August 2024 Review

GCN is committed to preventing gun violence and we work to pursue that objective through changes to the legal system, public services and attitudes to guns. We collect and analyse data to provide all stakeholders with the evidence needed to initiate change.

GCN collects data on gun incidents and related sentences, inquests and investigations in England, Scotland, and Wales, as reported in the British media. We know our information is incomplete, though we believe nearly all the most serious crimes are included.

This Review refers to incidents that occurred during August 2024 and to earlier incidents for which further information has now been reported, often as a result of a court case or inquest. Please note that the data used for the Figures is derived solely from incidents that occurred, or first came to our attention, in August 2024.

Figure 1: August 2024 incident reports by type

Gun Deaths

We monitor FATAL GUN INCIDENTS in Great Britain and compile lists that summarise the available information. Our summaries for 2017 to 2024 are available at www.gun-control-network.org

We are aware of four reports in August 2024 concerning gun deaths:

• Armed police officers responding to reports of a shooting in Bethnal Green, North London, found a man suffering gunshot injuries. The victim died at the scene shortly afterwards. No arrests have yet been reported.

• Police officers were called to a home in East Village, Devon after a man was found dead at the property. The deceased had suffered a shotgun wound to the head. His death is not believed to be suspicious.

• It has emerged that a man and woman were found dead at their home in Sandwich, Kent last month. At a preliminary inquest, it was heard that the man died of a gunshot wound to the head. He was found with a gun underneath him. His wife, who was found dead on her bed, had suffered cyanide toxicity. Police are not treating the deaths as suspicious.

• A man has died in hospital after being shot by a police officer in Knaphill, Surrey. Armed police officers attended the man’s home following reports of an altercation between two people, one of whom had a weapon. The victim allegedly pointed an air rifle at officers before he was shot. Surrey Police made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

Inquests

We are not aware of any reports of inquest verdicts in August 2024 relating to gun deaths.

Armed Domestic Violence and/or Victim Known to Perpetrator

We are aware of five reports in August 2024 that we believe to relate to the above, including:

• A man has been handed a suspended fifteen-month prison term and ordered to complete a building better relationships course and 100 hours of unpaid work after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear. In February 2023, he sent messages to an ex-partner that she found concerning. When her friend contacted the man to ask him to stop, he sent her abusive and threatening messages in which he talked about “splashing acid” in people’s faces, adding that he would do things “that Saddam Hussein would be ashamed of”. He also set a video of himself wielding two large guns while threatening to “spray” people with bullets. After the friend alerted police, officers recovered a deactivated Chinese-copy assault rifle and an American deactivated assault rifle from the man’s home in Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire and arrested him shortly afterwards.

• A 59-year-old man has been handed a suspended 20-month prison term after pleading guilty to possession of an imitation firearm and intentional strangulation. In March 2024, the man became “frustrated” with his wife after she tried to help him find some old photos on his phone at their home in Clayton-le-Moors, Lancashire. After verbally abusing her, he held an unloaded BB gun to her head and held her by the throat. When police arrived to arrest the man, they also seized an air pistol from the property. The man was ordered to complete ten rehabilitation activity days, a Building Better Relations programme and a five-month alcohol treatment programme.

• A 37-year-old man has been jailed for three years after admitting possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and criminal damage. In March 2023, he twice fired an air rifle at the house of a former friend in Newton Aycliffe, Co. Durham, following a “minor dispute” with him. The victim, who saw the assailant aiming at the property, ducked down in fear of being shot. One shot damaged a window at the property but no one was injured. Police officers later found the air rifle in the back of the attacker’s car. The victim, a former soldier, described in an impact statement how the incident had exacerbated his symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and stress, resulting in him leaving his job as he felt unable to cope. The judge ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the air rifle.

• A 30-year-old man has been jailed for 21 months after pleading guilty to two counts of possessing an imitation firearm, assault by beating and criminal damage. In December 2023, the man met with his ex-partner at his home in Calmore, Hampshire when she visited to drop off some of his belongings. When she entered the property, he held an imitation rifle to her face and fired the weapon, narrowly missing her. After he was arrested the next day, he claimed his ex-partner was making things up to cause trouble. He changed his plea, however, before trial.

• Two men, aged 34 years and 25 years, have been jailed for ten years and six-and-a-half years, respectively, after being found guilty of aggravated burglary. In May 2020, the two men broke into a home in St. Neots, Cambridgeshire and assaulted a man known to them. They put a gun into his mouth and hit him with it. They also struck him with a metal pole, causing three broken ribs and a collapsed lung. The pair went on to steal a gold necklace from the victim’s partner before fleeing.

