August 2015 Review

by Gun Control Network on 01-09-2015

Gun Deaths

We are aware of at least three gun deaths in August 2015:

A 43-year-old man was shot dead by police in north London.
A man in his 30s has been found dead from gunshot wounds in Sydenham, south London. Police recovered a shotgun from the scene.
A 39-year-old man has died in hospital after spending 13 years in a persistent vegetative state following gunshot injuries sustained in crossfire during a shooting in a bar in Shoreditch, east London.

Inquests

We are aware of at least one gun-related inquest in August 2015. An inquest into the death of Keith Watson, 73, found that he took his own life in Lepton, West Yorkshire in April 2015 after his daughter was diagnosed with cancer. Mr Watson was known to be suffering from anxiety and depression for which he was taking prescription drugs, but despite his illness Mr Watson, a licensed shotgun owner, retained his guns and licence.

Sentences and Convictions

We are aware of at least 29 sentences and convictions handed down during August, over 50% of which relate to serious crimes involving imitation, BB, Airsoft, airguns, and replica guns, all of which can be legally held without licences:

A man has been jailed for a minimum of 15 years after shooting and seriously injuring a female police officer with a sawn-off shotgun in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
Three men have been jailed for a total of 30 years for assaulting a shopkeeper in Wolverhampton, West Midlands with an imitation gun.
A man has been jailed for 15 years and been placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for life for threatening a 19-year old woman with an imitation gun before raping her in a graveyard in Birmingham, West Midlands.

Licensed Gun Owners/Legally-held Gun Incidents

We are aware of at least four incidents involving licensed gun owners/legally-held guns in August 2015:

A man has been handed a 120-day suspended prison sentence with100 hours of unpaid work, and has had his firearms certificate revoked and his guns and ammunition forfeited after pleading guilty to failing to store four licensed shotguns and two licensed rifles and ammunition securely at his home in Penrith, Cumbria.
A man has been jailed for two years, had his licence revoked and his guns and ammunition seized after being found in possession of a loaded firearm in a public place in Downham Market, Norfolk. The licensed shotgun owner had a loaded antique shotgun in the back of his car.

Armed Domestic Violence

We are aware of at least six incidents/sentences relating to armed domestic violence in August 2015:

A man has been handed a 14-day suspended prison sentence after pointing his unloaded licensed shotgun at his wife and threatening to shoot them both before firing into the ground at their home in York, North Yorkshire.
A man has been jailed for 14 months for firing an airgun at two of his neighbours in Bristol.
A man has been given a year-long suspended sentence, and been ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid community work and undergo anger management classes for threatening a family member with an imitation gun during a dispute in South Shields, Tyne and Wear.
A man has been jailed for 22 months for possessing an imitation gun with intent to cause fear of violence in Rugeley, Staffordshire, after his partner broke off their relationship. The man had previous convictions for violence and a history of harming his partners.
Two men have been jailed for one year and eight months each and been handed a two-year restraining order for carrying Airsoft guns and other weapons and planning a revenge attack on the new boyfriend of one man's former partner. The men purchased the weapons before travelling by car to the UK and were arrested in Dover, Kent.
A woman pleaded guilty to shooting her neighbour in the head with an airgun during a dispute about shooting seagulls in Tain, Highlands. The neighbour has been left with permanent injuries.

Stolen Guns

We are aware of at least 71 guns stolen in August 2015:

A van containing 32 laser-tag guns was stolen from the home of a combat gaming business owner in Liverpool, Merseyside.
Thirty guns, including airguns, have been stolen from a gun club in Newtown Linford, Leicestershire.
Seven guns including airguns and gas powered Airsoft replica revolvers have been stolen from a home in Haverhill, Surrey.
One airgun has been stolen from a shed on an allotment in Thornaby-on-Tees, North Yorkshire and another airgun has been stolen from an outbuilding in Crawley, West Sussex.

Animal Cruelty

We are aware of at least twelve incidents of animal cruelty in August 2015. Nine cats, a jackdaw, and a pigeon have been injured and a swan killed in airgun attacks. A buzzard had to be put down after it was injured by a shotgun, and a valuable dog was apparently shot and then stolen while out walking with its owner who discovered blood and spent shotgun cartridges at the scene.

Assaults Causing Fear

Most firearms assaults in England involve guns being used to threaten individuals, usually for the sake of robbery. Traumatised victims are often unable to identify the weapons used. It is very difficult to distinguish between replicas, BBs, airguns, and imitations etc. - none of which require a licence - unless the weapons are fired and/or recovered, and for this reason many incidents are attributed to 'unknown' weapons. Fear of gunfire is also evident when citizens call police to report hearing gun shots.

The chart below shows data compiled from new incidents and sentences causing fear in England, Scotland, and Wales as reported in the British media from September 2014 to August 2015:

As the graph demonstrates, many robberies involve the use of imitations and BB guns which do not require a licence and may not contain bullets but are used by perpetrators to capitalise on the fear of victims who believe they are about to be shot. This experience is more common in England, Scotland, and Wales than incidents causing physical injury.

Incidents Causing Injury

In many armed robberies and assaults in Britain resulting in severe injury, perpetrators club or 'pistol-whip' victims using weapons reported to be "unknown" or imitation firearms. Although imitations, BBs, and airguns do not require a licence in England, Scotland, and Wales, they are responsible for many gun injuries to both humans and animals.

The chart below shows data compiled from new gun incidents and sentences causing injury in England, Scotland, and Wales as reported in the British media from September 2014 to August 2015:

GCN is particularly concerned about the criminal use of shotguns (which are licensed to unsafe individuals, lost, or stolen), 'low-powered' airguns legally held without a licence (though sufficiently powerful to kill adults, children, and animals), and realistic imitation guns (legally held without a licence but illegal to trade/manufacture).

The table below counts new gun incidents in England, Scotland, and Wales as reported in the British media from September 2014 to August 2015:

New Incidents by Month

	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug
Shotgun	15	13	9	8	17	8	10	6	4	8	9	12
Airgun	36	30	16	14	16	12	23	32	23	11	18	26
Imitation	12	16	12	7	7	14	14	18	6	9	13	12
Unknown	49	34	38	27	26	51	40	35	20	18	22	30

GCN is committed to preventing gun violence and we work to pursue that objective through adjustments to the legal system. Ultimately, legally obtained guns in every country tend to find their way into the wrong hands, whether it's through theft, or the failure of the licensing procedure to identify legal gun owners who pose a risk to themselves and/or others.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.5 License.