenade were discovered at a flat in Southsea (Hampshire where a man had died in a fire. Workmen in Normanton (Derby) discovered a bag containing a handgun. A taser lost by a Metropolitan Police firearms officer in Vauxhall, London, was later recovered.

Shotguns were stolen from properties in Cardenen (Fife) and Empingham (Leicestershire).

Incidents Involving Animals - There were fewer shooting incidents reported this month. Nevertheless a number of animals were still made to suffer as a result of the misuse of guns.

Cats were targeted with airguns in Aberdeenshire, Dorset, Kent, London, Somerset (three cats attacked in Coleford in recent months and one in Bridgwater), West Yorkshire and The Wirral. There are fears that two swans found dead near Beighton (South Yorkshire) may have been victims of an air rifle attack. A man was detained after police were called to a location in March(Cambridgeshire) where a group of men were using a shotgun to kill fish.

Convictions - Three men have been found guilty of murder and attempted murder and a woman has been found guilty of grievous bodily harm after attacks during a family feud in Maidstone (Kent) - the murdered man was hit by a car, the other victim was shot with a shotgun. Three men and a woman have been sentenced in connection with a shooting in Pinehurst (Wiltshire) in which a man was injured - one man was convicted of wounding with intent and jailed for 14 years, a teenager who pleaded guilty to the same offence was jailed for 8 years. A man who fired a shotgun outside a nightclub in St Neots (Cambridgeshire), hitting one victim in the head, was found guilty of attempted murder and possessing a firearm with intent to commit an offence and jailed for 15 years. A man who had already been convicted after the shooting of a female police officer in Bamber Bridge (Lancashire) was found guilty of attempting to murder two men who were shot outside a nightclub in Astley Bridge (Greater Manchester), possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, possessing a firearm and possessing ammunition and was jailed for life with a minimum of 18½ years. Forty three members of a drugs and guns gang have been jailed for 268 years - a man who arranged a string of gun deals from jail was convicted of conspiracy to
supply drugs, conspiracy to possess prohibited firearms and conspiracy to sell or transfer prohibited firearms. Two men who robbed a young woman at gunpoint at her home in Grantham (Lincolnshire) have been convicted of robbery and jailed for 9 years. Three men responsible for a series of raids on bookmakers in north London admitted conspiracy to rob and conspiracy to carry a firearm or imitation firearm with criminal intent and were jailed for 9, 8 and 6 years. A man from Hull who held his elderly neighbour at gunpoint to steal his bank details admitted robbery and false imprisonment and was jailed for 10 years. A man who pointed a pistol at police in East Reading (Berkshire) has been convicted for having a firearm with intent to resist arrest and possession of a prohibited weapon.

The following were also convicted for possessing firearms:

In London a man arrested on his way to a burglary who admitted firearms offences after a pistol and ammunition were discovered in his wardrobe in Chalk Farm was jailed for 5 years. A man who supplied cocaine was jailed for 8½ years after also pleading guilty to possession of a firearm, a silencer and ammunition with intent to endanger life after the weapon was found in Brentford. A woman who hid a revolver and ammunition in her bedroom in Hackney was convicted of possession of a firearm and possession of ammunition and jailed for 5 years. A man who tried to hide a loaded handgun in Central London was convicted of possessing a firearm and possessing ammunition found at his home in Wembley.

In cases from Merseyside a man found with a shotgun and drugs at his home in Garston has pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm without a licence and a number of drugs offences and been jailed for 9 years. A man who tossed a loaded revolver into gardens in Bootle has been jailed for 5 years after being found guilty of possessing a firearm and ammunition. A man found with a shotgun and a cartridge at his house in St Helens pleaded guilty and was jailed for 5 years. A woman from
Toxteth who minded a pistol used in a gangland murder has been jaileD for 5 years.

Two brothers from the West Midlands stored an arsenal of guns including pistols, shotguns, an assault rifle and a sub-machine gun, at their houses and in a garage - they were sentenced to 3 years and 8 months and to
450 days. A man found carrying a loaded semi-automatic pistol and silencer in Bordesley Green (Birmingham) pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing a prohibited weapon contrary to the Firearms Act 1968. A man awaits sentencing for possessing a firearm after an incident in Harlow (Essex). A 20-year-old who stored a gun for a friend pleaded guilty to possessing heroin and a sawn-off shotgun at his home in Thornton Lodge (West Yorkshire) and was sent to a young offenders' institution for 5 years. A teenager pleaded guilty to possession of a rifle - he was spotted carrying the weapon in a street in Greenock (Renfrewshire). A man who was armed with a loaded revolver in a club in Glasgow was jailed for 5 years.

Other Case - A farmer from Crays Hill (Essex) has had his firearms licence withdrawn because he was 'unfit to be entrusted with a firearm and may present a danger to public safety and peace' - charges against him in relation to the shooting of two men with a shotgun were dropped.

Stun Guns - A man who booby-trapped his own house in Knighton (Powys) with a home-made device similar to a Taser admitted being in possession of a prohibited weapon. A man who imported three stun guns from Thailand has been given a suspended sentence of 12 months in prison and ordered to carry out 60 hours unpaid work. A number of other people were convicted of drug offences and possession of a stun gun: One of two men caught carrying drugs on a train at Haymarket
(Edinburgh) also admitted having a stun gun - he was given a 32-month sentence. A man from Burton Latimer (Northamptonshire) was sentenced to 2½ Years for possession of a stun gun, possession of rifle ammunition and drugs offences. A man from Scunthorp (Lincolnshire) found with a stun gun and drugs admitted various drug offences and possessing a prohibited weapon and was given a 6-month suspended jail sentence and a 30-day curfew. One of four men jailed after cannabis was seized in Leeds admitted possession of a prohibited weapon, a taser, and was jailed for 5 years and 3 months.

Airguns and Imitation Guns (Court Cases) - A man from Thetford (Norfolk) was jailed for 30 months for shooting two young boys with an air rifle as they played in a tree - he pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm and affray. A man who shot his wife in the thigh with an air rifle in Hunstanton (Norfolk) has been committed for sentecing. An 11-year-old boy from Leicester shot a school supervisor in the neck with a pellet gun and has pleaded guilty to assault and causing someone to fear violence while in possession of an imitation firearm - he will be electronically tagged for 3 months and will have to meet regularly with the youth offending team. A man who sparked a 10-hour siege in Partick (Glasgow) during which grenades and a ball-bearing gun were thrown from a flat has pleaded guilty to assault police officers and admitted breaching the peace.

The following cases involved the use of airguns or imitation guns to threaten: A man who fired a shot at a neighbour's door in Exmouth (Devon) admitted possessing a firearm with intent when prohibited and affray involving using or threatening unlawful violence towards another. A man who was on a community order when he opened fire with a starting pistol in Ramsey (Cambridgeshire) admitted possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and was jailed for 16 months. A man from Tunbridge Wells (Kent) has admitted making threats outside a primary school and possessing an unloaded airgun in a public place. A man and a woman who threatened a man with an air pistol in Newcastle have both admitted affray and been jailed for 18 months. A man who pointed an air weapon at a police officer at a quarry in Marsden (Tyneside) admitted possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and was sentenced to a suspended 6-month prison sentence with 150 hours of unpaid work. A man who pointed an imitation firearm at someone in his home in. Clitheroe (Lancashire) pleaded guilty to possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and has been jailed for 8 months. A man who pointed an air rifle at youths outside his house in Botcherby (Carlisle) admitted using threatening behaviour and was given a 12-month conditional discharge. A man who produced a replica musket in front of his former girlfriend in Orby (Lincolnshire) has admitted common assault by putting her in fear - he was placed under 18 months' probation supervision and ordered to carry out 80 hours of community punishment. A man involved in a string of incidents in Wealdstone and Harrow (northwest London) including one when he aimed an imitation pistol at the face of a young man has been banned from the centre of Harrow. A woman has pleaded guilty to possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear or violence after she threatened two paramedics in Bath with a revolver - she was placed in the case of the mental health service. A man who pointed a replica gun at a man in the City of London admitted having an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and was given a 2-year community order and a 12-month mental health treatment requirement. A man who waved an air pistol from the window of his flat in York pleaded guilty to affray and possessing an imitation firearm and was given a 12-month suspended prison sentence and will be supervised by probation officers and attend a rehabilitation course. A man found in possession of a samurai sword in Welwyn Garden City (Hertfordshire) pleaded guilty to causing affray, having an offensive
weapon and an imitation firearm - he was given a suspended 12-month jail sentence with 200 hours unpaid work. A man who pointed an air pistol at a teenager in a car park in Bridge of Don (Aberdeen) has admitted chasing his victim armed with a gun and has been told he faces jail. Two men who went on a rampage in Hull with BB guns and catapults pleaded guilty to four charges of criminal damage and were given suspended 10-week prison sentences, 12-month supervision requirements and 200 hours of unpaid work. A man who pleaded guilty to possession of an imitation firearm, possession of a taser gun and drug offences after the weapons and cocaine were found in Leeds has been jailed for 2 years. A man who placed an air pistol on a hotel counter in Norwich pleaded guilty to possessing an air weapon in a public place and making a statement suggesting he was a police constable.

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 a Bank in Cromford (Derbyshire) in 1985 (a man was jailed for 10 years after admitting robbery, causing grievous bodily harm with intent and possessing an imitation gun). At a Post Office in Lostwithiel (Cornwall) (a man armed with an imitation sawn-off shotgun pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and possessing an imitation firearm and was jailed for 13½ year - he had a previous conviction for robberies). At a Service Station in Eastleigh (two men have admitted their roles, one was armed with a BB gun). At a Shop in Eaglescliffe (Teesside) (one of two men pointed a BB gun at the shop owner and both men admitted charges of robbery and possessing an imitation gun and each was jailed for 6 years). At Betting Shops in south Leeds where two men conducted a series of raids (both were found guilty of various charges including having an imitation firearm with intent to commit robbery, one and were jailed for 12 years). In a robbery by a man from Penhill (Wiltshire) in which a neck chain was stolen (he was armed with an imitation firearm and pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery, possessing an imitation firearm and other charges relating to another incident). A man prohibited from possessing firearms was found with an air weapon under a bed at his home in Wisbech (Cambridgeshire) - he admitted possessing the weapon. Two men cautioned for trespassing on land at Upton (Oxfordshire) had poaching equipment including an air rifle. A 15-year-old has admitted breaking into sheds in Lincoln and stealing various items including an air rifle.

OCTOBER 2010

In September we highlighted the fact that in the vast majority of cases of armed robbery involving firearms the person convicted was armed with an imitation weapon or an airgun. This was also true of all nine of the court cases reported in October. Further evidence of the extent to which imitation and air weapons are being used in gun crimes comes from court cases in which a firearm was used to cause fear of violence or in an incident involving affray. These make up a significant proportion of the court cases reported each month. We became aware of 12 such cases in October and in all of these the weapon was an imitation or an air weapon (in two cases an airgun was fired). The victims are frequently left traumatised by the experience, and in such circumstances the impact on them is as great as if they had been threatened with a live-firing weapon.

Gun Deaths and Injuries

There were six fatal shooting incidents in October. Three gun homicides occurred in London: a 16-year-old was killed in Plaistow (where a second teenage victim was injured) and another teenager died in Mill Hill (a total of twelve people most of them teenagers were arrested, and one man has been charged with murder), and a man died in hospital a few days after being shot in a car in Harrow (three men have been charged with murder). The other homicide was in Glenrothes (Fife) where a man was fatally shot, apparently whilst evicting tenants (a second man was injured; a man has been charged with murder and attempted murder).

Two possible suicides were reported: a man is believed to have killed himself with his own rifle in a garage in Sutton (south London) and a young woman died from shotgun injuries at a cottage in Middleham (North Yorkshire).

Thirty-one other victims were shot, ten of them with airguns and imitation weapons (see below).

o County Durham (2) - two men were shot in Spennymoor (two shotguns have been found by police and a number of arrests have been made). o Greater Manchester (4) - a man was shot in the thigh in a drive-by shooting in Wythenshawe, another victim was shot in the arm and back in Ordsall (a man has been arrested), a man suffered shotgun pellet wounds to his arm in Withington, and a man was shot in the foot with a shotgun in Bury. o London (6) - a 16-year-old boy was shot in the legs and back in
Camberwell, a man was shot in Tulse Hill, a 15-year-old boy was shot in a double shooting in Plaistow in which another teenager died (see above), a man was reported to have been shot during a burglary in Streatham (a man has been charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm, aggravated burglary and possession of a firearm), and two people were shot in separate incidents in Walthamstow - a woman in a car received serious injuries and a man who was in a life-threatening condition drove himself to
hospital. o Merseyside (2) - a man was shot in the leg, apparently in West Derby, and another was shot in the stomach at an unknown location. o Nottinghamshire (2) - a boy was injured in a suspected shooting in Nottingham and a female security guard was injured during a robbery on a post office van in Sherwood Rise. o Scotland (2) - a man was shot in the back outside a gym in Newcraighall (Edinburgh), and a second man was injured in the shooting in Glenrothes (Fife) in which one man was killed (see above). o Tyneside (1) - a man was found suffering from gunshot wounds in Hebburn (the victim was on bail for firearms offences) (six people have been arrested). o West Midlands (2) - two men were seriously injured when shots were fired during a party at a bar in Smethwick.

The ten people hit by pellets from BB guns or airguns included a number of children:

o Devon (1) - an 11-year-old boy was reportedly shot in the face with a ballbearing gun by a 14-year-old in Paignton. o Greater Manchester (1) - a man was shot in the back of the head with an air weapon when he was walking home in Ashton-under-Lyne. o Hampshire (1) - a man was struck by an air rifle pellet when the gun was
fired several times close to a primary school in Winchester (two teenagers were arrested on suspicion of common assault and a third teenager was charged with firing an air weapon beyond premises. o Lancashire (1) - a pub landlady in Clitheroe was shot in the face with a BB gun (a 16-year-old was arrested and given a final warning). o London (1) - a man needed 20 stitches to his face after he was shot with an air rifle in Seven Kings. o Somerset (1) - one child was hurt when a 12-year-old boy took pot shots with a ball-bearing gun at fellow students at a school in Taunton. o Warwickshire (3) - three 10-year-olds, two girls and one boy, have been targeted with an air weapon or BB gun in separate attacks in Bidford-on-Avon (the girls were shot in the leg the boy in the back).o West Yorkshire (1) - a postman was hit with an airgun pellet in an estate in Leeds - a local man who had been firing at bottles in his garden was given a police caution.A man is believed to have been shot with some kind of air rifle in a cemetery in Ribbleton (Lancashire) in September 2010. An actor suffered a serious eye injury after being shot with a faulty blank-firing gun during a performance at a London theatre. Armed Hold-Ups and Assaults - There were robberies and attempted robberies allegedly involving guns at Banks and Post Offices (5) in Hove (East Sussex)(pistol), Wigan (Greater Manchester) (sawn-off shotgun), Tolworth (south west London) (pistol), Blackpool (Liverpool), and Great Broughton (Cumbria), Bookmakers (1) in Bulwell (Nottingham), Pubs, Restaurants and Food Outlets (4) in Oldbury (West Midland) (handgun), Yardley (Birmingham) (pistol), Leeds (handgun) and Urmston (Greater Manchester), and Shops (8) in St Leonards (East Sussex), Tonge Moor (Greater Manchester) (imitation firearm; a taxi driver was also robbed), Poole (Dorset) (air rifle), Palfrey (West Midlands) (handgun), Trowbridge (Wiltshire) (sawn-off shotgun), Chelmsford (Essex) (handgun), Plymouth (handgun) and Glasgow. A CCTV image has been released of a man believed to have been armed with a gun during a robbery at a shop in Ilkeston (Derbyshire) in July 2010. Security Guards were attacked by gunmen in Otford (Kent), Penketh (Cheshire)(handgun), Concord (County Durham), Kibworth (Leicestershire), and Wollaton and Sherwood Rise (Nottingham) (a female security guard was shot and injured in Sherwood Rise).
In raids on Houses a gunman threatened the residents of a house in Cliffords Mesne (Gloucestershire) (shotgun or replica firearm), a family was threatened by a gang in Deane (Greater Manchester) and a man armed with either a real or replica handgun robbed a family in Solihull (West Midlands). Two teenagers were threatened with a handgun in a Street robbery in Atherton (Greater Manchester). A Delivery Driver was robbed by a man armed with a knife and some sort of air weapon in Paisley.

Other Incidents

Shots were fired during a number of other incidents:

o Greater Manchester - a house was damaged when shots were fired in Salford o Merseyside - shots were fired at a property in Bootle, damaging an upstairs window, and people riding motorbikes in Norris Green were seen firing a gun (three teenagers were arrested) o Scotland - a firearm was discharged and a window damaged in Craigend
(Glasgow) A gun may have been fired after the occupants of a car were seen arguing with another man in Slough (Berkshire). A gun attack in Sheffield was spotted by police on CCTV (one arrest has been made). Four people were arrested in Muswell Hill (north London) after a man was seen with a gun. A man was arrested in Allesley (West Midlands) after an armed stand-off and a handgun was recovered. A man was spoken to "very sternly" after being seen carrying a weapon and wearing a bulletproof vest on a Tube train at Waterloo station (central London) - the weapon was a laser gun. A 14-year-old who claimed he was going to take four bullets to his school in Edinburgh was the object of a police investigation. An armed response unit was called to a house in Wisbech (Cambridgeshire) after a man was seen brandishing a firearm - the man, who had legally-owned shotguns, was released without charge. Following reports of a gun, no firearm was found after incidents on a motorway in
Lancashire (a woman was arrested), and at a property in Cleveleys (Lancashire) (a man was arrested on suspicion of making threats to kill and possession of a handgun).

Airguns and Imitation Guns

Besides those incidents in which victims were hit by pellets (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 Tonge Moor (Greater Manchester), Poole (Dorset) and Paisley. A man was charged with robbery and possession of an imitation firearm in connection with a raid at a bookmakers in September 2010 in Strood (Kent). An 11-year-old boy is alleged to have fired a BB gun in the playground of primary school in Stillington (North Yorkshire). Following a similar airgun shooting last month, another taxi driver in Grimsby (Lincolnshire) has claimed she was fired at whilst she was driving. A woman whose car was damaged outside her home in Bridgwater (Somerset) believes she was the latest victim of a spate of airgun shootings around the town. Four properties in Barnstaple (Devon) had windows smashed, probably with air weapons.

There were a number of incidents involving imitation weapons which caused alarm:

o A man was charged with possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence after shots had been fired at a house in Southend (Essex) o A man was charged with possession of a firearm (BB gun) with intent to cause fear of violence and criminal damage after a man had allegedly threatened another man in Wells (Somerset) o A man was charged with possessing an air rifle with intent to cause fear of violence and with possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence in Terrington St Clement (Norfolk). o A 17-year-old was arrested after police were called to a domestic dispute in Marston (Oxfordshire) where a firearm, an air rifle, had been seen. A man was charged with two counts of possessing a firearm and threatening specialist officers with an air pistol during a stand-off which took place in Northampton in May 2010. Two people were arrested in Northampton after two people were seen to pass a handgun between them in a car - an air weapon was seized.Two teenagers were questioned after they were stopped in Brent (north west London) and found to be carrying a replica gun. A spate of incidents in Bolsover (Derbyshire) involving BB guns has led to a crackdown on their sale in local markets.

Guns Recoveries and Thefts

Guns and/or ammunition were found during searches in which drugs were recovered in Neasden (north west London) (sawnoff shotgun), Blackburn (Lancashire) (semi-automatic), Lowestoft (Suffolk) (one man arrested), Gloucester (shotgun shells), Barnsley (South Yorkshire) (air pistol), Battersea (south London) (machine gun, two handguns; one man was arrested), North Shields (blank-firer pistol, air pistol) (four people arrested) and Llanfair Caereinion (Powys) (stun gun).

Other guns were found in Haggerston (east London)(handgun and bullets; a 16-year-old girl was arrested), Roehampton (south west London) (three handguns, a
shotgun, ammunition; a woman was arrested), Walthamstow (north east London; a man and three teenagers were arrested), Kilburn (north west London) (sawn off shotgun, three pistols, ammunition; a man was arrested), and Wavertree and Fairfield (Merseyside) (three people from Dovecot, Fairfield and Wavertree have been charged with firearm possession offences). Two air weapons were seized in Barnsley (South Yorkshire) in an operation to crack down on nuisance motorcyclists.Two firearms and one replica firearm were among items seized by security officers at the Crown Court in Grimsby (Lincolnshire) last year. An air rifle was stolen from a house in Blacon (Chester), and a shotgun was taken from a property in Shelland (Suffolk). An imitation firearm was recovered from a property in Peterborough during a series of raids by police investigating burglaries in the area (10 men were arrested). A 17-year-old has been arrested after a replica handgun was among items found at a home in Walton (Surrey) by police searching for suspected stolen property. Members of the public found two live shotgun cartridges in Normanton (Derby) and a self-loading pistol and ammunition in Bury (Greater Manchester) (discovered by two 13-year-old boys). A woman found a shotgun cartridge in a tin of sweets bought from a supermarket in West Bridgford (Nottingham).

Incidents Involving Animals

Some airgun owners continue to use their weapons to cause harm to animals. Whilst a few of the incidents summarised below involved other types of weapon most of the attacks on birds and animals reported during October involved air weapons.

Cats were shot with air weapons or other pellet guns in Bath (a second attack in July was reported), Bristol, Cheshire, Cornwall, County Durham (two cats shot),
Dorset, Dumfriesshire, Essex, Greater Manchester, Hampshire, Hull, the Isle of Wight, Lincolnshire, Somerset, West Glamorgan (an attack was also reported from last year), West Sussex, and West Yorkshire. A cat survived a shotgun attack when he was hit with 21 pellets in Oxfordshire, and another cat was shot with a rifle in Worcestershire.