Licensed/Former Licensed Owners/Dealers/Legal Guns and Ammunition, and Stolen Guns and Ammunition

We are aware of at least six reports in August 2024 that we believe to relate to the above:

• See Gun Deaths above — A man, who allegedly pointed an air rifle at a police officer, has died in hospital after being shot by armed police in Surrey.

• An investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has found that Metropolitan Police firearms officers, who fatally shot a man in January 2024, used necessary force. After the man broke into a home in Southwark, South London armed with weapons including a loaded crossbow, a sword, a knife and a hatchet, two residents barricaded themselves in a bedroom. After responding police officers drew their Tasers and delivered clear and appropriate instructions to the man, he swung the sword at them. Firearms officers were called in and, after the man pointed his loaded crossbow at them, he was shot twice, in the neck and chest. Despite emergency first aid, the man died at the scene. The investigation heard that the man, a convicted stalker, had been given a suspended jail term and a restraining order in July 2023 after admitting entering a woman’s bedroom without consent and had been banned from entering the road where he was shot. An IOPC spokesperson said “…the actions of all officers involved in this incident, and the decision to the use of lethal force, were in our opinion, justified, proportionate and necessary.”

• Armed police officers responded following reports of an altercation between two people in Knaphill, Surrey, one of whom had a weapon. An officer shot one of the people involved. He remains in hospital in a critical but stable condition. Surrey Police made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

• A 60-year-old man has been handed a suspended sixteen-month prison term and ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid community work and 20 days of rehabilitation activities after admitting possession of a prohibited firearm, possession of a shotgun without a certificate and five offences of possessing weapons in a private place. The man was arrested after police officers recovered a shotgun from the attic of his home in Exeter, Devon. The man, whose firearms certificate was revoked in 2022, should have handed the weapon in to police but he lied about selling it to a gun dealer. The officers also discovered other weapons including a Taser, a curved sword, a butterfly knife and two knuckledusters.

• A 29-year-old man has been jailed for 876 days after pleading guilty to burglary, criminal damage and attempted theft of a motor vehicle. In July 2023, the man entered a flat in Shenstone, Staffordshire and stole an air pistol, a bottle of whiskey and clothes. He was arrested after being found in a car park with some of the stolen items.

• A 24-year-old former police officer has been fined £162 and ordered to pay costs after pleading guilty to possessing a weapon for the discharge of a noxious liquid. The man kept a can of pepper spray after leaving the force in August 2022 due to mental health issues. It was discovered in the boot of his car at his home in Ash, Kent after police received a tip-off. The man said that he had forgotten he had the spray, which had never been used.

We are aware of at least one report in August 2024 involving the use of a police Taser:

• An investigation by the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner has concluded that the action taken by a police officer who tasered an 11-year-old boy at a caravan site near Ayre, Ayrshire was “proportionate to mitigate the threat, risk and potential harm to the young male and members of the public”. Officers were called to the site by his mother after the boy threatened to smash windows and stab people. The youth was found carrying a large kitchen knife, which he repeatedly pointed towards the officers, threatening to stab them. With members of the public nearby, a specially trained officer (STO) instructed the boy to drop the knife, while pointing the Taser at him and warning him of the effects of it being discharged. The boy refused to drop his weapon and changed the position of the blade so that it pointed downwards from his little finger. Interpreting this as a warning sign for an attack, the STO discharged his Taser, bringing the boy to the ground.

Animal Death and Injury

We are aware of at least nine reports in August 2024 of animal cruelty and/or death involving a gun, including:

• A sparrowhawk died in an animal sanctuary after being shot with an air weapon in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. Sparrowhawks are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 which means that it is illegal to intentionally kill, harm or physically move them. Anyone found guilty of killing a Sparrowhawk could face an unlimited fine and up to six months of imprisonment.

• The RSPCA appealed for information after the bodies of ten seagulls were found on an industrial estate in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. One of the birds had suffered a “pea-sized hole”, believed to have been caused by an air gun. All wild birds are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and it is illegal – except under licence – to take, injure or kill them.

• Police appealed for information after a cow was shot dead at a farm near Rotherham, South Yorkshire.

• A cat underwent emergency surgery to have an air rifle pellet removed after being shot in Hedge End, Hampshire. The incident has been reported to police.

• A cat was put to sleep after being shot in the face in Urra, North Yorkshire. An X-ray confirmed that a bullet had caused “significant facial injuries”. An RSPCA spokesperson said, “The number of cats shot with an air gun, catapult, slingshot or crossbow more than doubled in the first six months of this year compared to the same period in 2023.”

• After gunshots “spooked” a horse on a bridle path in Wirral, Merseyside, its rider found a pigeon with a gunshot wound to its wing.

