In connection with an incident in Tyringham, Buckinghamshire, police officers have charged three men with aggravated burglary, possession of an imitation firearm in a public place and possession of a knife blade or sharply pointed article. Click on media link to read full report.

Ilie Preda, aged 56, has been handed a suspended six-month prison term for sexual assault, attempted sexual assault, possessing an imitation firearm, failing to surrender and a Section 4 public order offence. In April 2021, Preda made gun noises while pointing a plastic imitation firearm at members of the public in Kingsbury, North London. Upon arrest, he told police that he had been at a children's party and was carrying the toy gun for his son. Two weeks later, Preda sexually assaulted a teenage girl on a train and tried to assault a second girl.

Abdullah Ishaq, aged 22, has been jailed for six-and-a-half years for possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and assisting an offender, with a further two years for unrelated offences against a former partner. In March 2023, Ishaq agreed to take part in what he believed would be a robbery in order to clear his drug debt. After he and others located the male victim in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, Ishaq attempted to stop him escaping from an alleyway where he was shot at several times by a second man. The victim was treated in hospital after being hit by two bullets. Ishaq was arrested at the scene after returning to collect spent bullet casings. The court heard that Ishaq had believed the gun to be imitation.

Police officers investigating County Lines drug dealing and child criminal exploitation searched a property in Bootle, Merseyside and seized a Taser. A man was subsequently arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs and possession of a firearm.

Dymtro Shcherbinskyy, 42, and Ghislain Kiamuangana, 34, have been jailed for twelve years and ten years, respectively, after being convicted of offences including two counts of robbery, one count of attempted robbery and three counts of possessing a firearm. In January 2022, the pair threatened two staff members with a gun at a hotel in Southwark, Central London, tied them up and fled with £4,000 stolen cash. Six days later, they attempted a similar robbery at a hotel in Canning Town but fled empty-handed after failing to open a safe. Less than a week later, the offenders raided another hotel in Central London and held a worker at gunpoint while stealing £3,000. The pair were identified after CCTV footage showed them escaping each robbery in a stolen van. Ammunition, the stolen van and numerous sets of number plates were found at Shcherbinskyy's address, while a CO2-powered firearm was seized from Kiamuangana's home.

Esmatullah Sharfi, aged 31 and of no fixed abode, has been jailed for four years after pleading guilty to robbery and three counts of possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. In October 2023, Sharfi followed two women on a street in Canterbury, Kent, while holding what appeared to be a small gun. He went on to use the weapon to threaten a member of staff at a café, as well as one of the customers, who handed over cash in fear for his safety. Armed police officers found and arrested Sharfi shortly afterwards.

A woman died at the scene after being shot outside her home in Hackney, North London. A man and a teenage boy were also shot and injured but have since been discharged from hospital. A teenage male has been charged with murder, attempted murder, possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.

A man allegedly stole cash and jewellery from another man after threatening him with a suspected firearm on a street in Preston, Lancashire. Police appealed for information, particularly from those with relevant dashcam or CCTV footage.

A man allegedly threatened a member of staff with a firearm at a takeaway café in Moreton, Merseyside before fleeing with stolen cash. No one was injured. Police have appealed for information.

A man was treated in hospital for a leg wound after shots were fired on a street in Birmingham, West Midlands. His injury is not believed to be serious. The shots came after two cars collided nearby and police are investigating whether the incidents are linked.