A racehorse was shot in the neck with an airgun in South Yorkshire. Deer experts were shocked by reports of a giant red deer being shot on Exmoor, Devon - doubts about the details of the story have since been raised.

An osprey died after being shot in the wing in Sussex. A man was accused of shooting seagull chicks with an airgun in Aberdeen.

Inquests

An inquest jury found that Mark Saunders, who fired a shotgun from his flat in Chelsea (west London), was lawfully killed when he was shot dead by police marksmen during an armed siege.

A coroner has concluded that a woman unlawfully killed her husband by shooting him with his shotgun at their home in Sealand (Clwyd) before taking her own life by drowning herself. There were also verdicts of unlawful killing and suicide at an inquest into the deaths of a couple in Brabourne Lees (Kent) - the husband shot his wife dead with a musket before killing himself.

An inquest jury concluded that a man found dead with a gunshot wound at a flat in Gleadless (Sheffield) after a lengthy siege had taken his own life.

An inquest heard how a farmer shot himself with a shotgun in Stanbury (West Yorkshire) - the coroner said he was satisfied the man intended to take his own life. A verdict of suicide was given on the death of a man who shot himself with a double-barrelled shotgun on Dartmoor (Devon).

An open verdict was recorded into the death of a man in Melbourne (Derbyshire) who was found at his home with a shotgun wound (see May 2010 Incidents).

Convictions

A man who shot another man in the stomach with a sawn-off shotgun at the victim's home in Leeds has been convicted of attempted murder and other offences and been ordered to serve a minimum of 17 years. Two men involved in the transfer of a sub-machine gun at a car park in Southport (Merseyside) have each been jailed for 5 years.

The following men were convicted for possessing firearms:

o A man has admitted possessing a gun used to terrorise a man and his family in Fulwood (Lancashire) o A teenager who suffered life-threatening injuries when he was shot at his home in Belle Vale (Liverpool) admitted possessing a firearm and ammunition found at the house where he was shot - he was jailed for 5 years and 4 months o Another teenager who stashed two pistols, a silencer and ammunition in his back garden in Wembley (north west London) pleaded guilty to possessing them and was sentenced to 5 years in jail. o A man from Hove (East Sussex) admitted illegally possessing ammunition and five guns found at his home and has been jailed for 6 years and 9 months. o A man found with a submachine gun, pistol and ammunition at a flat in Ilford was sentenced to 8 years in jail. o A gun collector from Chelmsford (Essex) pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited modified replica pistol which he believed to be incapable of being fired and was given a 6-month suspended jail sentence. A man has been given an 8-month suspended prison sentence and a 12-month community order and has had his shotgun certificate revoked after he behaved erratically and aggressively in possession of a shotgun when police officers called at his caravan in Nethertown (Cumbria). A man who stole three shotguns during a burglary in Peopleton (Worcestershire) has pleaded guilty to all charges relating to this and five other raids on homes. A man pleaded guilty to a charge of illegally importing ammunition after being found with a blank-firing pistol and two rounds of CN Mace gas cartridges at the Port of Dover (Kent) - he was jailed for a year. A man has had his shotgun certificate revoked after being convicted and jailed for being involved in a cannabis factory in Cymau (Clwyd).

Gun Factories

A man has been jailed for 5 years for possessing firearm parts and reactivation equipment at his home in Bolton (Greater Manchester) after parcels from Canada and the USA were intercepted by the UK Border Agency - he admitted adapting deactivated pistols bought from a militaria shop in Portsmouth.

Stun Guns

A man who admitted cultivating cannabis, possessing an extreme porn video and a stun gun in Barton Hill (Bristol) was jailed for 2 years. A man from Whinmoor (Leeds) caught with a stun gun and other weapons in his car was given a 26-week suspended sentence and order to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work. A man pleaded guilty to 10 offences for trying to smuggle a haul of dangerous weapons, including a stun gun disguised as a mobile phone, through Bristol Airport.

Airguns and Imitation Guns

The following cases involved offenders who had shot others with air weapons or BB guns:

o A man who shot a woman in the throat in Airdrie (North Lanarkshire) has admitted culpably and recklessly discharging a firearm and been ordered to carry out 80 hours of unpaid community work. o A 13-year-old boy who shot a teacher at his school in Ystradgynlais (Powys) has pleaded guilty to an ABH charge and possessing a firearm
with intent to cause fear of violence - he will be sentenced later. o Two teenagers have pleaded guilty to a public order offence of putting a person in fear of violence following an incident in Connah's Quay (Clwyd) in which a man was shot with a BB gun - both received community orders, one for 12 months with 50 hours unpaid work, another for 18 months with 100 hours unpaid work.

The following cases involved the use of airguns and imitation guns to threaten:

o A man from Hull who fired an airgun at an off duty policeman for parking outside his home pleaded guilty to possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. o An ex-army marksman admitted possessing a firearm and affray after firing an airgun at a group of teenagers in Pool Keynes (Gloucestershire) and threatening them with a knife - he was given a suspended 50-week jail sentence and a 2-year community order. o A man who pointed an airgun at vehicles and pedestrians in Bradford pleaded guilty to having the gun with intent to cause fear of violence and was jailed for 10 months. o A man who terrified his neighbours in Cambridge and pointed an air pistol at police admitted possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and has been jailed for 14 months. o A man who brandished a gun at his pregnant wife in Darlington (County Durham) has admitted possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and possessing an offensive weapon (a spiked glove) and has been jailed for 2½ years) o A man who brandished a BB gun in a pub garden in Lincoln admitted affray and was given a 12-month community order and an alcohol treatment programme. o A teenager who threatened a 9-year-old girl with a ball bearing gun admitted a charge of pointing an imitation firearm at the girl with intent to cause harassment or distress - he was given an 8-month referral order and order to pay £50 compensation. o A man who put a gun to the head of a waiter in Weston-super-Mare (Somerset) pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and was jailed for 14 months - the weapon was an imitation. o A man who claimed he had planted a bomb at his ex-friends' home in Winslow (Buckinghamshire) and went to the house with a replica gun was]found guilty of a number of offences including having an imitation gun with intent to commit an offence. o A man from Dartford (Kent) has been jailed for 4 years after pleading guilty to threatening to kill a man whilst armed with an imitation gun and commando knife. o A man who used a tube from a walking frame to look like a shotgun was apparently trying to get himself killed by armed police - he was arrested after an armed siege in Minster (Kent) and admitted possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and was given a 12- month suspended sentence. o Two men who went to a house in Clacton (Essex) and knocked over a woman admitted a charge of affray and were jailed for 27 months - other charges including possession of an imitation firearm to cause fear were left on the file. o Two men from Simonstone (Lancashire) admitted affray after denying possessing an imitation handgun with intent to cause fear of violence. o Two men arrested after a woman was threatened with "a machine gun" which was actually a ball-bearing gun in Edwinstow (Nottinghamshire) will face no further action. Three youths admitted a number of charges, including possessing firearms, after an incident which began in Burton (Staffordshire) when shots were heard in a street and resulted in a pursuit by police - a BB gun was thrown from a car during the pursuit. Three men who allegedly fired an airsoft rifle from a block of flats in Lincoln walked free after having their case dismissed on a technicality - it was unresolved whether the weapon was covered by the Firearms Act 1968.

There were a number of convictions for robberies and attempted robberies in which the offender(s) was armed with an imitation firearm.

o at Shops in Hemel Hempstead (Hertfordshire) (a teenage girl who provided a BB gun used in a robbery pleaded guilty to having a firearm and ammunition in a public place and aiding and abetting a robbery), and Bangor (Gwynedd) (a man found guilty of robbing a jeweller's has been given a two year sentence for possession of an imitation pistol) o at Bookmakers in Gillingham and Rochester (Kent) (a man who pointed an imitation firearm during two raids has pleaded guilty and been jailed for over 5 years), Levenshulme (Manchester) (a man admitted the robbery and possessing an imitation firearm and has been sentenced to 5 years), and Trecynon (Glamorgan) (a man has admitted robbery and having an imitation firearm and been jailed for 5½ years) o at a Post Office in East Barnet(north London) (a man pleaded guilty to being involved in the robbery and possessing an imitation firearm and was jailed for 6 years) o at Banks and Building Societies in Ashford (Surrey) (a man responsible for a three hour hostage siege admitted six charges including possessing an imitation firearm with intent to commit robbery), and Kingsthorpe and Wolverton (Northamptonshire) (a man who went on a spree of bank and building society robberies, sometimes armed with an imitation pistol, has admitted ten robbery and firearm offences) o at a Club in Milnrow (Greater Manchester) (a man who had pleaded to two robberies, possession of an imitation firearm and possession of a prohibited weapon was jailed for 10 years, his accomplice pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery) A man who hid a potato peeler in a sock so it looked like a gun during two robberies at a bookmakers in Aintree(Merseyside) has pleaded guilty to two charges of robbery and two of carrying an imitation handgun and been jailed for 5 years. A man who broke into a garage in Weymouth (Dorset) armed with a stolen air rifle was sentenced to 2 years in prison for aggravated burglary and handling stolen goods. A man from Grimsby (Lincolnshire) has been given a 2-year antisocial behaviour order after a string of convictions which included possessing an imitation firearm. A man whose air pistol fell out of his pocket in a store in Carlisle has admitted having an air weapon in a public place and been put on a curfew order. Another man caught carrying an air rifle in public in Waterlooville (Hampshire) was fined £100 after pleading guilty. A 19 year-old who bought a BB gun on holiday and had the gun with him at Exeter Airport has pleaded guilty to bringing a realistic imitation firearm into Great Britain - he was given a 12-month conditional discharge. Police in Leeds are to destroy hundreds of weapons, mostly air weapons and BB guns recovered from incidents of anti-social behaviour involving youths.

SEPTEMBER 2010

Imitation Guns and Armed Robberies

Although the purchase of some imitation firearms is now banned and it is an offence to have an imitation gun in a public place, there are no restrictions on their ownership and they remain too easily available for use in crime. It is apparent from the details of court cases that the majority of people being convicted for armed robbery with guns have been armed with imitation weapons or airguns. In 19 of the 22 gun robbery court cases reported this month the weapon was either an imitation gun or, in three cases, an air weapon (and in one of the three remaining cases the offender had only pretended to have a gun).

In August we were made aware of 16 reports of gun robbery court cases of which 13 involved imitation firearms or an air rifle.

Gun Deaths and Injuries

There were four fatal shooting incidents in September, three homicides and one probable suicide. Two men died in gun attacks in South London, a teenager in Peckham (two men were arrested) and a man at a flat in West Norwood. A third man died after being shot in the stomach in Wythenshawe (Greater Manchester). A young sailor apparently shot himself dead on a Royal Navy warship moored in Portsmouth with a weapon taken from the ship's weapon stores. A woman was in a critical but stable condition after being found with a shotgun wound to her head at her home in Shirley (west Midlands) - it is thought the wound was self-inflicted.

There were 28 victims who were hit in shooting attacks, half of them with shots fired from BB guns and airguns (see below). o Bedfordshire (1) - a man was in a life-threatening condition after being shot in the face in Luton in a targeted attack o Berkshire (2) - a man was shot in the leg in Winkfield Row, and a taxi driver was targeted in Lower Earley o County Durham (2) - two men were injured in a shooting incident in Washington (five men were arrested) o Derbyshire (2) - a man and a woman were injured in a shooting at isolated farm premises in Stanfree (two men have been arrested) o London (4) - a man was in a serious condition after being shot in Hammersmith, another was shot and seriously injured at a travellers' site in Noak Hill, and two victims were shot in separate incidents in Peckham o Scotland (1) - a man was shot in Bridgeton (Glasgow) o West Midlands (2) - a man was shot, apparently at a pub in Smethwick, and another victim was found with gunshot and knife wounds in a park in Birmingham

At least 14 people, a number of them children, were hit with pellets fired from BB guns, blank-firing guns or airguns: o Cambridgeshire (1) - a woman was shot in the leg, probably with a BB gun, in a street in Millfield (Peterborough) o Derbyshire (1) - a man was shot with an air rifle on the balcony of his flat in Chesterfield o Greater Manchester (1) - an 11-year-old girl was shot in the arm with an airgun while walking in a street in Oldham and spent five days in hospital o Hampshire (1) - a man drinking in a pub garden in Havant was struck in the neck with a shot from a BB gun o Lancashire (1) - a man told police he had been shot in the face and body with a pellet gun at flats in Blackpool o London (1) - a teenager was shot in the face with a modified blank-firing gun in Tulse Hill (south London) o Northumberland (1) - an 11-year-old boy was shot with an air rifle in Ashington (Northumberland) - the pellet struck him on the back of the head o Scotland (3) - an 11-year-old girl was shot in the leg with a pellet gun in Linlathen (Tayside), and two pupils were shot with a ball-bearing gun at a school in Jedburgh (Borders) (another pupil has been charged (see also Airgun Incidents below)) o Wales (2) - a teacher was shot with a pellet gun by a 13-year-old pupil at a school in Ystradgynlais (Powys) (the boy has been charged with assault and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life), and an 11-year-old was shot in the chest at point blank range with a BB gun in Gendros (Swansea) o West Yorkshire (1) - a 15-year-old girl needed hospital treatment after being shot in the back with an air rifle in Buttershaw (Bradford) (a teenager has been arrested) o Wiltshire (1) - a man was shot in Calne with an air rifle but did not require medical attention (two men were arrested, one on suspicion of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life) and four weapons were seized) There was also a report of a BB gun attack which took place in July in which an 8- year-old boy was shot by youths in Cleveleys (Lancashire).

Armed Hold-Ups and Assaults There were robberies and attempted robberies allegedly involving guns at Banks and Post Offices (4) in Royston (South Yorkshire) (handgun), Bestwood (Nottingham) (handgun; a teenager has been arrested), and Hove (East Sussex) (a bank and a post office in separate incidents), a Bookmakers (1) in Trecynon (Mid Glamorgan) (replica handgun), Petrol Stations and Garages (3) in Bradford (handgun), Boreham (Essex), and Orton Goldhay (Peterborough), Pubs (2) in Oxford (pistol) and Chapel Brampton (Northamptonshire), Stores (11) in Sefton (Merseyside), Chorley (Lancashire) (handgun; a teenager was arrested), Widnes (Cheshire) (handgun), Shelton (Stoke-on-Trent), Arnold (Nottingham) (handgun), Luton (stun gun), Rugby (shotgun), West Derby(shotgun), Hemsworth (West Yorkshire) (probably a replica firearm), Shaw (Greater Manchester) (handgun; a shopkeeper was hit over the head with the gun), Blackhill (County Durham) and Edinburgh, and a Travel Agency (1) in Addlestone (Surrey). In London a Security Van was robbed at a cashpoint machine in Chelsea (west London) (a shot was fired), and a Courier carrying bars of gold bullion was shot with a stun gun and robbed in Hatton Garden (four men were later arrested).

In raids on Homes two men were threatened with a sawn-off shotgun in Dunchurch (Warwickshire), a young woman was hit with a pistol in Winstanley (Greater Manchester) (a gang was chased away), and three men escaped with cash from a home in Darwen (Lancashire).
In a Street Robbery a woman had her handbag stolen in Netherfield (Nottingham) (a man has been charged with robbery, possession of a firearm as well as cannabis production). A Taxi Driver was robbed of belongings in Langley (Berkshire) (two men, one a teenager, have been charged with robbery and being in possession of a firearm).

Other Incidents - Shots were fired during a number of other incidents: o Essex - a man opened fire with a shotgun following a fight in a street in Chelmsford, and a shot was fired at a man in West Hanningfield o Greater Manchester - two shots were fired from a handgun at a man in Droylsden o London - a man was seen opening fire on an estate in Peckham where two other men were shot during the same week, one of them fatally (see above) o Merseyside - shots were fired at houses in Toxteth (with a shotgun), Fazakerley and Kirkby (possibly with a shotgun) o Scotland - a shot was fired at a flat in Barmulloch (Glasgow) damaging the property o West Yorkshire - a bullet hole was found in the door of a car after a gun was fired in Shearbridge (Bradford)

The Queen's top bodyguard was suspended and had to undergo retraining in safe handling after his handgun accidentally fired in Holyroodhouse (Edinburgh).

A woman was threatened by two men with a gun in Haywards Heath (West Sussex). A teenager was held at gunpoint while his friend was attacked with what is believed to have been a knife in a park in Albany (County Durham). Following an incident in Ewell (Surrey) a man has been charged with criminal damage, possessing a firearm and two counts of possessing a bladed article. A man was arrested after a group of men were seen with weapons in Small Heath (Birmingham). A man in a distressed state was arrested at an address in Llanfair PG (Anglesey) and charged with possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life. A handgun and magazine were recovered after being thrown out of a window during a siege in Glasgow - a man was arrested. A man faces a charge of possessing a 9mm handgun in Chippenham (Wiltshire). A pub landlord in Bridgwater (Somerset) is alleged to have held a sawn-off shotgun to a man's head but no charges have been brought. A man was arrested after a woman received a text message which contained a threat to shoot her. No firearms were found after two incidents, one following a report of a man with a gun in Lincoln, and the other after an armed response team was called to a street in Bishops Auckland (Country Durham) where a man claimed to have a knife and a 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 Trecynon (Mid Glamorgan) and probably in Hemsworth (West Yorkshire).

A police officer was shot at and an air rifle recovered during an incident in Wellingborough (Northamptonshire) (a man has been charged with various offences). A man was arrested on suspicion of possession of an air rifle and resisting arrest after a gunshot was fired in Theale (Berkshire). Two taxis have been shot at with an airgun in Grimsby. An ambulance was hit by an airgun pellet in Houghton-le-Spring (County Durham) - a car window was shattered in the vicinity but that damage may have been caused by a stone.

The following acts of vandalism were probably carried out with airguns: o The DLR station at London City Airport (east London) has been damaged, possibly with an air rifle o Street lights were damaged at a holiday park in Millom (Cumbria) o The front door of a home in Hawick (Scottish Borders) was shattered. A woman was charged with firing an airgun into a garden in Aberdeen in July. A woman has appeared in court charged with making threats to kill the Pope - an imitation gun was found when police raided her home in Wallsend (Tyneside). A man has pleaded not guilty to possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence after brandishing a replica handgun in Old Swan
(Liverpool).

The following incidents involved schoolchildren with imitation guns (see other incidents from Ystradgynlais (Powys), in which a teacher was shot, and Jedburgh,
where two pupils were hit): o A boy has been expelled from a school in Dundee after being found with a BB gun during a field trip to Iceland o A second boy faces disciplinary action by a school in Jedburgh (Scottish Borders) after firing a ball-bearing gun at a teacher (two days later another boy fired a ball-bearing gun and hit two pupils) o A 10-year-old girl was suspended for two days after taking two BB guns to a primary school in Meersbrook (Sheffield) - there were allegations she had threatened a fellow pupil. A gang seen carrying various weapons including an air rifle have terrorised a neighbourhood in Wrose (West Yorkshire). As a result of disorder in the centre of Caernarfon (Gwynedd) a number of arrests have been made for offences including possession of an air weapon. A 16-year-old was questioned after a BB gun was waved out of a window in Malmesbury (Wiltshire). Three men seen firing guns at each other in Brockworth (Gloucestershire) were found with BB guns and were issued with "words of advice". An 18-year-old seen brandishing a BB gun at another man in Witney (Oxfordshire) was issued with a formal police caution for possession of a firearm in a public place. A man who handed a BB gun to PCSOs in Burnham-on-Sea (Somerset) was later arrested after threatening to set off a bomb outside the police station. The trial of a man from Camborne (Cornwall) accused of breaching a non-molestation order has included evidence from his former partner that he kept a loaded shotgun and air rifle and intimidated her with a gun.

Guns Recoveries and Theft Guns were found during searches in which drugs were recovered in Yate (Gloucestershire) (BB gun; a man was arrested), Blackpool (stun gun, air pistol), Kings Lynn (Norfolk) (stun gun), Derby (shotgun) (a man and a woman have been arrested), Bolton (Greater Manchester) (sawn-off shotgun, handgun; two people were arrested), Northamptonshire (a man has been charged with possession of a firearm and ammunition), and Stocksfield Village (Liverpool) (shotgun; a woman was arrested).

Guns were recovered in other police operations in Notting Hill (west London) (a pistol and ammunition were found in a car), Worcester (more than 30 guns including rifles and shotguns were removed; a gun enthusiast was arrested on suspicion of possession of an illegal firearm), Blacon (Cheshire) (stun gun; a man was arrested), Birmingham (eight firearms were recovered from an industrial unit) and Lancaster (imitation firearm together with hand grenades and an explosives shell found at a flat; three people were arrested and the incident has been linked to an attempted murder in 1999). In Merseyside, shotgun barrels and silencers were found at an allotment plot in Liverpool (a man from Aigburth was arrested) and an 8-year-old found a loaded handgun on wasteland in New Ferry. A gun and ammunition were found in a river in Ely (Cambridgeshire).

Guns were stolen in Mellor (Lancashire) (three shotguns and an air rifle), Chapelhay (Dorset) (shotguns and ammunition - a Land Rover was also stolen; three men have been arrested), Dukinfield (Greater Manchester) (two deactivated guns), and Rimington (Lancashire) (an air rifle). A gang attempted to raid a gun shop in Newmarket (Suffolk) but nothing was
stolen.

Incidents Involving Animals - More animals and birds suffered as a result of shooting incidents, some of which proved fatal. Cats are a frequent target of airgun snipers and more were shot during September. The attacks were reported from Buckinghamshire, Clywd, Derbyshire, Devon (two attacks reported, one from August), Dundee, Essex, Gwynedd (two separate attacks), Lincolnshire, Oxfordshire and Rutland. In two separate incidents in North Wales 14 lambs were shot with an airgun near Corwen and a Shetland pony was shot near Ruthin. A deer was shot dead in a deer park in Sandyhills (Dumfries and Galloway). The bodies of three foxes which were shot with soft nosed bullets were found in a supermarket car park in Wrexham.

