The Infer Trust makes every effort to record and categorise the firearms incidents reported in the UK but we recognise that it is not a complete record.
If you are aware of a gun incident which is not listed please notify us. You can do this by either sending us the link for an on line report, or a hard copy of a press article to our address.
A man walking in Altrincham was forced into the back of a car and threatened with a black handgun. He was held in the car by two men for nearly 20 minutes before being released. The man has now been charged with wasting police time having admitted that he made up the incident (Manchester Evening News, 9 February 2008).
2008/1/14
Northampton Chronicle & Echo
A 16-year-old has been arrested in connection with an attempted armed robbery on a store in Northampton. Two people threatened the shopkeeper with an air rifle which was discharged into the air. Nothing was stolen and no-one was injured.
2008/1/14
Birmingham Mail
Kristopher Sami fired a pellet gun in a park in Solihull where children were fishing. He admitted possessing a loaded air weapon in a public place. Sami was jailed for four months but was released immediately as he had already spent the equivalent of a nine-month sentence in custody.
2008/1/14
BBC
Four men have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit two murders in Manchester. They are also being held in connection with offences of possessing firearms with intent to endanger life and the supply and possession of drugs. The arrests are part of the inquiry into the murders of two victims who were shot in June 2007 in the centre of Manchester (see Incidents) and in July 2007 in Chorlton-on-Medlock (see Incidents).
2008/1/13
News Shopper
A family was left distressed after robbers burst into their home in Blackheath, south east London. One of the three robbers threatened the family's six year old daughter with a gun. They made off with £2,000 in cash.
2008/1/13
BBC
A masked man armed with a handgun threatened a member of staff at a betting shop in Lowestoft, Suffolk, before fleeing with cash.
2008/1/13
BBC
The body of Garry Weddell, a Metropolitan Police inspector, has been found in woodland near a shooting club in Markyate, Hertfordshire. A forensic search of the gun club was underway. Weddell was a member of the club until his licence was revoked following his arrest for the murder of his wife last year. The discovery of the body has been linked to the death of his mother-in-law whose body was found in Gustard Wood in Hertfordshire on the same day. Weddell is reported to have killed himself after apparently shooting his mother-in-law (News of the World, 13 January 2008). The local MP wants an inquiry into why Weddell was not in custody whilst awaiting trial for his wife's murder. He had been granted bail with a surety of £200,000 on condition that he hand in his gun licence and stay away from his mother-in-law (BBC, 14 January 2008). A coroner has said that the judge's decision to grant bail was "properly conducted". A coroner has ruled that Weddell unlawfully killed his wife and her mother before taking his own life (see March 2008 Incidents).
2008/1/12
The Sentinel
Andrew Bullock threatened youths with a .177 calibre air pistol at a shop in Smallthorne, Staffordshire, after a friend told him she had been threatened by a group of yobs. The teens ran out of the shop. Bullock was given a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months and will undergo 12 months' supervision and complete an enhanced thinking skills programme. He was ordered to forfeit the weapon and ammunition.
2008/1/12
Northern Echo
A man wearing a wig and waving a plastic ball-bearing gun punched a fellow drinker in the face in a pub in Durham. David Moore admitted assault causing actual bodily harm and was sentenced to four months in a young offenders' institution, suspended for a year, with 120-hours' unpaid work.
2008/1/12
BBC
Two men, aged 18 and 21, were injured in a double shooting in the Norris Green area of Liverpool. Both were taken to hospital for treatment to injuries described as not life-threatening. Neither is co-operating with police inquiries. Rumours are that the shootings were gang-related (Liverpool Echo, 14 January 2008).
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