• An osprey has been put to sleep after being shot in Glen Doll, Cairngorms National Park. It is illegal to kill an osprey, a protected species listed on the Wildlife and Countryside Act. Detectives from the wildlife crime investigation unit have appealed for information.

• A cat is recovering at home after being shot with a shotgun in Crompton, North Yorkshire. The pet was found to have numerous pellets lodged in its body. Police have appealed for information.

• The RSPCA have appealed for information after a dog’s body was found with two gunshot wounds to her head in North Benfleet, Essex. After a vet discovered multiple scars and injuries, including ripped-off claws, on the dog, an RSPCA spokesperson said that it appeared she had been tortured. The incident has been reported to the police

Imitation, Airsoft, airguns and BB guns do not currently require a licence in England or Wales. These guns are responsible for many gun injuries to both humans and animals.

N.B. Since January 2017, airgun owners in Scotland have been required to have a licence, and airgun crime in Scotland has decreased by one third.

Gun Control Network, The RSPCA, Cats Protection, other organisations and individuals are calling for similar legislation in England and Wales after 300,000+ members of the public petitioned in favour of airgun licensing.

The previous Government’s Response to a further Consultation, sent predominantly to shooting organisations but not to women’s organisations or those supporting victims of domestic violence, concluded not to license airguns in England and Wales.

Border Force and National Crime Agency

We are not aware of any reports in August 2024 relating to the above.

Sentences and Convictions

We are aware of at least 40 reports in August 2024 of sentences and convictions for gun crime, including:

• A 31-year-old man has been jailed for fifteen years and two months after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm when prohibited for life, possession of ammunition when prohibited for life, drug offences, dangerous driving, handling stolen goods and possession of a mobile phone whilst in prison. His 21-year-old co-defendant received five years and ten months for possession of a weapon for the discharge of a noxious liquid/gas/electrical incapacitation device/thing, converting criminal property and drug offences. The two men were part of a drug gang that operated in towns including Mablethorpe and Skegness, Lincolnshire. During a nine-month period, police investigating the gang seized over £17k in cash, drugs, counting machines, a cocaine press, four stolen cars, a gun and 40 rounds of ammunition, three cans of PAVA incapacitant spray, a butterfly knife, a machete, a knuckle duster, a military knife and Samurai swords. Messages on phones and social media revealed the 31-year-old boasting about owning a gun and making his own bullets, leading police to recover a gun and ammunition from a storage unit rented in his name. Four other gang members were sentenced for drug offences.

• A 61-year-old man has been fined £80 and ordered to pay costs after admitting carrying an air pistol in a public place. In June 2024, armed police officers were deployed following a report that a man had been seen walking in Llandrindod Wells, Powys with a gun. When they stopped the man, they found he had the unloaded weapon in a carrier bag. He told the officers that he had been “out and about shooting rats”. Magistrates made an order for the air pistol to be confiscated.

• A 38-year-old man has been jailed for five years after admitting having nine homemade guns without authority and two counts of having ammunition without a firearms certificate. Following a tip-off, police officers raided the man’s home in Glasgow, Scotland in October 2023 and recovered nine improvised zip-type guns and twenty rounds of hollow-point ammunition. The court heard that the man had been storing the guns for a homeless friend in order to keep the weapons out of hostels. The friend subsequently took his own life with a firearm.

• Ten members of an organised crime group have been jailed for a total of almost 140 years for drug and firearms offences. During their investigations, police identified a 42-year-old man and a 43-year-old man as respective leaders of criminal operations in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire and Salford, and recovered a sawn-off shotgun, two handguns, over £530,000 and large quantities of Class A drugs. As police closed in on the 42-year-old, he fled to Spain. After he was attacked and shot through the hands and kneecaps there, he travelled on to Dubai, from where he was extradited to stand trial. He has now been jailed for 24 years after pleading guilty to a number of firearms and drugs offences. The 43-year-old received sixteen years for firearms and drugs offences. Eight other defendants, some of whom were members of the younger man’s family, received sentences of between fifteen months and fourteen years.

• A 31-year-old man has been ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work and complete a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement after admitting possession of cannabis and possession of a firearm. In December 2022, police officers recovered drugs and a Taser disguised as a mobile phone from the 31-year-old’s flat in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire.

• A 53-year-old man from Andover, Hampshire, has been handed a community order after admitting firing an air pistol beyond his home premises, causing damage to his neighbour’s properties, and assaulting two people. Magistrates also ordered the man to pay costs and compensation for damages, and to complete an alcohol treatment programme and 100 hours of unpaid work.