There were a number of reports of birds being shot. A red kite was found shot dead in Cumbria, a buzzard was shot and injured in North Yorkshire, a number of birds found in Peterlee (County Durham) were injured or killed by airgun pellets, and two kestrels have been shot dead with an air rifle in Chalfont St Peter (Buckinghamshire). A man is due in court charged with shooting a herring gull with an air weapon in Lydd-on-Sea (Kent). A man from Coldhurst (Greater Manchester) who fired air rifle pellets at his dog
has admitted responsibility for shooting his pet. A man seen firing an air rifle at ducks in a park in St Helens (Manchester) has been given a suspended 2-month
jail sentence and ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.

Inquests A police officer from Cricklade (Wiltshire) acquired a shotgun from a friend telling him he was going clay shooting and then shot himself in the head. A coroner concluded he took his own life (see December 2009 Incidents).

Convictions - The following cases resulted in convictions for attempted murder: o A man who shot his wife in the head in a street in Finchley (north London) with a revolver was found guilty - he had pleaded guilty to having a prohibited weapon with ammunition. o Two men have pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of a man who was shot at his home in Pollok (Glasgow). o A man who fired a revolver into a crowd outside a nightclub in Finsbury (central London) was found guilty to two counts of attempted murder - jailed for 11 years. o A man who fired two shots at a car in Tottenham (north London) was convicted of two counts of attempted murder - a man arrested at the same time admitted possession of a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life. A man pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm after shooting a passer-by when he opened fire in Wood Green (north London). A man who fired a sawn-off shotgun during a gang dispute in Henley Green (Coventry) has been jailed for 7½ years. Another offender who exchanged shots using a converted starting gun in Clapton (east London) pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, possessing a prohibited weapon and possessing ammunition without a certificate - jailed for 7 years.

A slaughterman who fired a revolver at his home in Liskeard (Cornwall) and fired twice at the house as he left admitted possessing the specially-modified gun with
intent to cause fear of violence - given a 5 year sentence. A man responsible for three attacks on girls in Bracknell (Berkshire) admitted offences including rape, kidnapping, sexual assault, making threats to kill and
possessing a firearm. A member of a gang who raided a store in Croydon (south London) has admitted conspiracy to rob, possessing a firearm and grievous bodily harm - jailed for a minimum of 10 years and 60 days. A man has pleaded guilty to five counts of robbery, two attempted robberies and seven counts of possessing a firearm after a series of raids on bookmakers in east London - jailed for 8 years. Another who pretended to have a gun has admitted eight counts of robbery at bookmakers in Fulham (west London) - jailed for 9 years.

The following convictions were for possession of guns: o A man has admitted being in possession of a pump-action sawn-off shotgun used in a murder in Paisley o A man who had a sawn-off shotgun in a communal shed in Bristol - jailed for 5 years o A man from Palgrave (Suffolk) found with parts of a sawn-off shotgun he claimed he thought was deactivated admitted possession - jailed for 2 years o Two people found with a sawn-off shotgun in their home in Little Horton (Bradford) admitted possessing a firearm and drug offences - sentences of at least 7 years o A man who hid a loaded pistol in a bedroom in Peckham (south London) was found guilty of having a prohibited weapon and having a gun with ammunition to endanger life - jailed for 7½ years o One of three people from Sheffield who pleaded guilty to fraud also admitted possessing a handgun - jailed for 5 years o A man who kept a pistol at the home of his mother in Bilston (West
Midlands) - jailed for 5 years with a consecutive 3 year sentence for a drug offence o A man convicted of possession of crack cocaine and a handgun (the gun was thrown from a window on an estate in Waterloo (south London)) - 7 year sentence o A man convicted of possessing a converted air pistol found at an address
in Catford (south London) where he was staying - jailed for 5 years (also jailed for drug offences) o A man found with a loaded machine gun at his girlfriend's house in
Holbeck (Leeds) found guilty for possessing a prohibited firearm, possession of a firearm when prohibited and possession of ammunition when prohibited - jailed for 8 years o A man who was carrying a loaded shotgun in a bag in Wood Green (north London) found guilty of possession of a loaded weapon in public - jailed for
6 years. A man who tried to grab a police officer's pistol before being shot by another officer following an argument with his girlfriend at her house in Brighouse (West Yorkshire) has been given a 9-month sentence for common assault and made subject to a supervision order.

Gun Factories - Three men have admitted their role in a plot to traffic firearms involving a gun factory in Vauxhall (Liverpool) - a fourth man faces charges of converting, transferring and selling weapons.

Stun Guns - A taxi driver who had a Taser in his cab in Norwich admitted a charge of possessing a prohibited weapon - given a suspended 4 month sentence and 120 hours of unpaid work). Another taxi driver who had a stun gun at his home in South Shields (Tyneside) admitted having an offensive weapon (a baton found in his cab) and a prohibited weapon - a community order with 200 hours of unpaid work. A man from Newcastle found with animal pornography at his home also had a stun gun - 12-week suspended sentence for the weapons charge. A man from Holbrooks (Coventry) pleaded guilty to possessing a stun gun and a drugs charge - 42-month prison sentence. A man found with a stun gun and cannabis at his home in Oxford admitted a drugs offence and possession of a weapon - suspended 50-week jail sentence. A man from Dudley (West Midlands) has been given a 12-month community order for possessing a stun gun. Airguns and Imitation Guns - A man who pointed an imitation pistol at a woman at a flat in Worcester has been found guilty of rape and possession of an imitation firearm. A man who held a starting pistol against his niece's head at his home in Tunbridge Wells (Kent) pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence -suspended 14-week jail sentence and 150 hours of unpaid work. A teenager from Meir (Staffordshire) who fired an air rifle in his ex-partner's house pleaded guilty to affray and having a knife - suspended 6 months' detention, 12 months' supervision and 180 hours of unpaid work. A man who fired an air rifle through the spy hole in a friend's front door in Swindon (Wiltshire) and threatened to blow it in has been convicted of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of unlawful violence and jailed for 4 years and 3 months.

A man who pulled out an air pistol and threatened his estranged wife outside the former marital home in Paisley has admitted assault, possession of a firearm and breach of the peace. A teenager who fired an air rifle in a pub in Gorebridge (Mid Lothian) has pleaded guilty to a breach of the peace and another charge of assault. A former soldier who pointed a ball-bearing gun at police officers in Houghton (Cumbria) pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence - suspended 9-month prison sentence and ordered to do 200 hours unpaid work. A man who had been drinking and had an air rifle in a store and in streets in Alness (Ross-shire) has pleaded guilty to brandishing the weapon, causing fear and alarm to others, breaking the peace and assaulting a man - jailed for 22 months. A man found with an arsenal of weapons, including an airgun, at his former home after sending his estranged wife disturbing text messages and making calls to her has admitted harassment and awaits sentence.

There were a number of convictions for robberies and attempted robberies inmwhich the offender(s) was armed with an imitation firearm and/or air weapon.
The incidents occurred: o at Shops and Post Offices in Goldthorpe (South Yorkshire) (a man has been given a 7-year sentence), Bridgwater (Somerset) (two men who
wielded BB guns admitted various charges including possessing an imitation firearm and were jailed for 4 and 5 years), Leeds, Manchester and Wolverhampton (a member of a gang who raided three jewellers was jailed for 12 years after admitting charges of robbery and possession of imitation firearms with intent to commit robbery), New Malden (Surrey) (a 13-year-old admitted robbery involving a toy gun and has been given a 6- month referral order), Darwen (Lancashire) (a woman armed with an air rifle has been sent to jail for 16 months for attempted robbery and possession of a firearm), Wishaw (a 14-year-old who tried to rob a shop whilst brandishing an air rifle has admitted robbery and possession of a firearm in a public place) and Cefn Mawr (Powys) (two men have pleaded guilty to robbery and possessing a firearm) o at Bookmakers in Gipsy Hill (south London) (three men including two teenagers have pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and possession of an imitation firearm - two of them have been jailed for 3 and 4 years), east London (a man admitted six counts of robbery and three counts of
possession of a firearm - an imitation gun - after a series of raid on bookmakers and travel agents), London (another man who carried out 14 armed raids using an imitation revolver has been jailed for 8 years), and Gossops Green (West Sussex) (a man has been jailed for a robbery involving an imitation handgun) o at a Service Station in Enfield (north London) (a man has been jailed for 7 years after admitting attempted robbery and possession of an imitation firearm)o Car Thefts in Hamilton (Lanarkshire) and Millerston (Glasgow) by the same man who has admitted both offences, and Oldbury (West Midlands) (a teenager has admitted robbery, possessing an imitation firearm and
theft) o in a Park in Cambridge (a man pleaded guilty to seven charges including possessing an imitation firearm) and in Woodland in Tadworth (Surrey) (a teenager pleaded guilty to robbery and possession of a firearm (an air rifle) with intent to cause fear and violence and was given a 20-month sentence for the firearms offence and 10 months for robbery) o at a Pub in Hampstead (north London) (three people have pleaded guilty and received jail sentences of between 4 and 12 years)o on Taxi Drivers by two men from Kennington (south London) (both were found guilty of robbery and possession of an imitation firearm and been jailed for 10 years) o at a House in Burneside (Cumbria) (a man has admitted attempting to rob and having an imitation handgun with intent to commit a robbery and has been warned to expect a long prison sentence) A soldier who stole two bottles of drink in Oxgangs (Edinburgh) and was later found with an imitation firearm has pleaded guilty to robbery and possession of an imitation firearm and been placed on probation for 18 months. A man from Oxenhope (West Yorkshire) who admitted possessing an air rifle without a certificate was given a six month sentence. A teenager who stole a number of items including a BB gun in two burglaries in Stockton (Teesside) was given an 18-month custodial sentence

JULY 2010 - SUMMARY

 Gun Deaths and Injuries - There were seven fatal shootings during July.

 Five men died in apparent homicides which occurred in: o London (3) - a man was fatally shot in Walthamstow, and two others died in Cricklewood and Upton Park (a man has been charged in relation to these two murders as well as a shooting in Hornsey in which anothervictim was injured) o Staffordshire (1) - a man was shot dead at a house in Chasetown (two men have been arrested) o Tyneside (1) - a man was killed with a sawn-off shotgun at a house inBirtley (the victim's girlfriend was shot and injured in the same incidentand the gunman, who later shot a police officer, died some days later from a self-inflicted gunshot wound (see below))

 Two men died apparently from self-inflicted gunshot wounds - both had shot and injured ex-partners and, in one case, had fatally wounded another man and seriously injured a police officer:

o Norfolk (1) - a man who shot his ex-partner with a shotgun in Feltwell was later found dead with a wound from a single shot pistol o Northumberland (1) - a man who used a sawn-off shotgun to kill his expartner's new boyfriend in Birtley (see above) and to injure his ex-partner and a police officer (see below) is thought to have shot himself in Rothbury at the end of a lengthy manhunt.

 Twenty nine other victims were hit in shooting attacks, many of them with imitation weapons or airguns:

o Gloucestershire (1) - a man was injured with a shotgun in Gloucester (a man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder) o London (6) - five people were injured in a multiple shooting in Brixton, and a victim was shot in Hornsey (linked to the fatal shooting of two othervictims (see above)) o Merseyside (3) - a man was shot in the leg in West Derby, another was shot in the buttock in Bootle (a man was being questioned) and a 16-yearold was shot in the leg (three teenagers were being held on suspicion of possessing a firearm) o Norfolk (1) - a woman who was with a baby was shot with a shotgun by her ex-partner in Feltwell (a man's body was later found with a pistol beside it (see above)) o Tyneside (2) - a woman was shot and wounded by her ex-partner in Birtley (her boyfriend was shot dead (see above)) and later, in EastDenton, the gunman shot and injured a police officer who has now lost his sight (the man apparently killed himself when surrounded by armed police in Rothbury some days later (see above)) o West Midlands (4) - four people including a 16-year-old girl were shot outside a pub in Bordesley Green

 At least 12 people, including children and teenagers, were hit with pellets from BB guns or airguns:

o Devon (2) - three boys were shot at with a BB gun in Exmouth and two of them were hit in the stomach and hip o Essex (1) - a man was shot in the head with an air pistol in Jaywick (the victim's car also sustained damage) o Greater Manchester (1) - a man was shot in the back with an air rifle in Radcliffe and required hospital treatment - a pellet became lodged in his lung o Hertfordshire (2) - two victims were hit with BB gun pellets and anothertwo men were shot at in St Albans (three teenagers were arrested) o Northamptonshire (2) - two primary schoolchildren were injured with an airgun in a playground shooting in Little Harrowden (two pupils wereexcluded from the school) o Scotland (1) - a man was shot in the leg with an airgun whilst walking on a cycle path in Dumfries o Staffordshire (1) - a teenager was rushed to hospital after being shot in the head with an airgun pellet between Handsacre and Hill Ridware.o Sussex (1) - a woman was shot in the arm with what was thought to be an air rifle in Brighton (three teenagers were arrested) o Wales (1) - a firefighter has been shot in the face with an air rifle in Abercwmboi (Mid Glamorgan)

 Armed Hold-Ups and Assaults

There were robberies and attempted robberies allegedly involving guns at Banks and Post Offices (6) in East Barnet (north London) (imitation gun), Denton (Greater Manchester), Hopton (Suffolk) (handgun), St Mary's Bay (Kent) (shotgun; two teenagers have been charged), Cheadle (Greater Manchester) (handguns; there were reports that shots werefired), and Cefn Mawr (Wrexham) (imitation handgun; one man has been charged and another three people arrested), Bookmakers (2) in Old Swan (Liverpool) and Peterborough (sawn-off shotgun), Petrol Stations (3) in Donnington Wood(Shropshire), Colne (Lancashire) (imitation firearm), and Maryport (Cumbria)(imitation gun; a man has been charged), a Restaurant (1) in Gloucester (handgun), Shops (8) in Middleton (Greater Manchester) (handgun), Nantwich(Cheshire) (bolt guns), Bromley (south London) (handgun; three people were arrested), Leytonstone (north east London), Thurrock (Essex) (stun gun),Girlington (Bradford) (shotgun), Worthing (West Sussex) (handgun), and Peterborough, and Travel Agents (2) in Epsom (Surrey) and Hayes (west London) (handgun). A man who fatally shot another man, shot and injured his ex-partner and a police officer and later killed himself (see above) is also believedto have been responsible for an armed robbery at a fish and chip shop near Blyth(Northumberland).

 Security men were robbed

at a supermarket in Stevenage (Hertfordshire) (handgun) and at a bank in Pinner (initial reports that the suspect was carrying a gun were not confirmed by the police). A Post Office Van was robbed in Tunbridge Wells (Kent).

 A man had his Car stolen at gunpoint in Belle Vue (Greater Manchester). A rider handed over his Moped to two teenage boys who threatened him at gunpoint inWarley (Essex) (two suspects have been charged with robbery and possession of an imitation firearm).

 The following incidents occurred at victims' Homes.

Three men broke into a house in Burneside (Cumbria) and threatened the occupants with a handgun and knives (a man was charged with attempted robbery and possession of a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence). A family was threatened with a shotgun in a robbery at their home in Fishburn (County Durham). Mobile phones were stolen from flats in Blackburn (Lancashire) (stun gun; two people have been arrested). A man was bundled into a car and assaulted at gunpoint whilst robbers broke into his house in West Didsbury (Greater Manchester). Six puppies were stolen at gunpoint from a house in Luton (Bedfordshire).

 In Outdoor incidents three men demanded money from a man in Rode Heath (Stoke-on-Trent) (air rifles), two 10-year-olds were held up and a bike stolen in a park in Belle Vale (Liverpool) (BB gun; a 15-year-old was arrested), and a woman was attacked by a youth carrying what appeared to be a handgun in a park inHornsey (north London) but stopped him from stealing her purse (a 16-year-old was arrested).

 A man was charged over six robberies which have taken place in Nottinghamshire in the last eight months.

 Other Incidents

Shots were fired during a number of other incidents:

o London - several vehicles were damaged in a shooting in Streatham o Merseyside - gunshots were heard and a car dealership window was damaged in Anfield (two men were arrested) o Nottingham - a gun was fired in Basford and a man was being questioned on suspicion of attempted murder o Oxfordshire - police were investigating whether a firearm was fired attrains in Steventon after two windows were damaged o West Midlands - a shotgun was fired at a passenger in a car in Chelmsley Wood, shots were fired by people leaning out of a moving vehicle in an incident in Handsworth Wood, and shots were heard in Dudley where trouble flared at a car wash

 Victims were threatened in the following incidents:

o A gang of youths threatened to shoot two 16-year-olds in a park in Salford (one of the victims was repeatedly hit over the head with a handgun). o A pistol was pointed through the window of a man's car in Edgware (north west London) and he was attacked and hit with wooden sticks.o A 17-year-old boy was threatened with a gun and knife in Stockbridge Village (Merseyside) (a 16-year-old was arrested on suspicion to commitrobbery).o In Northampton a man was chased by another man with a gun in Abington (four men have been arrested), and a man at the wheel of a newspaper van was threatened with a gun.

 A number of firearms were seized from a home in Louth (Lincolnshire) and a man was charged with making threats to kill. A man was arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm after a house in Old Swan (Liverpool) had been placed under siege by police.

 A loaded revolver was thrown into a garden in Bootle (Merseyside) (a man and a17-year-old have been charged). A pistol was seized from an 18-year-old who was stopped in Edgbaston (Birmingham). Two men were arrested after a suspected handgun was found in a van in Brislington (Bristol). An 18-year-old is due in court in Aberdeen charged with possession of a shotgun. A man was arrested and charged after a stun gun and a lock knife were found in a vehicle in Matlock (Derbyshire).

 A stun gun was seized after a suspected kidnapping in St Leonards (East Sussex) (five people were arrested).

 Police conducted a roadside search in a lay-by near Hartlepool (Teesside) for what was believed to be a firearm as part of an on-going case.

 Police were called to a site in Elephant & Castle (south London) after bullet casings were discovered - they had been left by actors shooting a film.

 No firearm was found after police called to a primary school in Seal (Kent) after a parent was threatened with being shot (a man was arrested on suspicion of threatening behaviour), nor was any gun recovered following reports of a man brandishing a handgun in Tamworth (Staffordshire). A man was brought out of a property in Fishponds (Bristol) after threatening to shoot himself but it is not known whether he had a 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 Belle Vale (Liverpool), Colne (Lancashire), East Barnet (north London), Rode Heath (Stoke-on-Trent), Maryport (Cumbria), Warley (Essex) and Cefn Mawr (Wrexham)

 A 19-year-old shot at armed police with an airgun in Oldham (Greater Manchester).

 A BB gun was fired at passers-by in Bedford (two youths were arrested). An air weapon was fired on a street in Portgordon (Banffshire).

 The following incidents also involved the use of imitation guns to threaten:

o A 16-year-old has been charged after an incident in which a gun was allegedly aimed through a car window in Stockton Heath (Cheshire) o A group of youths brandished a BB gun and pointed it at passengers on a train bound for Aintree (Merseyside) (a 12-year-old boy has been bailed) o A man has been charged with possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence after an incident in Hakin (Pembrokeshire)

 A man threatening to shoot himself was arrested in Brierfield (Lancashire) and an air weapon found.

 A family has been thrown off a campsite in Port Eynon (Swansea) after a possible air rifle incident was investigated and weapons found.

 A bag of airgun pellets was discovered after a man was accused of a breach of the peace in Paisley. In an incident in Howwood (Renfrewshire) another man was detained for breach of the peace and police confiscated an air weapon.

 Three men, two aged 18, were detained in Barton-under-Needwood and accused of possessing imitation firearms. Three men were arrested and two weapons, believed to be BB guns, were confiscated after reports of shots being fired at flats in Lincoln. A replica handgun was seized from a teenager in Lerwick (Shetland).

 A man may have been carrying an air pistol during a fight involving eight people in Telford (Shropshire).

 A child's toy gun caused a mass evacuation when it was dropped in a bank in Maldon (Essex).

 Cars were damaged by shots fired from weapons believed to have been air rifles in Gloucester, Stanground (Peterborough), Brighton, Hatfield (South Yorkshire) and Kenfig Hill (Mid Glamorgan)

 Transport police in Kent and Hampshire have reported incidents involving guns fired at trains in Birchington-on-Sea (pellet gun) and Hilsea and Winchester (air rifle)

 A priceless window at a church in Morpeth (Northumberland) has been damaged by an airgun shot.

 Guns Recoveries and Thefts

Guns were found during searches in which drugs were recovered in Leytonstone (north east London) (two loaded converted handguns) and Bolton (Greater Manchester) (stun gun).

 Nine firearms were seized and four people charged by police investigating recent shootings in Birmingham. In Liverpool a handgun and ammunition were recovered in Toxteth (a 14-year-old boy and a woman were arrested) and a gun was found hidden in a garden in Dovecot. Police investigating a robbery at a casino in Edgbaston (Birmingham) recovered a handgun and ammunition (six men and a woman were arrested). A revolver was recovered from a house in Blakenhall (Wolverhampton) (a man was arrested). A BB gun was found in Worcester during raids aimed at seizing dangerous dogs. A stash of guns has been found at a property in West Reading and a gun was found buried in Whitley. A pistol and a sawn-off shotgun were found buried in Poole (Dorset). See also Other Incidents.

 Boxes of shotgun cartridges were found dumped in a fiver in Aberffraw (Anglesey).

 A sniper-style .22 air rifle was stolen from a rifle range in Swathling (Southampton), an air rifle and pellets were stolen in Farcet (Cambridgeshire) and another air rifle was taken from a car in Cyncoed (Cardiff). Four shotguns and a rifle were stolen from a farm in Murrow (Cambridgeshire). Two boxes containing 18 replica shotguns were stolen from an industrial unit in Westhoughton (Greater Manchester).

 An imitation firearm was found when a massive haul of suspected stolen goods was recovered in Boothtown (West Yorkshire).

