The coroner at the inquest into the death of a police sergeant in the custody centre in Croydon, South London in September 2020 has recorded a verdict of unlawful killing. The victim was fatally shot with an antique Colt revolver, smuggled in by a man who had earlier been stopped and searched by other officers. Seven bullets and two bags of cannabis had been seized from the shooter’s person but the officers failed to find a holster hidden under his left arm. While being transported to the custody centre, the man transferred the gun to his hands despite being cuffed. There was no metal detector at the entrance to the custody area and it was only when he was brought to his feet for a second search that he moved his hands from behind his back and, at near point-blank range, fired two shots at the victim, hitting him in the chest and thigh. The police sergeant later died of his injuries in hospital. The coroner said that there had been “a failure to carry out a safe, thorough and systematic search”.

Following reports that an air weapon was fired during a fight in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, police officers arrested eight males, including teenagers. A gas-powered airgun and machetes were recovered from a nearby address. No injuries were reported.

Anton Fenton, aged 28, has been jailed for five years after pleading guilty to possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. In April 2023, Fenton fired a gun twice at a car that was occupied by a man and woman in Derby, Derbyshire.The first shot ricocheted off the windscreen, while the second shattered it. The court heard that the attacker had earlier argued with the man in the car after a third man had shot at both of them, hitting Fenton in the neck. Fenton believed the first attack was a set-up and fired at the car in revenge.

Lee Rice, 38, and Marie Brazier, 49, have been jailed for eight and six years, respectively, after being convicted of conspiracy to sell or transfer prohibited weapons. In 2018, National Crime Agency (NCA) personnel shut down a gun factory in Hailsham, East Sussex that had been manufacturing handguns “from scratch”. It was discovered that Rice and Brazier supplied materials to make weapons and ammunition, buying 366 inert rounds from military memorabilia websites, as well as eleven pistol magazines. Thirteen pistols made at the factory were found in criminal hands, with one revealing Rice's DNA on its internal spring. Following sentencing, an NCA spokesperson said, “Rice and Brazier held key roles that contributed to the production of viable pistols and ammunition. These weapons then made their way into the hands of criminals who used them in acts of serious violence.”

Iain Alexander, aged 32, has been jailed for three years after admitting possessing with intent to supply heroin, cocaine, and cannabis, as well as possession of criminal property, possession of a weapon designed to discharge electrical incapacitation, driving without a licence and driving without insurance. In October 2023, police officers stopped Alexander's car in Winsford, Cheshire and recovered drugs, phones revealing evidence of drug dealing, money, suspected stolen goods and a Taser disguised as a key ring. When he was searched again at a custody suite, a Kinder Surprise capsule containing wraps of heroin and cocaine was found hidden between Alexander’s buttocks.

As part of an operation designed to disrupt serious organised crime groups, officers from Merseyside Police have charged eleven people with firearms and drugs offences after carrying out warrants in the region. The charges included conspiring to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life/enable others to do so, possessing a firearm when prohibited for life and conspiring to possess a firearm without a certificate.

A cat has been put to sleep after being shot in the spine with an air gun in Crewe, Cheshire. X-rays revealed that the cat, who was unable to walk, had suffered multiple severe injuries. A spokesperson from the RSPCA said, “Airguns can cause horrific pain and suffering… It is unspeakably cruel, totally unacceptable and illegal to shoot animals for ‘fun’ - or as target practice - but sadly our emergency line receives hundreds of similar reports every year.”

A man was treated in hospital for a minor hand injury following a fight with another man in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, during which a gun was discharged. Police have since arrested a man on suspicion of possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear.

Patrick Boreham, aged 32, has been handed a suspended fifteen-month prison term and ordered to complete 120 hours of unpaid work and six months of mental health treatment after admitting possessing a firearm with intent to cause another man fear of violence, common assault and causing criminal damage to property. In April 2023, at his home in Southend, Oxfordshire, Boreham attacked his father after he tried to break up a fight with a friend. Boreham bit his father’s arm before pointing an air pistol at him. The court heard that Boreham had been drunk at the time and was “extremely ashamed and embarrassed by his behaviour”.

During an operation designed to disrupt county lines drug dealing, police officers raided twelve properties in areas including Ilkeston, Buxton and Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire. Officers arrested seventeen people and seized drugs worth £9,000, more than £5,500 in cash, an axe and a Taser.