• A 60-year-old man has been jailed for fifteen years after pleading guilty to two counts of possessing an imitation firearm in a public place, possession of a knife in a public place and having in his possession an explosive substance with intent to cause serious injury to property. In November2020, police offices carried out a welfare check on the man as he was living in a campervan in Blackpool, Lancashire. After realising he was wanted for failing to return to an open prison following convictions for offences involving firearms, the officers asked him if he had a weapon. He then admitted he had a gun and an improvised explosive device in his rucksack. The officers recovered the explosive device (described as a nail bomb), a BB gun, a homemade shotgun and a kitchen knife. The man told the officers that he was planning to blow up a bank he had seen on a TV show. Following sentencing, a spokesperson from the Crown Prosecution Service said it was fortunate officers attended that day and then acted swiftly to prevent the man carrying out his plan, which could have had devastating consequences.

• A 31-year-old man has been fined £200 and handed a two-year community order after being convicted of possession of an imitation firearm in a public place. He was also ordered to complete a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement and pay costs. In November 2022, police officers responded to reports of a person with a gun “hanging around” on a street in Stockport, Greater Manchester. They arrested the man at the scene and seized an unloaded BB gun.

• Following the lifting of reporting restrictions, it has emerged that three men were jailed in October last year for their involvement in a violent disturbance in May 2021. A 32-year-old man and a 19-year-old man received fifteen year and eight years, respectively, for grievous bodily harm, attempted grievous bodily harm and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. A third man, also a 19-year-old, was sentenced to six years for the first two charges, as well as dangerous driving. After a fourth man (to be sentenced in November) crashed his car into a stationary Volkswagen Golf in Walsall, West Midlands, the first three men pulled up at the scene in a third vehicle and shots were fired at people fleeing the Golf, hitting one victim in the face. The fourth man then set his car alight, the fire spreading to the Golf and two houses. Following sentencing, a police spokesperson said, “This crime was carried out in broad daylight with innocent people going about their business and a local school nearby. Their actions could have caused people to have been killed. The impact on the victims and the community was significant.”

Many incidents involve the use of airguns*, Airsoft, imitation and BB guns, which do not require a licence and may not contain ammunition but are used by perpetrators to capitalise on the fear of victims who believe they are about to be shot. Traumatised victims are often unable to identify the weapons used. It is extremely difficult to distinguish between imitation and live-firing guns unless the weapons are fired and/or recovered, and, for this reason, guns involved in incidents frequently remain unidentified.

Shotguns and rifles can be legally held by those granted a licence. Ultimately, legally-obtained guns in every country tend to find their way into the wrong hands, whether through theft, corrupt gun dealers, and/or the failure of the licensing procedure to identify legal gun owners who pose a risk to themselves and/or others.

Please see the endnote for further explanation of gun types and current legal status.

Figure 2: August 2024 reports by weapon type

Notes

See Gun incidents in Great Britain page for details of incidents involving these gun types.

Guns that do not require a licence: Airguns* (so-called ‘low-powered’); Airsoft; ball-bearing; imitation; paintball; antique; deactivated; bolt guns** and starting pistols/blank firers. These guns are cheap, accessible and available to buy on impulse. Moreover, lack of secure storage requirements enables theft. Many are capable of being converted into more powerful weapons. Guns deactivated to early specifications are capable of reactivation and recent, more rigorous specifications are not retrospective.

There is no legal definition of ‘antique’ and, although possession of antique guns is prohibited to those having served or received a criminal sentence, it is unclear how this is administered during sales and transfers.

Airsoft guns are exempt from the terms of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 and are ‘self-regulated’ by the Airsoft industry. The Home Office fails to collect data on the proliferation of Airsoft skirmishing sites.

• *From January 2017 air gun owners in Scotland have required a licence.

• ** A ‘slaughter licence’ is required for a bolt gun.

Guns that require a licence: Airguns in Scotland; shotguns; rifles; police firearms/ Tasers.

The inadequate licensing procedure is subsidised by taxpayers to the tune of £20 million a year. Any number of shotguns can be held on one certificate, which lasts for five years. The licensing procedure consistently fails to protect the public from licensed gun-owning perpetrators and women are particularly at risk of domestic violence involving licensed gun owners. The Home Office fails to publish data regarding the number of Licensed Gun Owners/Dealers/Legal Guns and Ammunition involved in non-fatal crime. The status of guns used in suicides is not recorded at inquests.

Guns that are prohibited: Handguns (revolvers, pistols etc.); Olympic starting pistols; Tasers; submachine guns; and ‘other’ weapons (pepper spray/CS Gas; home-made guns and explosive devices). Certain handguns are exempt from prohibition. Handgun, Taser and pepper spray use is authorised for police, but there are concerns regarding fatalities and Taser training.

Imitation/Airsoft guns are available without background checks. Crimes reported in the media as involving handguns are likely to involve imitations, airsoft, air pistols or other guns that look like handguns, resulting in misleadingly-inflated reports of handgun crime.