 Incidents Involving Animals - There were further reports of cats being shot with airguns and pellet guns, this month in Banffshire (two cats targetted), Clwyd, Coventry, London, Mid Glamorgan, Nottingham, Surrey (a number of attacks), West Sussex (two separate reports), West Yorkshire (two separate attacks including one on a pregnant cat), and Wolverhampton.

 A horse was shot and badly injured with an air weapon in County Durham, and two teenagers were arrested after firing an air weapon at another horse inNorthumberland.

 Several rabbits have been shot dead in a nature reserve in South Shields (Tyneside) where no hunting is allowed.

 A seal had to be put down after being found with multiple gunshot wounds in a river near York.

 Songbirds may have been killed with an airgun in Morpeth (Northumberland), and a kestrel died after being shot in Uffington (Shropshire).

 Convictions - There were a number of convictions for murder:

o A gun club member was convicted of the murder of a taxi driver, whom he did not know and whom he shot dead in Cromford (Derbyshire) - he will serve at least 30 years. o Three teenagers were convicted of murdering a man who was shot dead in Hackney (east London) and were jailed for life with a minimum of 27 years. o Two men were convicted of murder and one of conspiracy to murder a man who was shot dead in Stonebridge (north west London) in 2004 - all three will serve a minimum of 25 years. o A man has been convicted for the second time for the murders of two men who were shot with the same bullet at a party in Hackney (east London) in 2002 - he was given two life sentences. o A member of the INLA was sentenced to 24 years after pleading guilty to the murder of an army recruitment sergeant in Derby in 1992.

 A man who killed his friend at the other man's house in Coventry when they were "messing around" with his friend's prohibited pistol has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

 After the case collapsed a man was cleared of the murder of a man with whom he had a fight and shot dead at his home in Alderley Edge (Cheshire).

 Two men have been jailed for at least 6½ years over the shooting of a man in Leyton (north east London) - they were convicted of grievous bodily harm and possessing a firearm and ammunition.

 A man who shot another driver in the stomach with a homemade gun in Alkham (Kent) during a road rage incident has been convicted of wounding with intent.

 A man who fired a shot into the door of a nightclub in Bilston (Wolverhampton) was given an 8½ year sentence.

 Two men who bundled a businessman into a car at gunpoint in Salford have admitted kidnapping and blackmail, wounding with intent, false imprisonment and attempted blackmail and been jailed for 11 and 7½ years.

 Four men involved in a raid during a cash delivery at a store in Haslingden (Lancashire) admitted conspiracy to commit robbery and have also been convicted of possessing a firearm.

 A man who held up a supermarket in Coventry whilst armed with a handgun has admitted a charge of robbery and of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and been sentenced to 5 years and 4 months.

 A man from Top Valley (Nottingham) was jailed for 5 years after a loaded sawnoff shotgun was found in his wardrobe - he also had pellets and gunpowder in his jeans. A man caught with a sawn-off shotgun at his home in Wavertree (Liverpool) admitted possessing the weapon and was jailed for 6 years. A man from Cockermouth (Cumbria) has been jailed for 1 year for illegally owning a shotgun. A man from Inverness who kept two shotguns in his loft has been jailed for 2 years.

 A man who kept an illegal handgun and a shotgun at his home in Shifnal (Shropshire) admitted possessing a firearm without a certificate and possessing a prohibited firearm and ammunition without a firearm certificate.

 A 19-year-old student who kept a handgun and bullets at her home in Tottenham, north London, has admitted unlawful possession of the firearm and ammunition and been jailed for 5 years. Another student, aged 18, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, possession of ammunition with intent to endanger life, possession of a silencer and possession of cannabis after he was caught carrying a gun on college premises in Kingston (south west London).

 A man who worked on a gun owned by the man convicted of murdering a taxi driver in Derbyshire (see above) pleaded guilty to four charges of unlawful possession of ammunition without authority and also admitted possession of a shotgun for which he had no certificate - he was given a 21 month sentence.

 Gun Factories - Four men involved in converting Olympic starting pistols into lethal weapons in an operation in Islington (north London) have been jailed for between 3 and 7 years - a fifth member of the gang was jailed for 6 years for possession of firearms.

 Stun Guns

A man from Daubhill (Greater Manchester) has admitted possessing cannabis and a stun gun and been given a 12-month community sentence and ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work. Another offender from Hartlepool (Teesside) who admitted producing cannabis and possessing a stun gun has been given a 12-month community order with supervision. A man from Southcote (Berkshire) admitted possessing pepper spray and a stun gun and will serve a 2- year community order with 12 months supervision.

 A judge has accepted that a man from Eaglescliffe (Teesside) who imported 18 stun guns into the UK from Thailand did not know they were illegal.

 Airguns and Imitation Guns - An ex-soldier who threatened his victim with a ball bearing gun has admitted rape and having a firearm with intent to commit an offence and been given an indeterminate jail sentence (minimum 4 years and 78 days) - the attack took place near Peterborough.

 A man who was armed with an imitation sawn-off shotgun when a man was kidnapped in Drinkstone (Suffolk) has been jailed for a total of 8 years - a second man was found guilty of kidnapping, blackmail and false imprisonment.

 Two 15-year-olds have both pleaded guilty to firing an air rifle in public in York where they shot a woman in the face and also assaulted another boy and caused criminal damage - they were given referral orders for 9 months and 6 months and ordered to pay compensation.

 Three men from Telford who shot a number of pedestrians with an air pistol out of the window of a car have admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm - two received suspended 34-week custodial sentences and were ordered to carry out 250 hours community work and the third was given a 12-month community order with 150 hours unpaid work.

 A man who wounded his cousin when he fired a .22 air rifle at his home in Daventry (Northamptonshire) has admitted unlawful wounding and been given a suspended 30-week sentence, a 12-month community order, a 10-day employment course and told to do 100 hours of community work.

 One man pleaded guilty to common assault and another admitted grievous bodily harm after a man visiting his neighbour in Workington (Cumbria) was shot three times with a BB gun.

 The following cases involved the use of imitation guns and airguns as a threat or to cause fear:

o A man who fired an air rifle at his sister's partner in Hartlepool (Teesside) and narrowly missed him was convicted of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and affray - jailed for 1 year. o A man who threatened to use a gas-propelled BB gun and terrified people at a nightclub in Southampton admitted two counts of possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence - jailed for 4 years. o A man who threatened a 15-year-old boy and his friends in Brentford (west London) with an imitation pistol pleaded guilty to possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause alarm or distress - jailed for 3½ years. o A man who threatened bin men with a BB gun outside his house in Wolverhampton admitted possessing an imitation firearm - made subject to a hospital order. o A man from Irthington (Cumbria) who brandished a starter pistol at four youths has pleaded guilty to affray - 6-month suspended sentence and placed under a 12-week curfew order. o A man who brandished a ball-bearing handgun in a bar in West Reading admitted one count of having an imitation firearm with intent to threaten - jailed for 12 months. o A woman from Exeter has admitted possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear or unlawful violence - she had been drinking when she was seen waving two imitation handguns in her garden and was just seconds away from being shot by a police marksman. o A man who had a 6-hour stand-off in Tullibody (Clackmannanshire) and threatened police with an air rifle has pleaded guilty to a number of

offences including possessing a firearm with intent of causing a person to believe violence would be used against them. o A man who pointed a toy gun at people in Kinloss (Moray) and threatened them has been convicted of possessing an imitation weapon and making others believe he would use it against them.

 A man who was drunk when he fired an air rifle from a boat on Loch Venachar (Perthshire) was fined £750.

 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:

o at Shops and Post Offices - in Leicester (involved an air pistol and a blank-firing handgun; four men received sentences of between 4 and 7 years), central London (three teenagers have admitted armed robbery, one of them, aged 15, admitted possessing an imitation firearm), Thornton (West Yorkshire) (two men have been found guilty of attempted robbery and with having an imitation firearm with intent), and Northampton (a man pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and possession of an imitation firearm (an air pistol) and was jailed for 4 years) o at a Bookmakers - in Bedford (a man was convicted of attempted robbery and possessing an imitation firearm with intent to commit robbery and been jailed for 11 years)

 The following cases involved offenders seen with imitation guns or airguns in public:

o A man seen with an air pistol in Barrow (Cumbria) took the weapon to abar where the barman confiscated it after he cocked it and waved itaround whilst drunk - he pleaded guilty to carrying an air weapon in public. o A man who appeared to be pointing an air rifle at people in Middlesbrough has admitted having an air weapon in a public place and other offences - a 12-month community order with supervision. o A man who was seen in combat gear crouching near a military training base in Lympstone (Devon) with an M4 carbine BB gun admitted possessing an imitation firearm - a year's community order involving 80 hours of unpaid work. o A man who sparked an armed siege by carrying an air rifle in the street in Coatbridge (North Lanarkshire) - ordered to carry out 90 hours of community service. o Two men have been given community orders for possessing loaded air rifles at a country park in Yeovil (Somerset). o A man from Shirebrook (Nottinghamshire) found with an unloaded air weapon in a rucksack admitted possessing the gun - ordered to do 70 hours unpaid work. o A man from Stourbridge (West Midlands) who had an unloaded air pistol - a suspended 6 months sentence (he had also been charged with having a fighting dog). o A man sentenced for carrying daggers in Burnham (Buckinghamshire) also received a conditional discharge for 18 months for being in possession of an airgun.o A pub landlord spotted with a gun in his back pocket - given a 16-week suspended sentence. o An 18-year-old admitted having an imitation firearm and a number of other offences after incidents in St Austell (Cornwall) - he has been issued with a 6-month detention and training order. o A man who dressed as a police officer and put a blank-firing imitation Glock pistol in his pocket to go to an incident in Streatham (south London) has been found guilty of having an imitation firearm in public. o A man who admitted possession of an imitation gun in Dumbarton was jailed for a further 60 days for this and other offences relating to an incident at his ex-girlfriend's house when he jumped out at police with a dangerous weapon.

 A farmer from South Shields (Tyneside) found with two illegal airguns at his home has been given a 12-month community order and a 12-month supervisionorder.

 A man from Keynsham (Bristol) has been given a community order, curfew and an electronic tag for possession of an air weapon when prohibited from owning one for 5 years.

It is estimated that in the last 10 years nearly three quarters of all female shooting fatalities occurred in domestic incidents. A recent court case in which a woman was convicted of murder after shooting her husband in January 2009 was a reminder that, whilst the vast majority of those affected are women, men can also become victims of armed domestic violence. There is a tendency for such incidents to be treated as tragic but rather private incidents, at odds with the pattern of gun crime usually portrayed by the media and politicians. The numbers may be small, but as the figures quoted above show they make up a significant proportion of all gun homicides in Great Britain. Concerns about gun crime should be the same regardless of whether the incidents occur on the street or within the confines of a family home, and the seriousness of the crime must not be downplayed because the perpetrator kills himself. The possibility that guns kept in the home can be and are abused should never be ignored. Whilst not all the details have been released and there is an apparent reluctance by the police to provide information in these cases, it is clear that the weapons used are usually too easily available. In two of the three incidents which involved illegal handguns the presence of guns in the house was apparently well known. One man from Devon was a collector of antique guns, the other from Aldershot had found a pistol in a skip and had kept it. Following the triple shooting in Aldershot, Hampshire Police have announced a gun amnesty saying that “many people within the community have told us they are unaware of the laws surrounding gun ownership”. However, in a large proportion of domestic incidents the likelihood remains that the gun used will be legally-owned. Eight of the incidents mentioned above involved shotguns, with the majority of the perpetrators, if not all, licensed owners. In most domestic violence situations it is the presence of the gun in the home, not its legal status, which is critical.

A full list of Domestic Incidents involving guns is provided at http://www.gun-control-network.org/

JUNE 2010 - SUMMARY

The news was dominated by the outrage committed by legal gun owner Derrick Bird in Cumbria which resulted in the deaths of twelve victims and injuries to eleven others. The perpetrator then shot himself.

The number of gunshot injuries was comparatively high, not least because of incidents which occurred in the
Birmingham area. The number of incidents involving airguns and BB guns that resulted in injuries to human and animal victims was also higher than in recent months.

Gun Deaths and Injuries

Besides the multiple shootings in Cumbria on 2 June there were seven other fatal incidents, all involving male victims. Four of them were apparent homicides which occurred in:

London (2) - a teenager found dead in a burnt out car in Peckham had been shot in the head, and a second victim was found shot in the head in another car in Catford Merseyside (1) - a man was shot dead while waiting in a van at traffic lights in Crosby. Scotland (1) a man was shot outside his home in Shotts (North
Lanarkshire)

Three other men died from gunshot wounds that were apparently self inflicted -

the incidents occurred in Pantygog (Mid Glamorgan) (shotgun), Dumfries (shotgun) and Frodsham (Cheshire).

Thirty three other victims were hit in shooting attacks, more than a third involving pellet guns or airguns:

o Berkshire (1) - a man was shot in Reading and sustained injuries to his arm and both legs (five men have been arrested) o Cambridgeshire (1) - a housesitter was shot with a sawn-off shotgun in
Godmanchester (three men have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder) o Dorset (1) - a man was shot in Kinson (Bournemouth) (five people were
arrested) o Greater Manchester (1) - a man was shot in the thigh in Salford (two men were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder) o London (3) - a man presented himself at hospital with a gunshot wound to
the arm after a shooting at London Fields, a teenager was shot in the neck in Mitcham and a man was discovered with a gunshot wound to his foot in Forest Gate o Merseyside (2) - a man was shot in the leg in Walton, and another was shot in the leg at a flat in Kensington o Norfolk (2) - a couple were both shot with a shotgun during a dispute between neighbours (a man was charged with two counts of attempted murder) o Staffordshire (1) - a man was injured in an attack in Normacot (three men have been arrested) o West Midlands (8) - a man was shot in the stomach while walking along a street in Hamstead, another victim was shot while sitting in his car in Alum Rock, three men and a woman were injured at a club night in the centre of Birmingham (a man has been arrested), a man was shot in the stomach in Lozells and the same evening a man was shot in the groin in Handsworth Wood. Two men were injured by flying glass when shots were fired after a car crash in central London.

At least 13 other people, many of them children and some female, were hit in shootings with BB guns or airguns:

o Dorset (1) - a 7-year-old was shot in the leg with an airgun while playing in a playground in Poole - a man was arrested o Hertfordshire (1) - a 2-year-old boy was shot with a BB gun while playing in his parents' back garden in Welwyn Garden City o Kent (2) - a female cyclist was hit in the arm with a shot from an air weapon while cycling in Pembury and earlier a gardener had been shot in the leg in Tonbridge o London (1) - a 14-year-old was shot in the lower back and buttocks with a pellet gun in Leytonstone o South Yorkshire (1) - a man was struck on the arm with an airgun pellet in
the car park of a railway station in Doncaster o Suffolk (1) - a man was hit in the ankle with what was probably a BB gun pellet in Ipswich (the incident may be linked to an attempted robbery, see below) o Wales (4) - a council worker was shot in the shoulder with an air rifle in Swansea (a man has been charged with a firearms offence, assault and criminal damage), and three pupils at a school in Cardiff were shot with a BB gun (a 14-year-old was arrested) o West Midlands (1) - a woman was injured in an airgun attack in Earlsdon (Coventry) - she was holding her baby at the time of the attack
o West Sussex (1) - a postman was shot in the back as he got off his bike in Lancing - he was left with a bleeding red wound.

Armed Hold-Ups and Assaults

There were robberies and attempted robberies allegedly involving guns at Banks and Post Offices

(2) in Woodville (Derbyshire) (no firearm seen) and Ashford (Surrey) (a man took a number of people hostage - he was later arrested and found to have an imitation weapon), Bookmakers (4) in Whittlesey (Cambridgeshire) (handgun), Portsmouth, New Romney (Kent) (sawn-off shotgun), and Haslemere (Surrey) (handgun), Shops (6) in Windsor (Berkshire) (handgun), New Malden (south west London) (shotgun; a youth was arrested), Westcliff (Essex) (handgun), Long Eaton (Derbyshire) (imitation handgun) (a man has been accused of this and another robbery), Luton (Bedfordshire), and Chilwell (Nottinghamshire) (BB gun), a Theatre (1) in Chichester (West Sussex) (handguns), and a Travel Agents (1) in East Grinstead (West Sussex).

Security men were robbed outside a bank in Feltham (west London) (a worker was threatened and hit with a gun), in Knutsford (Cheshire) and St Helier (south
London) (pistol). Two men thought to have a gun and posing as police officers attempted to rob a motorist in Ormskirk (Lancashire). Two women dog walkers were robbed of cash by a man armed with a rifle in Woods Tadworth (Surrey). In attempted Street robberies a man threatened a woman in Ipswich (the incident may be linked to a probable BB gun shooting, see above), and two businessmen were threatened as they were putting takings into a night safe at a bank in Widnes (Cheshire). Armed police surrounded a House in Southampton after reports that burglars were armed with a gun - a man received treatment for a cut to his head. In Hackney (east London) a woman was threatened at her home with a shotgun and stun gun by two men who demanded money.

Other Incidents

Shots were fired during a number of other incidents:

o Cheshire - a shot, probably from a shotgun, was fired through the window of a home in Orford o County Durham - a group of men shot out the windows of a flat in Shildon o Greater Manchester - a gunman with a shotgun opened fire on the home of an elderly couple in Bolton, and a pensioner escaped unharmed after shots were fired at his house in Stretford o Hampshire - there were reports of gunshots in Eastleigh - a man was
arrested but later released o Scotland - firearms were allegedly used and left unattended in a garden in Elgin (Morayshire), and there were reports of gunshots in a street in Glasgow o Somerset - a licensed firearms holder in Kenn was arrested after a woman became terrified and claimed he had shot chickens and cats and would shoot her o West Midlands - six shots were fired in a street in Aston

The following incidents involved men seen with guns:

o A man was charged with possessing a firearm and ammunition after another man was chased by an armed man in Moss Side (Manchester). o Three people including a teenage girl were arrested after a man was seen wielding a gun in Huyton (Merseyside). o A man was arrested after reports of a gunman driving through Bournemouth (Dorset) o A male driver brandished a gun following a road rage incident near Shaves Wood (West Sussex). o A man was arrested in the Boultham Moor area of Lincoln after being reported to be walking the streets with a firearm. o Police were alerted following reports of a man with a gun in Newport (Gwent). A man has been charged with possessing a firearm, acquiring a shortened shotgun and possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence after being arrested at his home in Top Valley (Nottingham).

Police found a rifle and shotgun cartridges at a home in Paisley after a woman told them that her husband had pressed a gun against her head during a row - a man was arrested. A man was arrested in Torquay (Devon) after a bag containing two weapons, including a suspected homemade firearm, and ammunition was recovered. A 19-year-old was arrested at a school in Newton-le-Willows (Merseyside) after reports he was making threats to kill - a picture of a gun was posted on a social networking site. Two men were arrested of suspicion of affray after they shouted abuse and implied they would produce a gun at a hospital in Tameside (Greater Manchester).

Residents in an area of Stoke-on-Trent have spoken of their fear when they were woken by gunshots - a contractor was carrying out a cull of geese. A man using a shotgun in fields outside a factory in Burton Latimer (Northamptonshire) caused an armed police response - he was shooting pigeons legally. A man carrying a shotgun for pest control sparked another police response near Ponsonby (Cumbria).

Airguns and Imitation Guns

There were many incidents involving airguns and
imitation besides those in which human (see above) and animal (see below) victims were shot.

They were probably used in many of the armed robberies and this was certainly so in Long Eaton (Derbyshire), Chilwell (Nottinghamshire) and Ashford (Surrey). A man was accused of holding up bookmakers in Wembley and Harrow (north west London) with an imitation handgun in October 2009. Two teenagers have been accused of taking pot shots at people in Holloway (north London) with an air rifle - three people suffered injuries as a result of the attacks in December 2009 and January 2010.

In the following incidents airguns and imitation guns were used to threaten:

o A taxi driver was threatened with an airgun by a passenger in West Bridgford (Nottingham). o A man was arrested on suspicion of assault when an air weapon was recovered at an address in Hartlepool (Teesside).
o A 16-year-old with an imitation gun was arrested in Harnham (Wiltshire) after reports of an assault on a local man - he was charged with possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence or
assault. o A woman from Southcote (Berkshire) has been charged with possessing an air rifle and causing a neighbour to believe violence would be used against her. o Imitation handguns were seized at an address in Fishersgate (Brighton) after reports that a man had confronted a woman with a gun - he was arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. A 19-year-old who threatened family members with a BB gun at his home in Melksham (Wiltshire) has been charged with possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
o Three teenagers were threatened by a man with an air pistol in Torquay (Devon) - the man was arrested on suspicion of possession of a weapon with intent to cause fear or violence. A woman who threatened to harm herself and appeared to wave a gun in her garden in Wonford (Devon) probably had two imitation firearms. A man refused to lay down a gun, believed to be an imitation, in Wigmore (Kent) and police used a stun gun on him. Two men, one aged 17, have appeared in court charged with possessing an imitation firearm after four people were arrested in New Cross (south east London) on suspicion of possessing a firearm after a car was stopped. A man has been charged with being in possession of a firearm in a public place near Lochearnhead (Perthshire) where an air rifle was found.
A man was arrested after being in possession of a blank-firing handgun at a house in Abergele (Conwy). A man from Farnborough (Hampshire) has pleaded not guilty to possessing of weapons, including a high-powered air rifle. An air rifle was confiscated from the home of a man in Fleetwood (Lancashire) who was
wrecking his flat. A BB gun was recovered after a man waved a gun at a group of people in a car park in Cosham (Hampshire). A boy caused an armed alert in Market Harborough (Leicestershire) when he waved a toy handgun, and armed police swooped after a boy was seen brandishing a gun in the back of a car in Burton-on-Trent (Staffordshire) - the gun was a toy weapon. Replica or ball bearing guns were also found after reports of gunmen in Dagenham (east London). A family are fleeing their home in Moorside (Greater Manchester) after airgun shots were fired at their home and car.

Other acts of vandalism were carried out with airguns and BB guns:

o A flat in Exmouth (Devon) was targeted in a probable air rifle attack o Thirty four cars were damaged by pellets from a ball bearing gun or an airgun in Newmarket and Exning (Suffolk) o A total of 84 windows at a school in Ashington (Northumberland) were smashed with an airgun o A parked van was shot at with an air rifle in Gloucester o A window at a church in Bridgeton (Glasgow) was shot with airgun pellets. Retailers were warned by police not to sell pellet guns to children after a 12-year-old purchased one from a gift shop in Torquay (Devon).

Guns Recoveries and Thefts

Guns were found during searches in which drugs were recovered in Clayton (Manchester) (shotgun) (a man and a woman were arrested), Bristol (shotgun), Stamford (Lincolnshire) (replica firearm found in a car), and Johnstone (Renfrewshire) (sawn-off shotgun). A handgun was seized by police at a house in Walthamstow (north east London) (two teenagers were arrested and one of them charged). Three people were
arrested in Salford after a loaded pistol was found when police had spotted the three trying to empty a bag on a river bank. Police issued a warning about stun guns disguised as mobile phones after one was found during a raid on a house in Rochdale (Greater Manchester). A haul of airguns was discovered in a flat in Southport (Merseyside) where a decomposed body was found - the death is not being treated as suspicious. A loaded revolver was discovered in Highfields (Leicester), and a gun was found in bushes in Newbury (Berkshire). A group of schoolboys found 32 live shotgun cartridges by a river in Lacock (Wiltshire). Four training rifles were stolen from a storage area at a range in Gisleham
(Suffolk). Several airguns were stolen from a fishing tackle shop in Kirkcaldy (Fife), and a cache of replica firearms, including 20 fake Kalashnikovs, were stolen from a van in Aldershot (Hampshire).

Gun Factory

Police seized 50 guns when they raided a flat in North Seaton (Northumberland) - a man was charged with converting an imitation firearm into a firearm and possession, purchase or sale of a prohibited weapon.

Incidents Involving Animals

There was a significant increase from the previous month in the number of reports of shooting incidents involving animals and birds.

Cats were shot with airguns or pellet guns in Ayrshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, County Durham, Devon, East Dunbartonshire, Gloucestershire, Kent (two separate reports), Leeds (four cats treated in Pudsey in recent weeks), London, Merseyside, Norfolk, North Yorkshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Suffolk, Surrey (two cats shot in Camberley), Swansea and West Yorkshire. It is suggested that a cat in Wrexham may have been shot three times with bullets rather than airgun pellets.

A pony was injured in a shooting in Wellington (Shropshire) and a pet horse was shot dead, probably with a shotgun, in Gurney Valley (County Durham). Six seals have apparently been shot dead in Shetland. Seagulls have been targeted in airgun shootings in Whitby (North Yorkshire) and Peacehaven (East Sussex). A number of birds, including two cygnets and three sparrowhawks, have been shot dead in Swindon (Wiltshire). A female swan was shot dead with an air weapon in Rotherham (South Yorkshire) and a goose was the victim of a drive-by shooting in Stow-cum-Quy (Cambridgeshire). A man was fined for trapping and shooting a badger in Pembrokeshire. A man was warned by police after shooting and killing a squirrel from his window in Weston-super-Mare (Somerset).

Convictions

Two teenagers were convicted of murdering a man who was shot through the head in Luton (Bedfordshire) and will serve a minimum of 22 and 26 years. Two other men found guilty of the murder of a man who died from a
gunshot wound in Nottingham will both serve 28 years. A man from Rhydyfro (West Glamorgan) has been jailed for life for killing his father, whom he shot with a homemade gun and stabbed. A man was convicted of the attempted murder of his wife in Caversham
(Berkshire) whom he shot in the head with a shotgun. A man who shot another man outside a nightclub in Luton (Bedfordshire) was found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and possessing a prohibited firearm and given an indeterminate sentence (minimum 5 years and 166 days). A man, who with an accomplice was brandishing a revolver and knife when they raided a bank in Pemberton (Greater Manchester), has pleaded guilty to robbery and been given an indeterminate sentence (minimum 6 years). One of two gunmen who robbed a jewellers in Mayfair (central London) has been found guilty of robbery and of kidnapping a shop assistant to help make his escape. Four men have been sentenced for their part in attacks on massage parlours in Southampton involving an imitation firearm and a separate incident when a sawn-off shotgun was fired at a door - they will serve between 2- and 5-year custodial sentences. Two men have been jailed for firearm offences and drug dealing - the police had
stopped a car near Mirfield (West Yorkshire) and found a loaded handgun. A man caught by police in Huddersfield (West Yorkshire) has been found guilty of drugs and gun crimes and will serve a 14-year sentence. Two men have been jailed for 11 years and 2 months and for 5 years and 2 months after drugs, a sawn-off shotgun and a crossbow were found at a garage in Wishaw (North Lanarkshire) Two men found with a Mac-10 sub-machine gun in a car in Battersea have beenfound guilty of possession of a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life and have been jailed (minimum 6 years and 9 years) - a teenager who passed the gun to them was given a 2-year detention and training order. A businessman has been found guilty of possessing a shotgun with intent to cause fear of violence after threatening a bailiff who was trying to clamp his car in Weston-super-Mare (Somerset). A man from Chichester (West Sussex) who pleaded guilty to a number of sex charges admitted possessing shotgun ammunition when banned and possessing an air rifle when banned - he was jailed for 4 years. A defendant in a drugs trial from Woodseats (Sheffield) pleaded guilty to possessing a sawn-off shotgun and owning an air pistol without a certificate - he was jailed for 5 years.
A landlord from Surbiton (south west London) who kept a shotgun at his pub has pleaded guilty to possessing the weapon. A woman from Sampford Courtenay (Devon) was given a suspended 9-month sentence after taking home a bag containing three shotguns and a rifle which had been dumped at a tip.

Inquests

A coroner has recorded a verdict of suicide in the case of a man who shot his partner and then himself with a .357 revolver at their home in Dousland (Devon) - the coroner recorded that the woman had been unlawful killed. An open verdict was recorded at the inquest of a man from Brampton (Lincolnshire) who was found with gunshot wounds to the head minutes after threatening his wife in a row over their future.

Gun Factory

Two men involved in converting starter pistols to lethal weapons in a shed in Enfield (north London) pleaded guilty to possession and distribution of firearms and ammunition and to conspiracy to convert firearms and
ammunition - they were sentenced to 30 and 25 months in prison.

Stun Guns

A man who used a stun gun during an aggravated burglary in Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire) has had his sentence reduced to 6 years. A man who admitted robbery, possessing a weapon and ABH following attacks with a stun gun on two men in York has been jailed for 5 years. Two men have admitted kidnap, assault and possessing a stun gun after abducting a man from his home in South Lincolnshire. A man from Wrexham who admitted drug offences and possessing a prohibited stun gun has been jailed for a total of 30 months. A teenage woman who admitted having a stun gun at her flat in Anerley (south London) has been fined £66. A man who converted a disposable camera into a stun gun at his home in Burnley (Lancashire) admitted possessing a prohibited weapon and was given 12 months supervision with 80 hours unpaid work.

Airguns and Imitation Guns

A man from Coedpoeth (Clywd) has been convicted of a number of offences including assault and rape and told to expect a long jail sentence - he produced an air pistol to scare his victim at the time of the offences.
? A man who broke into a house in East Wichelstowe (Wiltshire) wielding an imitation gun has pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary, possession of a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence and possession of cannabis resin and been jailed for 7 years.

Those convicted who fired shots at victims were:

o Three men who shot a woman in the stomach at point blank range with an airgun after luring her to a property in Chiswick were convicted of various offences including having an imitation firearm in a public place - two of
them received indeterminate sentences and will serve a minimum of 4 years, the other received a 5-year sentence. o A man has been jailed for 21 months after admitting assault - he pulled an airgun on a man in Newcastle and fired five pellets into his arm. o A student who bought a BB gun and shot at passers by in Bristol has pleaded guilty to common assault and been given a conditional discharge. o An off duty soldier, aged 19, has been given a 12-month community order
and 80 hours unpaid work after pleading guilty to two counts of having an imitation firearm in public and two counts of assault, he shot at pupils at a school in Sarisbury Green (Southampton) and shot a man in Locks Heath - a 15-year-old who was with him at the time of the second attack was given a 12-month youth rehabilitation order with 40 hours unpaid work. Others who used imitation guns or airguns to threaten or cause fear included: o A man who was cleared of attempted murder but admitted possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence had fired the weapon
at a pub in Didsbury (Manchester) - he has been jailed for 4 years. o A man from Blackley (Greater Manchester) has been jailed for 12 years for various offences including 10 counts of making indecent images and
firearms offences - he was caught after his flat was raided by police after he threatened workmen with an air rifle and a sword. o A man who armed himself with an imitation pistol after a disagreement in Sandown (Isle of Wight) was found guilty of two charges of possession of
an imitation firearm and threats to cause violence towards another - he was given a suspended 9-month jail term and ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work. o A man who threatened to set fire to a car while armed with a BB gun in Speke (Merseyside) admitted possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, affray and criminal damage and was jailed for 16 months. o A man who carried an air rifle into a hospital in North Manchester has pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear and to
possessing a firearm while prohibited and been jailed for 2 years. o A teenager who brandished a gun-shaped cigarette lighter at a nightclub in Eastbourne (East Sussex) and was convicted of having an imitation
firearm with intent to cause fear of violence has had his sentence reduced to 8 months on appeal. o A man admitted arming himself with an air pistol during a family brawl in Dagenham (east London). o A man who threatened a couple in Halesowen (West Midlands) with a fake gun and cutting off the power to a block of flats has admitted possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and given a suspended 12-month sentence, and ordered to carry out 150 hours of
unpaid work and obey a curfew. o A 17-year-old from Grangetown (Teesside) who was armed with a .22 air
rifle when he threatened to shoot a police officer pleaded guilty to making use of a firearm with intent to resist or prevent lawful arrest and admitted possessing a firearm when prohibited because he had served a prison sentence. o A man who held a fake pistol to the head of his tagging officer at his home in Edinburgh has been given a custodial sentence of 6 months. A man who walked into a police station in Worcester and was found to have an imitation pistol in his bag has now been jailed for 21 months for possession of an
imitation firearm in a public place and other offences after failing to attend a probation service meeting. A man who fired an air rifle into a wall whilst he was drunk in Muirhead (Angus) has been jailed for 4 months after pleading guilty of committing a breach of the peace and recklessly discharging a firearm. A former soldier admitted possessing an air rifle in a public place outside his home in Mostyn (Clywd) and was fined £300 - he was drunk at the time of the incident. Two men pleaded guilty to having an unloaded air weapon in a public place, a pub in Sunderland - one was given a 21-month community order with supervision and the other was given a 12-month community order. A man who admitted trespassing on land at Bembridge Marshes (Isle of Wight) with an air rifle has been fined £100.

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:

o at Shops in Paulton (Somerset) (a teenager who had a blank-firing revolver has been given 2 years detention and training for attempted robbery and possessing a firearm with intent), and Balloch (West Dunbartonshire) (a man who had a gas-powered BB gun has been jailed
for 40 months) o at a Post Office in Worcester (a man who planned a robbery with an airgun has been ordered to be detained at a mental health hospital) o at Bookmakers in Strood, Snodland and Northfleet (Kent) (a man pleaded guilty to six charges) o at a Takeaway in Whitebirk (Lancashire) (a man was jailed for 4 years
after pleading guilty to robbery and possession of an imitation firearm) o of a Car in Shevington (Lancashire) (a man admitted robbery and possessing an imitation firearm) Two men convicted of posting racist internet messages had guns at their homes in Leigh (Greater Manchester) (BB machine gun) and Hirwaun (South Wales) (air rifle). A man who stole a number of items including a BB gun from an industrial unit in Blackburn (Lancashire) has pleaded guilty to burglary.

DOMESTIC INCIDENTS AND FEMALE GUN VICTIMS

During the year ending March 2010, the period used by the Home Office and the Scottish Government for compiling detailed gun crime statistics, there was another drop in the number of male gun homicide victims (it is estimated there were 32 in England and Wales and 1 in Scotland). With respect to the overall total, however, this fall has been offset by the number of females who were killed.

Since the last week of March 2009 nine women and one 4-year-old girl have been shot dead. All but one are known to have been killed in domestic incidents by a partner, expartner or, in one instance, father. The other fatality, one of two in March 2010, has also been linked to a domestic dispute, though the identity of the gunman is
not yet known.

After seven of the deaths the perpetrator killed himself - in only one instance was the possibility of a suicide pact mentioned. In May 2009 another woman died after being shot with a bolt gun, not classified as a firearm, by a man whom she knew and had been stalking her. There were two further incidents involving girls, one shot in the leg in July 2009 and the other abducted at gunpoint in March 2010, and their mothers’ former partners who then killed themselves with shotguns.

MAY 2010 - SUMMARY

 Gun Deaths and Injuries - There were seven fatal shooting incidents reported during May. All of the victims were male.

 Five of the fatal shootings were homicides which all occurred in London (see above), the worst monthly death toll in the capital for nearly three years - one victim was shot in the head in a garden in New Cross (four teenagers have been arrested), another was targeted in a street in Tottenham (one man has been charged with murder), a third man died after being shot as he left a takeaway in Paddington (two men have been arrested), the fourth victim was one of three men who were shot outside a club in Newham (a man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder), and a fifth man was shot dead in a street in
Lewisham. Five other men were injured in shooting incidents in London (see below).

A man apparently shot himself at his home in Watford (Hertfordshire) after he had held his wife prisoner. Another man was found dead with gunshot wounds at his home in Melbourne (Derbyshire) - there were no
suspicious circumstances.

 A number of other victims were injured in shootings, 2 of which may have been self-inflicted and 1 accidental.

o Bristol (1) - a man was shot in the arm in Easton (a man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder) o Greater Manchester (4) - a man was admitted to hospital after being shot in the eye while gardening at his home in Chorlton (police were investigating the possibility that he could have been hit by a stray bullet), a man and a teenage woman were shot in the
same incident in Moss Side (three people have been arrested), and a man was shot at his home in Baguley when two men burst in. o London (5) - a man was shot in the stomach in Brixton, a teenager was shot in the legs in Chingford (the victim and another teenager were arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm), one man caught in the crossfire was shot in the stomach when two groups fired at each another at a festival in Hackney (one man has been arrested), and two men were injured in an incident in Newham in which a third victim was killed (see above) o Merseyside (1) - a teenager suffering from gunshot wounds was found in Thornton (eight suspects have been arrested) o Northumberland (1) - a man was shot in the shoulder in a street in Stocksfield o Scotland (1) - a man arrived at a Glasgow hospital with a gunshot wound o Suffolk (1) - a woman was shot in the knee with a shotgun by someone with whom she was shooting pigeons in East Soham - the shooting is reported to have been an accident o Sussex (1) - a man was blasted in the face with a licensed shotgun at his home in Eastbourne - police are satisfied that nobody else was involved
o Wales (1) - a man was found with a gun shot wound in Llangollen (Denbighshire) - no one else is being sought as part of the investigation o West Midlands (1) - a man was shot in the back in Highgate (Birmingham)

 At least 6 other people were hit in shootings with BB guns or airguns:

o Cambridgeshire (1) - a kebab van owner in Trumpington was shot three times by a gang carrying airguns who attempted to steal money o Greater Manchester (1) - a 15-year-old boy was shot in the face with an airgun in Worsley Mesnes o Humberside (1) - an 11-year-boy was shot after pellets were fired at children on Beverley Westwood - police seized a variety of imitation guns from a group of five youths o Lincolnshire (1) - a woman was shot with a BB gun as she was setting up her shop in Horncastle - shop windows and vehicles were also targeted o Somerset (1) - a 10-year-old boy was shot in the face by another boy with a BB gun in a park in Highbridge during an altercation between two groups of boys - the culprit has been dealt with by means of restorative justice
o West Midlands (1) - a man was shot in the leg with a pellet gun in a park in Tipton

 Armed Hold-Ups and Assaults

There were robberies and attempted robberies allegedly involving guns at Banks and Post Offices (6) in
Droylsden (Greater Manchester) (handgun), Capel St Mary (Suffolk) (handgun), Almondsbury (West Yorkshire), Longbenton (Tyneside) (eight people were arrested), Brightlingsea (Essex), and Loscoe (Derbyshire) (imitation gun), Bookmakers (8) in Luton (Bedfordshire), Hyde Park and Hunslet (both in Leeds), Weston Green (Surrey), Rochester (Kent), Outwood (West Yorkshire), Tuebrook (Liverpool) (handgun), and
Uddingston (North Lanarkshire), Hotels and Pubs (2) in Hyde (Greater Manchester) (shots were fired) and Walsgrave (West Midlands), a Petrol Station (1) in Chryston (North Lanarkshire), Shops (11) in Lowdham
(Nottingham), Hounslow (west London) (handgun), Great Horton (Bradford) (shots were fired from a shotgun), Bury (Greater Manchester) (shotgun), Chingford (north east London) (handgun), Farley Hill
(Bedfordshire), Knaresborough (North Yorkshire) (long-barrelled gun), Stevenage (handgun), Longwood and Fartown (West Yorkshire) (handgun; the same person is believed to have been responsible), and Dewsbury
(West Yorkshire) (three boys who may also be responsible for a street robbery were arrested) and a Travel Agents (1) in West Wickham (south east London). A kebab van owner was shot with an airgun during an attempted robbery in Trumpington (Cambridgeshire) (see above).

 Security men were robbed at a service station in South Ockendon (Essex) (handgun).  Shots were fired during a robbery at a Scrapyard in Rainham (east London).  Vehicles (4) were stolen when three men armed with a handgun and other weapons took a van in Dovecot (Liverpool), when a motorist was robbed of his car when he went to the aid of a man lying in the road in Sinfin (Derby), in a car theft in Small Heath (Birmingham) (a man was accused of robbery and possession of an imitation firearm), and when a van driver had his vehicle stolen in Wanstead (north east London).

 There were robberies at gunpoint at Homes

(5) in Clacton (Essex) (two men were later arrested on suspicion of aggravated burglary), Oxton (The Wirral), Milnrow (Greater Manchester) (a man was forced from his car, driven to his home and robbed), Houghton-le-Spring (County Durham), and Brighouse (West Yorkshire).

 Other Incidents

Shots were fired during a number of other incidents:
o Bedfordshire - a shot was fired at a man as he got out of a taxi in Luton o County Durham - two vehicles were fired at with a shotgun in Newton Aycliffe o Cumbria - a car being driven near Prizet was hit by a 'stray bullet' o London - shots were fired during a robbery at a scrapyard in Rainham (see above) o Scotland - a gun was fired at a house in Dalkeith (Midlothian) damaging guttering o Tyneside - gunshots were heard during a street brawl in Longbenton o West Midlands - shots were fired through the window of a flat in Sparkhill (Birmingham) o West Yorkshire - a shotgun was fired during a robbery at a jewellers in Bradford (see above)

 A school in Formby (Merseyside) was locked down when shots were heard - the incident was sparked by practice sessions at an RAF rifle range.  A man was arrested on suspicion of making threats to kill and two legally held shotguns were seized in Ford (West Sussex).  A motorist was threatened with a handgun by a man in Farrington Gurney (Somerset).  One man was arrested after a gun was produced during a row between two men in Southampton.  Five men were arrested on suspicion of being in possession of a firearm after a man was seen brandishing a gun after two cars crashed in Ipswich.  A man was arrested in a cemetery in Moston (Manchester) on suspicion of carrying a gun and robbery.  A man was arrested in Strood (Kent) after reports of someone carrying a firearm in a street.  A man was arrested in St Paul's (Bristol) when he was carrying a deactivated shotgun in a plastic bag - the gun was temporarily confiscated and he was advised on how to carry the gun around the streets.  Armed police were called to a house in Romford (east London) after reports suggesting a man there had a firearm.  A teenager pointed a gun at a bus driver in Huyton (Merseyside). A youth is reported to have entered a clubhouse in Newcastle carrying what was believed to have been a handgun. A 17-year-old was arrested for possession of a firearm after a loaded semi-automatic pistol was found after a gang fight in Norbury (south London).  A man was being held in a psychiatric hospital after being found in Hereford having sparked an alert when he disappeared with a loaded shotgun.

 There were fears that guns were present, though none was found or confirmed, in the following incidents, some of which sparked an armed police response:

o in a neighbourhood dispute in Middlewood (Sheffield) which spiralled out of control o during an incident at a petrol station in Runcorn (Cheshire) when a man tapped on a window with a metallic object o when a group of youths believed a man was pointing a shotgun at them in Hayling Island (Hampshire) - the police discovered he had been waving a walking stick o after police received a report that there was a handgun and a car was pulled over in Bootle (Merseyside) o following a report of a gunman holed up in a flat in Paisley - a man agreed to give himself up

 Airguns and Imitation Guns

Besides those incidents in which victims were hit (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 the case of a car theft in Small Heath (Birmingham) and robberies in Trumpington (Cambridgeshire) and Loscoe (Derbyshire).

 The following incidents involved airguns:

o It is thought that one was used in an incident inside a block of flats in Northampton in which several shots were fired - a man was arrested. o A woman who was being evicted was arrested at a house in Launceston (Cornwall) amid concerns that she had an air rifle. o A man was arrested following an incident involving an airgun at Loch Venachar (Perthshire) - he was charged with a number of firearms offences. o Armed police fled to a supermarket in Wadebridge (Cornwall) when
three gunshots were heard - it has been speculated that the weapon could have been an air rifle. o Police had to respond to an incident in which two men were seen carrying air rifles at a supermarket in Droitwich - they were shooting pigeons. o A man firing an air rifle at a disused chemical site was arrested and charged with having an air weapon in a public place. o A man arrested in Lysted (Kent) was firing at a target without the farmer's permission - he was released with a caution.

 A teenager seen carrying a gun in Paisley had a ball-bearing pistol. Two youths were arrested and an imitation gun was recovered after reports of a suspected gunman in Barry (South Glamorgan).

 The following were damaged by airguns or BB guns:

o The window of a train smashed at Pinhoe (Devon) o The window of a house in Peterborough o Three windows at a community hall in Watton (Norfolk) o A greenhouse in Leyland (Lancashire)

 Alarm was caused by a BB gun seen on the front seat of a car involved in a fatal crash in Langley Park (County Durham).

 Guns Finds

Guns were found and a number of arrests made during
searches in which drugs were recovered in Lympstone (Devon) (imitation firearm), Liverpool (sawn-off shotgun), Tranmere (Merseyside) (handgun and ammunition), Fortis Green (north London), Plymouth (stun gun), Thorney (Cambridgeshire) (two shotguns which had been stolen in London), Beckton (east London) (imitation gun), and Edinburgh (a 16-
year-old has been charged).  Other firearms were recovered by police from a pub in Northampton(handgun, stun gun, 22 live rounds of ammunition), in a raid by Devon and Cornwall Constabulary (ball bearing gun, stun gun), during an operation investigating cash machine thefts in Cheltenham (Gloucestershire) and Evesham (Worcestershire), and during an operation
to tackle gun crime in south Manchester (shotgun, two handguns).  A man from South Shields (Tyneside) appeared in court after a stun gun was found at his home and a baton in his taxi.  A sawn-off shotgun was found in undergrowth by a dog walker in
Silverknowes (Edinburgh).  Gun pellets were among a number of dangerous items found during a tidying up exercise in woodland at East Court (Sussex). Dozens of blank cartridges were found by a rambler close to a munitions depot in Argyll.

 Incidents Involving Animals

More cats were shot with airguns in attacks in Aberdeenshire, Bristol, Cornwall, Greater Manchester, Hull, Kent, Lancashire (two cats belonging to the same family), Somerset, West Midlands, and Wiltshire.  A ferret found in Guyhirn (Cambridgeshire) after being shot with an air weapon has recovered.

 There were a number of reports of birds shot with airguns,

ducks in North Creake (Norfolk), gulls in Willingdon Trees and Bexhill-on-Sea (both in East Sussex), and a moorhen at Earlswood Lakes (Surrey).

 Convictions

Two men were found guilty of the murder of a man who
was shot dead with a shotgun in Clayton West (West Yorkshire) - both were jailed for a minimum of 30 years.
 A 16-year-old has admitted manslaughter after he fatally shot another teenager whilst "fooling around" with a loaded revolver at a house in Huyton (Merseyside).  A man who shot a rival at a mobile home site in Crowthorne (Berkshire) was convicted of attempted murder. Another man who shot two men at a
nightclub in Balsall Heath (Birmingham) pleaded guilty to attempted murder and firearms offences and was given a 16 year sentence.  A man who fired a sawn-off shotgun at a club in Pontefract (West Yorkshire) and hit a man in the leg has been jailed indefinitely with a
minimum of 4 years.  A man, who escaped from a prison van when it was ambushed in London by armed men who shot the driver, was found guilty of having a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence, possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear or violence and wounding with intent to resist lawful
apprehension after a jury believed he was party to the plan.  A man whose teenage stepson shot himself in the head with a prohibited pistol he had been allowed to play with at his home in Newport (Gwent) has admitted child cruelty and possession of a prohibited firearm - the boy recovered.  Three men who fired a shotgun during a failed blackmail attempt at the home of a man in Grimsby (Lincolnshire) have been convicted and jailed
for between 9 years and 10 years and 9 months.  A 17-year-old has pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm while committing criminal damage and possessing a prohibited weapon following an incident in Huyton (Merseyside) in which shots were fired from a scrambler bike and will serve a minimum of 5 years - the gun had been used in six shootings in Merseyside.  An armed robber who held a gun to a woman's head at a travel agents in Leeds and was armed with a pistol when he was chased by police officers In a later incident has been jailed for a minimum of nearly 9 years.  A man who brandished a handgun during an altercation in a street in Abbeymead (Gloucester) was jailed for 5 years.
 An offender who pointed a loaded rifle at a petrol station worker in Wakefield (West Yorkshire) pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and possession of a firearm and has been jailed for 5 years.  A man involved in the gunpoint robbery of a meat delivery van in Bradford has pleaded guilty to being the "insider" - his two accomplices have not been caught.  Two women involved with a gang who threatened a man with a gun and robbed him at a house in Harrow (north west London) were released from 18 months sentences after being on remand.  A Lithuanian lorry driver has been convicted of two counts of possessing firearms and one count of possessing ammunition without a certificate
after eight handguns and ammunition were found in a lorry when it arrived at the port of Dover (Kent) - he has been jailed for 8 years.

 Others caught in possession of firearms were:

o A man involved in a drug distribution plan who had a loaded Mac- 10 sub-machine gun in his children's bedroom in Friern Barnet (north London) and has admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and possessing of a firearm with intent to endanger life. o A man arrested at his home in Welling (south east London) where police found a loaded revolver and other weapons including a ball bearing gun has been jailed for 5 years for possessing a firearm, 12 months for possessing ammunition and was also sentenced for a drugs offence.
o A man from Glusburn (North Yorkshire) found in possession of a shotgun for which he had no licence (an air rifle was also seized from his home) who was fined £250 for possessing a shotgun without a licence. o A man from Castlebrae Rigg (Edinburgh) who had a rucksack containing a sawn-off shotgun, a pistol and four rounds of ammunition he claimed he found while riding his motorcycle who admitted breaches of the Firearms Act. o A man detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act after explosives and a number of weapons including a sawn-off shotgun and a revolver were found at his home in Blackwood (Mid Glamorgan).

 Stun Guns

A man who threatened a homeowner with a stun gun during one of six burglaries in north west London has been handed an indefinite sentence and will serve at least 5 years and 10 months. Two men who
threatened staff with a stun gun during some of eight robberies the committed at shops in the East Midlands and the West Country have each been jailed for 7 years.  A teenager from Ipswich who pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation also admitted possessing a stun gun and was sentenced to 90 days in a young offenders' institute. A man found with a stun gun and
counterfeit money at his home in Foleshill (Coventry) was jailed for 2 years.

 Inquests -

There were inquests into the deaths of two men who shot themselves in February. A gun enthusiast from Horwich (Greater Manchester) killed himself with his shotgun after he feared he would be sacked for making an upsetting joke a coroner concluded. Another man
who died from a gunshot wound to his head in High Wycombe (Buckinghamshire) took his life with what was described as an "old fashioned gun" after allegations he had assaulted his wife - the police had removed his shotguns.

 Airguns and Imitation Guns (Court Cases)

cases followING incidents in which pellets were fired at victims:

o A student who admitted shooting three children with an air rifle which he fired from his university accommodation in Wolverhampton pleaded guilty to three counts of section 47 assault. o A man who fired an imitation gun at three men in St Ann's (Nottingham) pleaded guilty to possession of an imitation firearm
and supplying cannabis. o A man who fired a ball bearing gun in Peterlee (County Durham) and hit a couple admitted two counts of assault causing actual bodily harm and was given an 18-month community order. o A 16-year-old who shot a man at the railway station in Llanelli (Dyfed) with an air rifle was given a conditional discharge. o A man who fired a BB gun and hit two members of staff at a fast food restaurant in Broughton (Flintshire) has admitted possessing an imitation firearm and assault.  A teenager who put a ball bearing gun to the head of another teenager in Crayford (south east London) has been convicted of causing GBH with intent, affray and possession of a firearm or imitation firearm in a public place, and another youth was found guilty of GBH and affray.

 There were a number of other convictions for possession of an imitation gun:

o A man armed who himself with a gas-powered ball-bearing gun after he was attacked by a gang in Levenshulme (Greater Manchester) has been jailed for a year and his girlfriend, who hid the weapon, was given a 6-month suspended sentence for assisting an offender.
o A man who pointed an imitation gun at another man in Redditch (Worcestershire) was jailed for 5 years. o A stand-in warden at a mobile home site in Holbury (Hampshire) pointed a ball-bearing gun at a visitor - he admitted the offence and was ordered to carry out 40 hours unpaid work. o A man who produced a gun at a hotel in Kendal (Cumbria) has pleaded guilty to possessing an imitation gun in a public place. o A man who showed two women a handgun-shaped cigarette lighter in Blackpool (Lancashire) has been given 180 hours of unpaid community work after pleading guilty to possession of an imitation firearm in public. o A man from Hakin (Pembrokeshire) threatened to "sort out" his exwife and her new partner whilst loading an imitation revolver in front of his mother - a restraining order was made banning him from possessing a gun of any description or ammunition of any type. o A man who held a ball-bearing gun to the heads of a man and his
daughter during an incident at a house in Glyncoch (Mid
Glamorgan) pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and possessing an imitation firearm and a firearm (air rifle) - he has been jailed for 6 years.

 There were a number of convictions for robberies and attempted robberies in which the offender(s) was armed with an imitation firearm or air pistol.

The incidents occurred:
o at Shops and Post Offices in Blackburn (Lancashire) (a man was jailed for 5 years and 4 months after firing pellets from an imitation firearm), Cowes (Isle of Wight) (two men pleaded guilty to robbery and one of them to possessing an imitation firearm), and Carluke (South Lanarkshire) (a man who was armed with an air pistol
pleaded guilty to robbery and assault) o at Bookmakers in Liverpool (a man has pleaded guilty to two robberies and admitted one charge of possessing an imitation
handgun during the second raid), and Leeds (a man who was caught with an air pistol admitted three charges of robbery and one of attempted robbery was sentenced to 6 years in a young offenders' institution) o in a Street Robbery in Birmingham (one of five youths who
admitted robbery also admitted possessing two imitation firearms; they were sentenced to detention of between 2 and 4 years) o at a House in Catford (south east London) (three men have been sentenced to 9 years and one to 12 years after a burglary in which they were armed with an imitation firearm) o at a Petrol Station in Nottingham (a man received an 8-year sentence for robbery and firearms offences and two others received
shorter custodial sentences)  Three men caught with a powerful air rifle whilst poaching in Lymington
(Hampshire) have been convicted - two of them who admitted affray both received 10-month suspended sentences and must complete 150 hours unpaid work, and a third man will be sentenced later.

 There are frequent instances of men being caught in possession of air weapons when prohibited from owning firearms because of previous offences. This month they were:

o a man from Grimsby (Lincolnshire) who admitted possessing an air rifle o two men who stole an air rifle in North Kelsey Moor (Lincolnshire) and were both banned from possessing it who admitted theft from a vehicle and possessing of the firearm and were ordered to complete 110 hours and 50 hours unpaid community work. o a man from Oakhurst (Swindon) who was caught with an air rifle after being sentenced to custody at a young offenders' institution. o a man from Galashiels who pleaded guilty to being in possession of
an air pistol

 A man has been jailed for 14 months for stealing paintball equipment, including 160 guns, from a firm in Kirkintilloch (East Dunbartonshire

Gun Deaths and Injuries March 2010

Ten people, three women and seven men, died in
shooting incidents during March. At least five of the male fatalities were selfinflicted and eight of the shootings involved shotguns:
o There were two shotgun killings in London, a man who died on an estate in Gypsy Hill and a woman shot dead on the doorstep of a house in Clapton.
o Two other incidents were apparent domestic murder-suicides in Cheshunt (Hertfordshire) (involving a handgun) and Bishopbriggs (East Dunbartonshire) (a shotgun) in which the female victim was shot by her partner who then killed himself.
o A man shot himself with a shotgun in Dingwall (Ross-shire) after abducting his ex-girlfriend's daughter at gunpoint.
o In two other incidents a 14-year-old boy from Merstham (Surrey) and a man from Fawley (Hampshire) apparently killed themselves with shotguns.
o A man died from a shotgun wound at a house in Breightmet (Lancashire) - the circumstances are not known.

Nineteen other people were injured in shooting attacks, 11 of whom were hit with pellets from airguns and BB guns:

o Greater Manchester (1) - a man was shot with a shotgun in a pub in Hazel Grove
o Kent (1) - a woman was shot with a shotgun by a man who called at her house (a man has been charged with attempted murder and possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence)
o Lancashire (1) - a security guard was shot in the leg during a robbery in Fulwood
o London (3) - two men were shot in Stepney (one was arrested along with two other men), and a man was shot in the shoulder in Dalston
o Nottinghamshire (1) - a man was shot in the leg in Top Valley (Nottingham)
o Scotland (1) - a man was shot in the face and stabbed in a pub in Edinburgh (two men have been accused of assault with intent to murder, one of them with a breach of the Firearms Act 1968)

Airgun and BB gun shootings:

o County Durham (1) - a passer-by was hit on the side of the head when pedestrians and vehicles were targeted with an airgun in Durham
o Greater Manchester (1) - a man in a bookmakers in Middleton was shot in the chest with a ball-bearing gun during an attempted robbery (see below)
o Kent (1) - a 15-year-old was shot with a BB gun after being robbed of £2.50 by three other teenagers in Ashford (see below)
o North Yorkshire (1) - a woman was shot in the head with an airgun in York
o Scotland (2) - a woman jogger was stuck by airgun pellets near Haddington (East Lothian), and a 16-year-old was shot with an air weapon in Cardenden (Fife)
o Somerset (1) - a dog walker was shot with an airgun in Taunton
o Suffolk (1) - a shopkeeper was shot in the face with a BB gun during a robbery in Ipswich (see below)
o Wiltshire (1) - a woman was shot in the leg with a BB gun in Chippenham (Wiltshire) whilst she was putting her young child into a car seat
o Wales (2) - two pupils were hit when an airgun sniper took shots at children in a school playground in Llanrug (Gwynedd)

A 15-year-old boy was found alone in a house in Newport (Gwent) with a gunshot wound - his stepfather has been charged with possessing a prohibited weapon,perverting the course of justice and neglecting the boy. A man was seriously hurt when he dropped a shotgun at a farm in Combe MartiN (Devon). A man was in a critical condition following an incident with a bolt gun at a butchers in Chipping (Lancashire) - the incident is not being treated aS suspicious. A victim was pistol-whipped during a robbery at a flat in Southend (Essex).

Armed Hold-Ups and Assaults - There were robberies and attempted robberies allegedly involving guns at Banks, Post Offices and Sorting Offices (5) in Hensall (North Yorkshire) (sawn-off shotguns) and Owston Ferry (Humberside) (two men have been charged with these two robberies and another in Thorne), Droylsden (Greater Manchester) (shotgun), Peterborough (imitation gun) (a man has admitted this and an attempted car robbery in Cambridge) and Melsonby (North Yorkshire) (pistol; a woman was bludgeoned to death in the flat above the premises before the robbery), Bookmakers (4) in Stalybridge (Cheshire) (handgun), Blantyre (South Lanarkshire), Middleton (Greater Manchester) (ballbearing
gun) (a man was shot in the chest) and Thorne (South Yorkshire) (two men have been charged with this and two post office robberies), Pubs (2) in Stoneycroft (Liverpool) (shotgun) and Brixton (south London), Service Stations (5) in Southend (Essex), Lowestoft (Suffolk) (small handgun), Wakefield (West Yorkshire) (a man was later arrested), Ashton-under-Lyne (Greater Manchester) (air pistol) (three suspects, two of them teenagers, have been arrested) and Andove (Hampshire), Shops and a Cash-and-Carry (11) in Clapham Junction (south London) (reported by the public but not confirmed by police), Hartshill (Stoke-on-Trent) (handgun), Bradford, Chelmsford (Essex), Widnes (Cheshire) (shotgun), Mossley Hill (Merseyside) (shotgun), Ipswich (BB gun) (the shopkeeper was shot in the face), Ludwell (Dorset) (handgun), Westerham (Kent), Hanley (Staffordshire) (handgun) and Chilwell (Nottinghamshire) and Travel Agencies (2) in Upminster (east London) and Mossley Hill (Liverpool) (handgun). Security men were robbed in Glasgow, Chichester (West Sussex) (two men were arrested and two decommissioned handguns seized) and Fulwood (Lancashire) (a security man was shot in the leg), and a post office van driver was held at gunpoint in Hayes (west London).

Guns were used during robberies at Homes in Oldham (Greater Manchester), Southend (Essex) (a victim was pistol-whipped), Bradshaw (Lancashire) (shotgun; a man was badly injured when he tried to fight off a gang), Bradford (sawn-off shotgun), Belsize Park and Hampstead (north London) (a man was responsible for a number of muggings), Norbury (south London) (the robbery took place in February), Caddington (Bedfordshire) (the men were armed with shotguns but also stole two shotguns from the home owners) and Croxteth (Liverpool).

In Car thefts and attempted thefts involving guns, a man had a weapon put to his head in Norbury (south London), a man was beaten with a baton in Dewsbury (West Yorkshire), a woman in Cambridge had an imitation gun pressed against her before her car was stolen (a man has already admitted this and a robbery at a bank in Peterborough), and a man was ordered to hand over car keys in Battersea (south west London).

In Street robberies a pistol was used when a woman and two young children were threatened in Chiswick (west London), an imitation gun is believed to have been used when a laptop was stolen in Hatfield (Hertfordshire) (a teenager was arrested), and a teenager was shot in a street in Ashford (Kent) (three teenagers have been arrested).

Other Incidents - Shots were fired during a number of other incidents:
o Greater Manchester - a bullet, probably fired from a handgun, shattered a car windscreen in Great Lever
o London - during incidents in Ilford, Seven Kings, and Stoke Newington
o Merseyside - near playing fields in Vauxhall and at a house in Croxteth
o Nottinghamshire - from cars in New Basford (Nottingham) (two men were arrested and released on bail), and a gun was discharged in Hucknall
o Somerset - a father and his stepchildren believe they were shot at after being confronted by a man with a shotgun when they were picking flowers by the side of a road in Keenthorne (a man was arrested)
o West Sussex - four teenagers were arrested in Chichester after a window was damaged. Two paramedics allegedly had a gun pulled on them at a home in Bath (Somerset) (a man and a woman were arrested and a number of weapons retrieved). A man from Barro (Cumbria) appeared in court after allegedly threatening another man with a gun. A man and a woman were arrested on suspicion of assault, possession of a firearm without a certificate and the cultivation of cannabis after police were called to an incident in Chislet (Kent). Two men were arrested at a hotel in Kendal (Cumbria) after a man was seen with a gun - three firearms were found at a house near the town. Another man appeared in court after allegedly being in possession of a firearm and a loaded air weapon at a hotel in Wemyss Bay (Renfrewshire). Two men were arrested when armed police went to a house in Moss Side (Manchester) after a man had been seen with a firearm in Hulme. A man was detained after reports of a man brandishing a gun in Saltdean (East Sussex) - no weapon was found. A man was dragged from a bus near Victoria Station (central London) after he pulled out a suspected gun. Five men were arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm after a car was stopped and searched in Weston-super-Mare(Somerset) and a handgun found. A woman, believed to have a gun, was detained under the Mental Health Act after barricading herself inside a property in Wardington (Oxfordshire). Another woman was sectioned after she claimed she had a gun in an incident in Hatfield (Hertfordshire). A third woman was arrested after an incident outside a house in Southend (Essex) where a woman had reported she had been threatened with a gun. A landlord of a pub in Barcombe (East Sussex) waved his shotgun from a window at two burglars who later fled the scene.

Airguns and Imitation Guns - Besides those incidents which resulted in injury (see above) there were others involving airguns and imitation weapons. They were probably used in many of the armed robberies and this was certainly so for those in Ashford (Kent), Ashton-under-Lyne (Greater Manchester), Cambridge, Hatfield (Hertfordshire), Ipswich, Middleton (Greater Manchester) and Peterborough (see above). A minor fired a BB gun in Langloan (North Lanarkshire) prompting a police response and warnings, and later in the same locality an armed response reacted to a report that someone fired an air rifle at officers in Coatbridge. In a second incident this month involving a person on a bus a man was arrested after a member of the public raised the alarm in Peacehaven (East Sussex) - a BB gun and an air rifle were recovered. One person was charged with possession of an imitation firearm after what is thought to have been a bungled robbery at a cannabis factory in Winshill (Staffordshire). A pupil at a school in Camden (north London) was arrested after pointing a toy gun at other pupils - he was suspended by the school. Three other boys have been expelled from their school in Birmingham after been seen with a BB gun on CCTV. A number of vehicles on the A309 in Surrey were damaged when shots were fired from an air rifle. Windows were damaged with airguns in Leigh-on-Sea (Essex), in Lascelles Hall (West Yorkshire), in a tower block in Rotherhithe (south east London) (77 windows were smashed), and on a train approaching Stowmarket (Suffolk) An air rifle was apparently fired when reporters were investigating a family alleged to have tormented fellow residents in Crawley (West Sussex). Children using BB guns are part of a vandalism problem on an estate in Witham (Essex).

Guns Recoveries and Thefts - Guns were found during searches in which drugs were recovered in Plymouth (stun gun; one man charged), Mottingham (south London) (shotgun, rifle, air pistol; 2 people arrested), Ravensthorpe (West Yorkshire) (air rifle; 2 arrested), linked raids in Epping Forest, Harlow and Brentwood (Essex) (ball-bearing gun, air weapon; 11 people arrested), Merseyside (stun guns; 11 suspects charged) Teignmouth (Devon) (air rifle; 2 arrested), Luton (imitation shotgun; 2 arrested), Nottingham (one man arrested), Dovecot (Merseyside) (handgun; 2 arrested), Tullibody (Clackmannanshire) (handgun; 3 arrested), and Newport (Gwent) (stun gun; one man arrested).

A number of other guns were recovered during police operations:
o An air rifle was found at an address in Grangetown (Teesside) after a burglary at an industrial site in Redcar (three men were arrested).
o Firearms were seized during raids in Lancashire when a number of people were arrested, including a police officer from Walton-le-Dale who has been charged with a series of offences including three counts of possession of a firearm and possession of ammunition.
o Two men were arrested after a raid in Shepherd's Bush (west London) when a revolver was found.
o A security officer at Belmarsh Prison (south east London) was arrested after an automatic firearm was found at his home.
o A man and a woman were arrested after a loaded Mac 10 machine pistol was found at a home in Blakenhall (Wolverhampton).
o A shotgun and ammunition were seized in the Dewsbury area (West Yorkshire) and a loaded Uzi machine gun, bullets and cartridges were recovered from a house in Holbeck (Leeds) (a man and a woman have been arrested).
o An arsenal of weapons was found in an attic in Paisley included a shotgun two revolvers and a ball-bearing gun
o During a 6-month operation in Edinburgh a handgun, a shotgun and a number of imitation guns have been seized. Youngsters playing near their homes in Rawthorpe (West Yorkshire) found a rusty shotgun. A rifle was stolen from a farm near Ledbury (Herefordshire) and two shotguns were stolen during a robbery at a home in Caddington (Bedfordshire) (see above).

Incidents Involving Animals - There were more reports of animals and birds being shot.

Cats were shot with airguns in Aberdeen, Cambridgeshire, Cornwall, Devon, Greater Manchester (two incidents), Hampshire (other cats from the same home may have been shot in earlier incidents) and West Yorkshire (two incidents), and with a shotgun in Gloucestershire.

The SSPCA highlighted a case of cruelty in which a dog was shot in the head 13 times and left for dead by her drunk owner from Glasgow.

A horse found with facial wounds in East Preston (Sussex) is thought to have been shot with an air rifle.

There were a number of reports of birds being shot with airguns, a buzzard in Essex and swans in West Yorkshire and Leicestershire. A goshawk was shot with a shotgun in North Yorkshire.

A man who shot and killed his neighbour's dog with an air rifle in Rugeley (Staffordshire) was fined £500 after admitting causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

Two men shot a sheep in Prestbury (Cheshire) with a shotgun to put it out of its misery but then fed it to their ferrets - both admitted criminal damage and one has now pleaded guilty to various firearm offences.

Convictions - A number of people were convicted following fatal shootings:

o A man has pleaded guilty to the murder of a man in Bensham (Tyneside) in 1999.
o A man was convicted of the murder of a teenager in St Ann's (Nottingham) in 2002 and given a life sentence with a minimum of 22 years.
o Two contract killers have been jailed for a minimum of 30 years each for the murder of a man shot dead outside his home in Dagenham (east London) in 2004.
o Four men were convicted of the murder of a man who was shot in Kirkdale (Liverpool) in 2008 - they were given minimum sentences of between 27 and 32 years.
o Two brothers will each serve a minimum of 28 years for the murder of a man in Oldham (Greater Manchester) in 2009.
o A man has been jailed for the rest of his life for the murder and attempted murder of two men whom he shot with a shotgun in Bradford in 2009.
o A woman clay pigeon shooter will serve a minimum of 15 years after being found guilty of the murder of her husband whom she shot with a shotgun in Wellow (Isle of Wight) in 2009.
o Two teenagers were found guilty of the murder of a 16-year-old in Stretford (Greater Manchester) in 2009 - they were jailed for 23 and 21 years.

A number of people were convicted after incidents in which others were injured:
o A man was convicted of the attempted murder of a man who was shot during race riots in Handsworth (Birmingham) in 2005.
o Another offender has been convicted of possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, GBH and two counts of ABH after a shooting at a nightclub in Bradford - he was sentenced to 13 years.
o Two teenagers were found guilty of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and GBH after a shotgun shooting in Huyton (Merseyside).

After other incidents in which shotguns were fired:
o a man from Mexborough (South Yorkshire) who fired his gun over the heads of two anglers was jailed for 2½ years
o two men have been convicted of violent disorder and one of them of conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence after an incident in Guisborough (Teesside) in which a shotgun was fired into a house - seven other men have admitted related offences
o three men, two of them teenagers, were each jailed for 10 years after a man was injured on his doorstep in Barton (Oxford) when a shotgun went off as he slammed the door

The following cases involved possession of a firearm or ammunition:
o A 14-year-old was given a 2-year intensive supervision and surveillance order after a loaded pistol which had been fired in six incidents in London was found at his home in Peckham (south London).
o A man from Farnworth (Greater Manchester) has pleaded guilty to possessing an 8mm self-loading handgun and various ammunition.
o A man convicted for his involvement with a chain of brothels in the North of England also pleaded guilty to owning a shotgun without a certificate.
o A drug addict who hid a shotgun and cartridges for a dealer when their car was stopped in Southampton admitted being in possession of the firearm and ammunition was jailed for 12 months.
o A man from Pembroke Dock (Dyfed) awaits sentence for possessing a shotgun with a shortened barrel.
o A man who described himself as a "gun nut" was fined a total of £2000 for unlawful possession of ammunition after police found antique pistols and rounds of ammunition at his house in Windlesham (Surrey).
o A man from Minchinhampton (Gloucestershire) has admitted three charges of possessing weaponry (.22 rifles and various ammunition) and been given a suspended 9-month jail sentence.

A number of others admitted or were found guilty of possessing converted firearms (also see Gun Factory below):
o A man found with a modified starting pistol and prohibited ammunition was found guilty of firearms offences and common assault following an incident in Nelson (Lancashire).
o A man arrested at a flat in Newport (Gwent) with a modified blank-firing weapon following a tip off was jailed for 6 years for possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.
o An 18-year-old from Edmonton (north London) found with stolen goods and a converted replica pistol was sentenced to 5 years.
o A man who posted a photograph of himself pointing a pistol on Facebook was jailed for 5 years after police found a converted imitation pistol at his home in Handsworth (Birmingham).
o A man who had a blank-firing gun which he had converted to fire live ammunition and bullets at his home in North Tyneside was jailed.

The following cases related to armed robberies:
o A man who claimed to have a gun during a robbery at a bookmakers in Penge (north west London) received a 16 month jail sentence - police suspect he did not have a weapon.
o Two men have admitted a number of robberies and burglaries including one on a store in Benton (Tyneside) where staff were threatened with a shotgun and machete.
o A man who was a member of a gang of four who raided a house in Handsworth (Birmingham) was found guilty of aggravated burglary and possessing a firearm with intent.
o Two men were each jailed for sixteen years for a series of robberies in north London in which they posed as postmen - a stun gun was used on one victim in Enfield and a shotgun was left at the scene.
o Four men have been found guilty of a £1.75m robbery at Heathrow Airport in 2004 when they were armed with handguns and been jailed for between 10 and 20½ years.
A man from Banbury (Oxfordshire) who did not notify a change in address admitted failing to comply with a condition of a shotgun certificate and was given a 12-month conditional discharge. A man from Inverurie (Aberdeenshire) was fined £300 for each of two offences after he admitted failing to secure a shotgun and keep ammunition safe at home.

Gun Factory - A gang of six men have received a total of 43 years in jail for their involvement with a gun factory in a living room in South Norwood (south London) where imitation and blank-firing guns were converted into lethal weapons.

Inquests - An inquest jury recorded a verdict of unlawful killing against Greater Manchester Police officers following the death of a police officer during a training exercise in Newton Heath when he was shot with a shotgun.

A coroner has recorded that a man who shot dead his ex-partner and their daughter took his own life and that his victims were unlawfully killed - all three were shot at his home in Aldershot (Hampshire) with a Beretta semi-automatic pistol.

An open verdict has been recorded on a man found shot dead in Potterhanworth (Lincolnshire) an hour after he had shot and seriously injured his stepdaughter - the police have been criticised for not taking his shotgun certificate despite confiscating his three shotguns after he threatened to kill his victim, thus allowing him to buy the new shotgun he used on his victim and himself.

Verdicts of suicide were recorded at the inquests into the deaths of two people, a woman from Shouldham Thorpe (Norfolk) and a man from Ulverston (Cumbria) who were found with shotgun wounds last year.

Airguns and Imitation Guns - The following cases related to incidents in which a victim was shot:
o A man who shot a walker in Edinburgh with an air rifle pleaded guilty to recklessly discharging an air rifle and recklessly discharging the weapon and having an air rifle without a firearms certificate.
o A man who shot a teenager in Wakefield (West Yorkshire) with a gaspowered air rifle has been jailed for 9 months.
o A teenager who shot a love rival in the face with an air pistol in Redditch (Worcestershire) has been sentenced to 2 years detention.
o A man who shot a teenage girl in the leg with an air rifle at a campsite near Harlech (Gwynedd) was given a 50 week suspended jail sentence and ordered to do 250 hours unpaid work.
o A Liverpool man who fired a BB gun at another man was jailed for 8 months after admitting possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, common assault and a bail offence.
o A teenager who held a ball-bearing gun to the head of a schoolboy in Longton (Lancashire) and then shot a member of the public who intervened has been sent to a young offenders' institution for 18 months.
o Two 16-year-olds who shot at people and property in Lincoln and Newark (Nottinghamshire) with an air pistol have admitted a number of offences including actual bodily harm, common assault and common damage and being in possession of an imitation firearm and were given 12 month referral orders and ordered to pay compensation; a 19-year-old who drove them and later fired the gun was sent to a young offenders' institution for 3 years.

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:
o at Shops in Jarrow (Tyne & Wear) (a man has been jailed for five years), Lockwood (West Yorkshire) (a teenager has been detained for 3 years), Salford (another teenager was jailed for 5 years and 4 months), Bridgwater (Somerset) (a teenager has pleaded guilty to robbery and possession of an imitation firearm), Kettering(Northamptonshire) (two men have been jailed for 7 years), and Kirkheaton (West Yorkshire) (a teenager has been given a 4½ year sentence for robbing another teenager of £5 when armed with a ball-bearing gun)
o at Bookmakers in north west London (a man with an airgun was responsible for a series of 12 raids and has been given a 10 year sentence)
o in Street robberies in west Hull (two men armed with a starting pistol who have been jailed for 5 and 4 years), Bolton (Greater Manchester) (three teenagers have been jailed for 7 years or more for violent disorder and a fourth teenager given a 12-month community order after an attack in which one man was pistol-whipped and hit twice in the face when a BB gun was fired), and Chippenham (Wiltshire) (a teenager has been jailed for 2½ years)

There were convictions for men who pointed imitation guns or airguns at others and, in one case, himself.
o A man who was shot by police after be fired a replica handgun and pointed it at police who came to his flat in Upper Holloway (north London) has admitted possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
o A man who pointed a ball-bearing gun at an 11-year-old in Chichester (West Sussex) has been sentenced to 3 years in jail.
o A teenager who pointed a replica handgun at a couple in Bishop Auckland (Country Durham) has been sent to a young offenders' institution for 8 months.
o A man who threatened a teenager with an imitation gun in Benfleet (Essex) believing that the boy owed him money was jailed for 12 months for possession of an imitation gun.
o A man who pointed a de-activated bolt-action rifle at a police officer who had gone to his home in Thurlow (Suffolk) was given a suspended 12- month prison sentence and ordered to pay £750 compensation.
o A man who threatened a taxi driver with a blank-firing gun outside his house in Oldbury (West Midlands) has been sent to prison for 16 months.
o A man who held an imitation handgun used for bird scaring to his girlfriend's head at their home in Mauchline (Ayrshire) was fined £300 after admitting a number of offences.
o A man who threatened to shoot himself with an air pistol at his partner's mother's home in Havant (Hampshire) admitted possession of a firearm and was fined £100. A drunken man who sparked an armed police operation after waving an air rifle in Broomhill (Sheffield) has been ordered to serve a 12-month community sentence with 120 hours of unpaid work. A teenager who walked around Ulverston (Cumbria) with an air rifle pleaded guilty to possessing the weapon in public and buying ammunition - he must carry out six sessions of a youth rehabilitation order. A man spotted carrying an air weapon in South Shields (Tyne and Wear) was cautioned for being in possession of the weapon in a public place. A man has been jailed for 3½ years after an imitation pistol and drugs were found at his home in Ilford (east London). A man found in a car in Enfield (north London) with a prohibited air weapon has been given a 3-year sentence. A teenager from Grimsby (Lincolnshire) has been handed a 2-year ASBO after a string of convictions including trespassing with an imitation firearm. A man who stole items including an air rifle from a house in Waterfoot (Lancashire) was jailed for 39 months.

Stun Guns - A man who used a stun gun on another at a nightclub in Inverness has been jailed for 16 months. There were more cases involving men caught in possession of stun guns, a number linked to drugs offences:
o A man found with a stun gun and drugs at his home in Evesham (Worcestershire) pleaded guilty to possessing the weapon and the drugs and was fined £125 and given a 12-month community order with 150 hours unpaid work.
o A teenager will serve a minimum of 9 months for possessing drugs with intent to supply, possessing a stun gun and assaulting a police officer in Bullbrook (Berkshire).
o A man from Kenilworth (Warwickshire), one of a number convicted of drug offences, admitted possession of a stun gun and was jailed for 4 years.
o A Hartlepool man who armed himself with a stun gun was given a suspended 9 month prison sentence, 12 months probation supervision and 140 hours of unpaid work.
o A man from Winthorpe (Lincolnshire) has admitted possession of prohibited weapons including a stun gun and pornography offences.There were two cases involving men caught trying to import stun guns. A man found with two stun guns and nine pepper sprays at Edinburgh Airport has been ordered to carry out 220 hours of community service. Another caught with two stun guns at Aberdeen Airport has admitted breaching the Customs and Excise Management Act and been ordered to carry out 240 hours of community service.

FEBRUARY 2010 - POINTS TO NOTE

The number and details of Gun Incidents available to view on this site and also listed on http://www.gun-control-network.org/ illustrate the problems being caused by guns of all types, both legally and illegally held, across Great Britain. Whilst confirming many of the trends seen in official statistics, for example the lower numbers of gun homicides and injuries, they also reveal other trends in gun crime that may not be immediately apparent from official statistics or are overlooked because of the limitations of the published data. This section of the summary is intended to highlight these issues as exemplified by incidents occurring each month. This month the incidents relate to January and February.

Shotguns

In August 2009 the Metropolitan Police reported a 57 percent increase in the use of shotguns in crime and warned shotgun owners about the theft of their weapons.

We are concerned that some owners adopt a casual attitude to shotgun ownership, something reflected in a number of recent incidents. In November 2009 a licensed
shotgun owner on his way to a shoot left his weapon on a wall in Streatham, south London. It was hours before he realised what he had done and in the meantime the gun had been taken.

The most recent data for England and Wales, released by the Home Office in January, showed that the misappropriation of shotguns increased dramatically. At
682, the number misappropriated in 2008/09 was more than twice that for the previous year and higher than at any time in the last ten years. It is not only misappropriation that causes concerns. A number of recent incidents have involved apparently licensed owners themselves:

Northern Echo, 26 February 2010

Andrew Ardle twice fired a sawn-off shotgun at a man whom he wrongly suspected of trying to "chat up" his wife. The incident took place in Stanley, County Durham, in August 2009. His victim gave chase by car and the chase ended when he shunted Ardle's car in Durham
City. Ardle was found near his damaged vehicle with his legally-held Beretta 12-bore shotgun which he had illegally shortened the day before. He was jailed for seven years after admitting two counts of possessing a firearm with intent to cause a fear of violence, possessing a loaded shotgun in a public place, shortening a shotgun and possessing a prohibited firearm. His victim admitted dangerous driving and was given a suspended prison
sentence and was banned from driving.

Daily Record, 30 January 2010
A park manager is alleged to have brandished a shotgun at one of his workers at a country park near Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire. The allegation is one of a list of complaints upheld against him. He has, however, not been fired from his job.

Devon 24, 28 January 2010
Concern has been expressed about the use of a shotgun on land in Honiton, Devon. It appears to be uncertain whether it was on private or public land.

Monmouth Today, 27 January 2010
A man was arrested following a report of a woman motorist being tailed through Monmouth by a second vehicle driven by a man with a firearm. A loaded firearm was seized and the man was charged with three offences including possession of a shotgun with intent to cause
unlawful violence. In a linked incident armed police were called to a property in the Wonastow area to deal with what was described as a 'domestic incident' involving a firearm.

Watford Observer, 26 January 2010
A man has been seen carrying a shotgun on Croxley Common Moor, Hertfordshire, a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest where hunting with firearms is banned. The man was approached by a local councillor but he ran off. Previously illegal deer hunters have targeted the moor.

News & Star, 19 January 2010
Allen Williams and Matthew Cook went shooting with shotguns on private farmland with the permission of the owner, but decided to move to a nearby hillside for target practice with an empty can. They were stopped by police on a road in Shap, Cumbria. Cook pleaded guilty to
having a single barrel 20 bore shotgun and Williams admitted having a 12 bore over and under double barrel firearm, which he held lawfully. They must each do 80 hours of unpaid community work. The gun belonging to Williams will be destroyed, the smaller gun has been
returned to its lawful owner.

Kirkintilloch Herald, 12 January 2010
A man was seen walking in woods in Stepps, North Lanarkshire, carrying a shotgun and wearing camouflaged clothing. It is thought the man may have been hunting and, following the incident in November 2009, the local Community Council are concerned for the safety of
walkers in the beauty spot.

Northampton Chronicle & Echo, 9 January 2010
A landowner has appeared in court accused of threatening a hot air balloon passenger with a shotgun when the balloon landed near Towcester, Northamptonshire. She pleaded not guilty to charges of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and assaulting the victim on the same occasion.

2. Armed Robberies
The number of armed raids on “soft” targets such as Bookmakers and Corner Shops involving guns would appear to be on the increase, with at least 46 recorded in our lists during January and February. It is noteworthy that when the alleged perpetrators are charged it is frequently with offences involving imitation firearms. We believe that despite a recent fall in the official number of imitation firearm offences their use in crime is being underestimated in Home Office figures, probably because they are being described as handguns. Access to imitation guns remains too easy and their contribution to armed robbery must be suitably acknowledged.

3. Imitation Guns and the Cost of Armed Response
We record many instances in which an armed response unit is called to incidents which are later found to involve someone with an imitation gun. In January there was another instance of a person who assumed that because he was going to a fancy dress party there would be no problem carrying a gun. After the latest incident in Weymouth, which involved a BB gun, a neighbour blamed the police for overreacting saying the operation was a waste of public money. Can police be expected to know in advance whether or not a reported weapon is an imitation? No, the blame lies squarely with those who think that because they are aware their gun is an imitation it will be obvious to everyone else.

Dorset Echo, 2 January 2010
Armed police surrounded a house in Weymouth, Dorset, after reports that a man was brandishing a gun. He was reported to have been leaning out of the window of a car with a handgun in his hand. The man was found to be preparing for a fancy dress party and had a BB gun as part of his costume. He had been to a friend's house to borrow the gun.

The Argus, 5 January 2010
A woman has been spoken to by the police after she carried an imitation machine gun through a housing estate in Brighton. She was not formally arrested. She claimed she did not know it was a crime to carry the replica SA80 assault rifle in public. The BB gun will be destroyed.

There is a cost to the public purse of their thoughtless behaviour. It is worth repeating the comments of a Hampshire police officer who described another incident in 2008 as "a needless waste of police resources to respond to somebody who should know better. One hour of armed response equates to 27 hours of regular policing - just think what these officers could have been doing with that time".

4. Airguns
According to the latest Home Office statistics the number of offences involving airguns is significantly down, yet the number of people being shot at and hit every month remains significant. At least ten people were hit during February. Some were injured seriously enough to require hospital treatment, including a 3-year-old boy from Selkirk.

The inquest in February into the death of 10-year-old Rhys Johnson was a reminder that these are lethal weapons. The case of a group of teenagers who shot three under-5s at a birthday party in Melton Mowbray highlights the callousness or stupidity displayed by
too many with access to airguns.

FEBRUARY 2010 - SUMMARY

Gun Deaths and Injuries - There were two fatal shooting incidents reported during February, a homicide and an apparent suicide. A man has been charged with murder after a male victim, who had also been stabbed, died from a shotgun wound at a house in Alderley Edge (Cheshire). A young sailor is believed have shot himself onboard a vessel berthed at Faslane Naval Base (Argyll and Bute).

Twenty five other people were wounded in incidents in which guns were fired:
Cambridgeshire (1) - a farmer was shot when he disturbed intruders on his land in Waterbeach. Hertfordshire (1) - a man was shot at a house in Lilley (Hertfordshire) in what police believe was a targeted attack. London (2) - a shopworker was shot in the neck with a handgun during a robbery at an off licence in Haringey, and a 16-year-old was shot in the back and arm in Bow. Merseyside (4) - a man was shot in the leg in Belle Vale, an 18-year-old was shot in the arm and chest in Kirkdale (two men have been arrested), a man was shot in the arm in Aigburth (one man was arrested), and a fourth male victim was shot in West Derby after attending a wake. Nottinghamshire (2) - two men were shot and wounded outside a pub in Gotham (Nottinghamshire) (one man has been charged with two counts of attempted murder). South Yorkshire (1) - a woman was injured in the leg at her home in Totley (Sheffield) - police were unsure if she was deliberately shot or hit by flying debris from shots fired by intruders

Fourteen victims, one a 3-year-old boy, were shot with airguns or other pellet guns:
Berkshire (1) - a cyclist was shot in the back with an air rifle in Reading. Cambridgeshire (1) - a 17-year-old was shot in the leg with an airgun whilst walking in Orton Malbourne. Cornwall (1) - a 14-year-old boy was shot in the neck with an air rifle in Penwithick Park (Cornwall)Derbyshire (1) - a man was shot with an air rifle while playing golf in Barlborough. Devon (1) - a man reported being shot in the chest with what is believe to have been an air weapon in Plymouth. Lincolnshire (1) - a railway worker was shot with an airgun on tracks near
Gainsborough (Lincolnshire). Merseyside (2) - two people, a man and a woman, were apparently struck outside a wine bar in Liverpool when a pellet gun was fired. Scotland (2) - a man was hit in the airgun when an airgun was fired into a street in Ardrossan (Ayrshire) (two men, one a teenager, were arrested),and a 3-year-old boy was taken to hospital after being shot in the chest with an air rifle in Selkirk. Wales (1) - a man apparently shot himself with an air rifle in Pontardawe (West Glamorgan) and has been left blinded in one eye, lost the use of his leg and now suffers seizures. West Midlands (1) - a dog walker was shot in the face with an airgun in Moxley. Worcestershire (2) - two people were both shot in the face with an air rifle in Worcester. A man was injured with a stun gun by a gang who pushed their way into a home in Tunbridge Wells (Kent). A man was hit with a firearm after being chased by a gang in Halewood (Merseyside) (two teenage boys were arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm and assault).

Inquests into the deaths of three men who died from shotgun wounds in Stinchcombe (Gloucestershire) in 2008 and in Leighton Buzzard (Bedfordshire) and North Newton (Somerset) in 2009 found they had all taken their own lives

Armed Hold-Ups and Assaults - There were robberies and attempted robberies allegedly involving guns at Banks and Post Offices (6) in Highgate (north London) (no gun seen), Coventry, Henley (Oxfordshire), Redditch (stun gun), Ashton-under-Lyne (Greater Manchester) (a security guard was threatened with a shotgun) and Glasgow, Bookmakers (10) in Liverpool (imitation firearm) (two men have been charged), Peterborough (handgun), Seven Kings (east London), Bolton (Greater Manchester), Possil and Parkhead (both in Glasgow), Uddingston, Muirhead, Ballieston and Moodiesburn (Lanarkshire) (the last three involving the same two suspects), a Fast Food Outlet (1) in Thorpe Bay (Essex), Petrol Stations (2) in Newhaven (East Sussex) (handgun) and Prestwich (Manchester) (handgun), Shops (16) in Elsenham (Essex), Pinehurst (Wiltshire) (an imitation
gun), Leamington (Warwickshire), Canvey (Essex) (an air pistol was fired), Rainham (Kent) (a shop manager was kidnapped), Hurst Green (Surrey) (shotgun), Bolnore (West Sussex) (a handgun was fired twice; two men have
been arrested), Hackney and Green Lanes (north London) (a shopworker was shot in the neck in Green Lanes; the two robberies are being linked), Warwick, Seaton Delaval (Northumberland) (shotgun), Greenock (Renfrewshire), Kilmaurs (Ayrshire) (two armed robberies on the same premises), Coatdyke (North Lanarkshire) and Fforestfach (Swansea), and a Travel Agency (1) in Ashford (Surrey).

In robberies on Homes a shotgun was pointed at a baby in Bramley (West Yorkshire) and a group of youths armed with a handgun stole cash and jewellery from a house in Silsoe (Bedfordshire).

In Street robberies a man was robbed outside a restaurant in Fordhouses (Wolverhampton) (men with a handgun stole a gold necklace), and a girl was robbed of her purse in Hoddesdon (Hertfordshire). Three 16-year-old boys from Surbiton and Kingston (south west London) face trial for allegedly using a fake gun to rob people of cash and mobile phones. A Taxi driver was robbed of his takings at gun- and knifepoint in Leeds (four men have been arrested). A Truck driver was kidnapped at gunpoint and his lorry stolen when he stopped at an industrial estate in Deeside (Clwyd) - the truck was later found burnt out minus its load of sportswear. A female Car driver was stopped by a gunman in Shevington (Lancashire) who stole the vehicle (a man faces a number of charges including possession of a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence). Two shots were fired at a farmer (two men have been arrested) during an attempted robbery at a Farm in Buckland Newton (Dorset).

Other Incidents - Shots were fired during a number of other incidents:
at a house in Preston (Lancashire) in a drive-by shooting; at a house in Toxteth (Merseyside) where a back window was damaged; at a flat in Shettleston (Glasgow) by two masked men; in a street in Croydon (south London); at road signs in Burford, Shilton, Carterton and Brize Norton (Oxfordshire); it has been suggested that a rifle was used; at the site of a bus station in Slough (Berkshire) where a shotgun was discharged - a man has been arrested

Three people have complained that they were nearly hit by shots fired by police who were trying to kill a runaway cow in Kendal (Cumbria) - an investigation is underway. A man from West Ham (east London) has been charged with the attempted murder of a work colleague at whom he is alleged to have pointed a gun and run down in a car. A pistol was found at a college in Kingston-upon-Thames (Surrey) and a student arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and
possession of cannabis. An 18-year-old faces three charges after being found with a revolver and ammunition in Camberwell (south London). A man is alleged to have wielded a handgun in front of customers at a pub in
Blackburn (Lancashire) - a man was arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm.

A man from Cherry Burton (East Yorkshire) has appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to two charges of possession of a firearm without a certificate. Trains had to be halted when a man was seen pointing a rifle at a train near Odsey (Hertfordshire) - a shooting party was hunting on nearby farmland. Two men have been charged with allegedly trespassing on land in Strathdon(Aberdeenshire) while carrying a shotgun. A passenger is alleged to have threatened to shoot a railway station worker at the station in Westbury (Wiltshire). In two other incidents a person was seen with a gun but no one was caught: police found no evidence of a weapon following reports that a man had been spotted with a gun in Barnstaple (Devon) and police failed to trace a youth seen with a gun in Butts Copse (Isle of Wight). Three men who were arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm or imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence were all released without charge - one of the men from Crosspool (Sheffield) was told that the police had been acting on an incorrect tip-off. A man from Crouch Hill (north London), one of three charged with robbery, has also been changed with possession of a stun gun.

Airguns and Imitation Guns - Besides those incidents in which a person was hit (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 definitely the case in incidents in Liverpool, Pinehurst (Wiltshire) and Canvey (Essex), and in robberies allegedly committed by three 16-year-olds from south west London. A man arrested for an aggravated burglary in Wichelstowe (Wiltshire) in January has been charged with a number of offences including possessing an imitation firearm. A car driver believes his vehicle was shot at with an air weapon as he was driving in Leyland (Lancashire) last month. Shots were allegedly fired from an air rifle in the direction of a shop in Dumbarton. Two Royal Navy Service personnel were detained after an air rifle was allegedly discharged at Faslane Naval Base, Argyll and Bute. A weapon, believed to have been an air rifle, was fired at least five times by the driver of a
parked car in Renfrew. A man from Hartlepool has been charged with possessing an airgun with intent to cause fear of violence and common assault. Armed police were hunting for two poachers, apparently seen with an air rifle in Welwyn Garden City (Hertfordshire). A man and a teenage boy hunting squirrels with an airgun caused an armed police alert at the Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood (north west London) - they were warned about their actions in future. An air rifle was recovered from a property in Newport (Gwent) after police broke in and escorted a woman, a young child and a baby to an ambulance and took a man to a police station - no one was shot or injured. Windows were damaged in Brockholes (West Yorkshire), apparently with an airgun.

Gun Finds, Recoveries and Thefts - The Trent Division of Staffordshire Police reported that they had seized or were handed 231 firearms during 2009. Guns were found during searches in which drugs were recovered in the Black Country (handgun) (three arrests were made), Darwen (Lancashire) (rifle; firearms charges were later dropped), Ilkeston (Derbyshire) (a shotgun; two men have been charged), Blackburn (Lancashire) (BB gun), Gloucester (handgun), Rastrick (West Yorkshire) (air rifle), Brighton and Hove, Hendon (Sunderland),
Troon (Ayrshire) (handgun) and Inch (Edinburgh).

Following other police operations:

a man faced a number of charges after a handgun and ammunition were found at a house in Bolton (Greater Manchester); a man and a woman were arrested after a handgun was found at a house in Leytonstone (north east London); Four people were arrested after police stopped a car in Croxteth Park (Liverpool) and found a semi-automatic shotgun; a man has faced allegations of possessing and firearm and ammunition without a certificate after a weapon was found during a search at a
property in Scarborough (North Yorkshire); there were six arrests after a series of raids in Manchester and Cheshire
during which live ammunition and an imitation firearm were found; shotguns were recovered in major police operations in South Wales and Greater Manchester
o a stun gun was recovered by police during a raid in Clitheroe (Lancashire) A shotgun was stolen from a farm in Harwood (Greater Manchester). A reward has been offered in the hunt for thieves who stole shotguns and other items from properties in Hadlow Down and Ditchling (East Sussex) in November 2009.

Incidents Involving Animals - More animals and birds suffered as a result of shooting incidents reported during February.

Cats were shot in airgun attacks in Bedfordshire (two different locations), Cheshire, Cumbria, Devon (two different locations), Essex (two cats shot in the same incident) and Fife. A deer was shot and killed with a shotgun in a park in Hampton Court (south west London) and a considerable number of deer were shot with a rifle and left for dead near Landford (Wiltshire). Concern was expressed that a ranger at a park in Langdon Hills (Essex) is using a shotgun to kill moles. Birds were targeted in a number of incidents. Swans were killed in attacks in
Stockport (Cheshire) (air rifle), Horningtoft (Norfolk) (shotgun) and Nuneaton (Warwickshire) (air rifle). Blackbirds were found with injuries consistent with airgun wounds in Norwich, and a buzzard was shot with an airgun in Upton Heath(Dorset). A former gamekeeper has admitted shooting a buzzard with a .243 rifle in Abermyte (Perthshire) and has been ordered to appear in court for sentencing.

Convictions - Three men found guilty of conspiracy to murder a man in East Leeds, who was saved when a gun jammed on one occasion, as well as other charges relating to a robbery, were given minimum sentences of 17 years or more. A man who shot his girlfriend in the neck with a sawn-off shotgun at a house in Peel Green (Greater Manchester) admitted possessing the shotgun and a handgun with intent to endanger life, possessing ammunition and a drugs offence and was given an indeterminate sentence for public protection.

A legal shotgun owner who shortened his gun and then fired at a man he wrongly suspected of trying to "chat up" his wife in Stanley (County Durham) has been jailed for 7 years. An offender who, amongst other offences, put a gun to the head of two people in Plymouth pleaded guilty to a total of eight charges and was jailed for 8 years. A man involved in a robbery in which a farmer in Overseal (Derbyshire) wasthreatened with his own shotgun has been jailed for 9 years. A man who threatened staff at a travel agency in Muswell Hill (north London) admitted robbery and possession of a firearm and must serve a minimum of 5 years in jail. Another offender involved in an armed robbery on a post office in Ilford (east London) in which a guard was threatened with a gun has been jailed for 7 years. A man who kidnapped two members of staff at a shop he ran in Bo'ness (West Lothian) whilst armed with a revolver has been jailed for 5 years and 3 months.

Those convicted for possessing shotguns were: three men involved in handing over a shotgun in a car park in Hemel Hempstead (Hertfordshire), jailed for 3, 7½ and 9½ years; a man who claimed to have found a sawn-off shotgun in woods close to Barbury Castle (Wiltshire) and pleaded guilty to possessing an altered firearm without a certificate and will be sentenced later; a man from Kendal (Cumbria) who admitted having a shortened shotgun and will be sentenced later; a 19-year-old woman from Clifton (Nottingham) jailed for 4 years for hiding a sawn-off shotgun; a man from Yeovil (Somerset) who was convicted of rape, kidnap and false imprisonment and also admitted possession of a sawn-off shotgun, which
he said should be used to threaten his victim, and will be sentenced later; a man from Burmantofts (Leeds) found with a sub-machine gun and a sawn-off shotgun pleaded guilty to possessing the weapons, jailed for 6 years

Others convicted of possessing shotguns together with other guns were: a man who had an arsenal of weapons, including a sawn-off shotgun and a pistol, at a flat in Kearsley (Lancashire) where cannabis was being grown, jailed for 7 years after pleading guilty to a number of offences; two men each jailed for 7½ years who admitted various charges after a pump action shotgun, a sub-machine pistol and ammunition were scattered across a road in Leeds following a motorbike chase; a man given a 2 year sentence after a 12 bore shotgun and an air rifle
were found at a house in Winsford (Cheshire) - another man arrested at the same time was fined £1000

The following people were convicted for possessing prohibited handguns:

two gun enthusiasts from Baildon and Guiseley (West Yorkshire), jailed for 3 years and 18 months for respectively selling and buying a prohibited pistol, and another gun enthusiast who had live ammunition and illegal pistols stored at his home in Sleaford (Lincolnshire) given a 12 month conditional discharge; an 18-year-old convicted of possessing a firearm and ammunition with
intent to endanger life after being found with a pistol he had picked up from a pub in Greenwich (south east London); two teenage girls who pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited weapon and ammunition without a certificate after a revolver was found in a garden in Flixton (Greater Manchester), and the man for whom they were keeping the gun who also admitted possessing a firearm with ammunition; a 16-year-old caught with a loaded revolver in Wood Green (north London), sentenced to four months in prison; a man from Durham City who hid a loaded pistol among his children's toys, jailed for 5 years; a woman from Toxteth (Liverpool) who was keeping a pistol and ammunition to pay off a drug debt, jailed for 5 years; a man found with a revolver and ammunition in his car as he drove in Rochdale (Greater Manchester), jailed for 6 years; a man from Anderston (Glasgow) who admitted owning a revolver and three live bullets and faces a lengthy jail term; a man who admitted possessing a modified starting pistol at his home in Blackwood (Gwent); A man who had illegal possession of ammunition for a handgun in Uxbridge (west London) has been ordered to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work, attend an education and train course and attend appointments with a probation order. A man has pleaded guilty to possession of 50 live rounds of rifle ammunition
when not having a firearms certificate and is charged with the theft of ammunition from the Army Cadet Corps in Altcar (Lancashire). A man who threw his legally-owned shotgun and cartridges into a school playground in Northampton was acquitted after the prosecution accepted he had committed no offence - the judge said that he was "very, very unhappy".

Stun Guns - A man from South Oxhey (Hertfordshire) is awaiting sentence after a stun gun he purchased on the internet from America was intercepted by customs officers. A man from Heswall (Merseyside) was given an 18 month suspended sentence and given 150 community service after a stun gun was found at his home. One of four men convicted of cocaine smuggling was also found with a stun gun - the man, from Battersea Rise (south London), was jailed for a total of 10 years; A couple were each given a conditional discharge and the man was fined £90 after being caught with a stun gun and drugs at their home in Tonbridge (Kent).

Airguns and Imitation Guns (Court Cases) - A coroner has ruled that the death of a 10-year-old boy who died after being shot with his father's air rifle in Swansea last September was accidental. Two teenagers who fired an air rifle at children at a birthday party in Melton
Mowbray (Leicestershire) hitting three under-5s have been given 6-month referral orders and one of them was given an 18-month community order and a 3-month curfew - two other teenagers had received police cautions. Two men who fired an air rifle at a delivery driver in Atherton (Lancashire) hitting him behind the knee and damaging his van have both been jailed for 9 months. A man who fired an airgun at a shop assistant in Skelton (Cleveland), hitting her on the back of her head, has pleaded guilty to possession of an air weapon,
breaching an Asbo and resisting arrest and been jailed for 10 months. nA youth from East Oxford who, among various acts of anti-social behaviour, shot a Police Community Support Officer with a ball-bearing gun has been given an 18-month youth rehabilitation order. A man who fired a blank-firing pistol towards a property in South Shields admitted possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and was jailed for 4 years - the gun's owner received a 20 month sentence.
? A man who fired a pellet gun from a hotel in Huntly (Aberdeenshire) has been fined £200 after admitting recklessly discharging the firearm with disregard for the safety of others. A teenage boy from Boldon Colliery (Tyne & Wear) seen firing an air weapon out of his bedroom window has been spoken to by police officers and referred to a youth surgery.

The following cases involved others who brandished airguns or imitations guns:

a man from Witham (Essex) who pointed a replica gun at police officers and admitted assault and possessing an imitation firearm with intent to make someone believe violence would be used, given a 4 month suspended sentence; an offender who showed an imitation pistol to men during a dispute in Lingdale (Cleveland), jailed for 18 months; a man from Luton (Bedfordshire) who brandished a toy gun during a road rage incident, given a 16-week suspended jail sentence and 100 hours unpaid work; a man who pointed an air rifle at two teenage girls who came to the front door of a house in Lymingto (Hampshire) and pleaded guilty to possession of an imitation firearm, given a suspended 12-month jail term,
a 6 month supervision requirement and 150 hours unpaid work; a man from Hindley (Lancashire) who threatened a friend with an imitation gun and was involved in a two-day siege, sent to a mental hospital indefinitely; another man who threatened his elderly mother with a BB gun at her
home in Salfords (Surrey) and admitted one count of possessing an imitation firearm, sentenced to 20 months' imprisonment; a teenager caught with a pellet gun in Hartlepool who pleaded guilty to having a weapon in a public place as well as other offences, given a 12-month community order with 10 education, training and employment sessions and a 9-day alcohol programme
o a man who in 2002 who was charged after showing an air pistol to work colleagues in Neasden (north west London) and threatened to use it and then failed to show for his trial and has now admitted two counts of
possessing an imitation firearm, jailed for 17 months; a man who brandished an imitation handgun at railway staff in Canterbury (Kent), jailed for 5 years for possessing prohibited ammunition and possessing a weapon; a man who threatened his girlfriend and pointed a loaded .22 air rifle to her friend's head in a caravan in Chale (Isle of Wight), jailed for 2 years; two men, one aged 18 and the other an ex-prisoner, seen with a gun in Fairfield (Derbyshire) who admitted being in possession of an air rifle; a man seen by neighbours in Fauldhouse (West Lothian) firing an air weapon who pleaded guilty to breach of the peace and a drugs offence, fined £360; a man who admitted possessing a ball-bearing gun and air rifle in a public place after an incident in Brynmawr (Gwent), given 3 month and 4 month sentences to run concurrently with a 6 month sentence he was given for his involvement in a drunken brawl on a separate occasion; a man who waved a gun, believed to be a ball-bearing gun, at neighbours
in Newport (Gwent) when he was drunk, sentenced to 15 months in a young offenders' institute

There were a number of convictions for robberies and attempted robberies in which the offender(s) was armed with an imitation firearm.

At Shops in Shirley (south London) (two 14-year-old boys have been given 30 months detention), Selby (North Yorkshire) (a man who had a previous conviction for armed robbery has been warned he could spend the rest of his life behind bars), Slough and Maidenhead (Berkshire) and Hazlemere (Buckinghamshire) (three men were jailed for a total of 18 years and 9 months for three robberies), Wolverhampton (a man has been warned he faces a long jail sentence), Plymouth (a man has been jailed for 4 years and 3 months) and Winsford (a man was caught red-handed with an imitation firearm and a knife and has been jailed for 2 years). At a Post Office in Stanton Harcourt (Oxfordshire) (the weapon was
fabricated from offcuts of metal) (a man is in jail and a woman has been found guilty of robbery and possessing an imitation firearm with intent). During raids at Houses in south London, Balham (three men were given sentences of 10, 10 and 12 years for aggravated burglary) and Forest Green (two men have pleaded guilty and another three were found guilty of robbery, possessing an imitation firearm and theft of a motor vehicle; they received sentences of between 6½ and 10 years), and in Prestwich (Greater Manchester) (five men were sentenced to a total of 35 years, four after admitting two counts of robbery and possessing an imitation firearm) and Thornton (Merseyside) (a woman was been jailed for 5 years after admitting aggravated burglary in which she had an air pistol). At a Farm in Cudham (a teenager has pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary and possession of an imitation firearm with the intent to endanger life). In Street robberies in Tottenham (north London) (one man pleaded guilty to seven counts of robbery and seven counts of possession an imitation firearm with intent to commit a crime). Two men must do unpaid work after various weapons were found in a car travelling through Winnersh (Berkshire) - one who admitted one count of
possessing an imitation firearm, an air pistol that looked like a Beretta pistol, in a public place received 100 hours.
A drunk driver caught after a police chase ended in Mostyn (Clwyd) was found to have a deactivated Kalashnikov rifle in his car and admitted a number of charges including possessing an imitation firearm. A drug dealer from Walderslade (Kent) who pleaded guilty to possession of crack cocaine also admitted possession of an air weapon and ammunition (he has been given a 32 month prison sentence). A man found with an airgun and pellets in Fraserburgh (Aberdeenshire) has admitted having the weapon and pellets.

JANUARY 2010 SUMMARY

Gun Deaths in 2009

On the basis of the media reports seen there were 44 gun homicides in Great Britain in 2009, one of which involved a bolt gun which is no longer subject to firearms legislation. The total is two greater than in 2008 but remains significantly lower than for most years during the previous two decades.

Seventeen of the gun victims died in London, 5 in Greater Manchester, 3 in each of South Yorkshire, the West Midlands and West Yorkshire and 2 in Hampshire (a domestic double shooting). Despite a number of shooting incidents in Merseyside that resulted in injury there was only one gun homicide, which occurred in January. The only gun homicide in Scotland during 2009 was also in January. There was a single gun homicide in each of Bedfordshire, Derbyshire, Devon, Essex, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Nottinghamshire, Suffolk and Worcestershire.

Seven of the victims were female. Five women were shot by their partner or ex-partner and a young girl was shot by her father who also killed her mother. Four of the men killed themselves. The other woman was shot with a bolt gun
by a man who had stalked her. In a seventh domestic incident a man was reportedly shot dead by his wife.

Two of the fatalities occurred during armed robberies – in Worcestershire in January and in Greater Manchester in December.

The youngest victim was a 4-year-old girl, shot by her father, and there were four victims aged between 16 and 20. Half of the victims (22 of the 44) were males in their twenties. Of the six victims aged 50 or over, four were killed in domestic shootings, three women and one man.

Two men were shot dead by armed police officers in County Durham and Sussex, both incidents occurring in May after shots were reported to have been fired with a crossbow and a handgun during the respective incidents.

Air weapons killed four more people in 2009. Three boys aged 5, 10 and 15 died after being shot in incidents described as accidents. One woman shot herself with an air rifle.