April 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 April 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 April 2024.

Figure 1: April 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 three reports in April 2024 concerning four gun deaths:

• It has been confirmed that a man and woman, found dead at their home in Stoke, Staffordshire, had both been shot. Police are not looking for anyone else in relation to the death of the married couple.

• Police officers responding to reports of a disturbance in West Kensington, West London, found a man had suffered a gunshot injury. Paramedics attempted life-saving treatment, but the man died at the scene. Two men and a teenage boy have since been charged with murder.

• It has emerged that in April 2023, a member of the Royal Navy died of a shotgun wound on board a warship docked in Portsmouth, Hampshire. A pre-inquest review heard that the man, who had recently gone through divorce proceedings and was facing civilian charges from police in Scotland, had access to the keys to the onboard armoury. The coroner told the hearing that the full inquest would look at the security of weapons and ammunition onboard the warship and other ships across the fleet, as well as the mental health of the deceased man and what support he was given.

Inquests

We are not aware of any reports of inquests in April 2024 relating to gun deaths.

Armed Domestic Violence and/or Victim Known to Perpetrator

We are aware of three reports in April 2024 that we believe to relate to the above:

• See Gun Deaths above — A man and woman have been found shot dead in their home in Staffordshire.

• A 45-year-old man from Penyffordd, Flintshire has been handed a suspended five-and-a-half-month jail term after admitting possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. In January 2024, the man pointed a .22 air rifle at his sleeping partner and, when she awoke, said, “I have wanted to do this for a long time.” Police officers responded and arrested the man. The court heard that he had not been taking his mental health medication and had previously tried to kill himself. The victim said, “Waking up with that gun in my face will never leave me. It was horrendous.” However she declined a restraining order as she said she wants to reconnect with her partner “once he has addressed his alcohol and mental health issues”.

• A 23-year-old man and a 24-year-old man, both members of a crime gang, have been jailed for ten years, two months and ten years, eight months, respectively, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery and conspiracy to possess a prohibited weapon. In January 2023, the two men, along with two other gang members, abducted a man who was known to them in Kirkby Overblow, North Yorkshire. They held the victim in a car until one of the gang had collected around £70,000 in cash from the homes of the victim’s mother and grandmother. After the gang members realised that some of the money belonged to a rival group, the 23-year-old and the 24-year-old, along with another gang member, obtained a sawn-off shotgun and live ammunition to scare them off. Following intelligence received, armed police officers stopped the gang’s car and recovered the weapon and eleven cartridges. The man who collected the money during the kidnap, was jailed for three-and-a-half years for conspiracy to commit robbery, while another, whose car was used during the offence, received nineteen months for assisting an offender.

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

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

• See Gun Deaths above — A member of the Royal Navy took his own life having accessed a shotgun from the onboard armoury of a warship docked in Portsmouth, Hampshire.

• A police officer was treated in hospital after suffering a self-inflicted gunshot wound during a training exercise at a military facility near Colchester, Essex. The officer’s injuries are not believed to be life threatening. A police spokesperson said, “While the full circumstances will be the subject of a thorough investigation, initial indications are that this was an accident and that no other officers were directly involved.”

• A 50-year-old man has been jailed for six-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to possession of a prohibited weapon and a second, undisclosed, offence. Having reason to believe that the man had access to firearms, police officers searched his home in Rochester, Kent in September 2022 and recovered a sawn-off shotgun with ammunition from the loft, as well as a number of legally-held weapons. Following sentencing, a police spokesperson said, “The gun was confirmed to be a working firearm that clearly had the potential to cause serious injury or death in the wrong hands, so it was imperative that it be removed from the man’s possession.”

We are aware of at least five reports in April 2024 involving the use of police Tasers, including:

• Police officers Tasered and arrested a man after he allegedly fatally wounded a teenage boy with a sword in Hainault, East London. The man also injured four other people, including two police officers. He has since been charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of grievous bodily harm aggravated burglary and possession of a bladed article.

• A 39-year-old man has been jailed for two years: 21 months for possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear, three months for sending offensive messages and two consecutive three-month terms for assaulting an emergency worker and possession of a prohibited weapon. In January 2024, two police officers attended the man’s home in Neath, South Wales to arrest him for sending racially abusive voicemail messages to a woman in which he threatened her son and said he would burn her house down. The man resisted arrest and, during a struggle, an officer knocked his head falling down the stairs. PAVA spray was then used on the man, after which he grabbed a Taser from one officer and pointed it at the other. After the man was disarmed and brought to the floor, he tried to escape. At this point, he was Tasered and detained.

• Police officers Tasered and arrested a man after he allegedly assaulted his girlfriend in Ashby, Leicestershire. The man resisted arrest, putting one officer in a headlock. When he was Tasered by a second officer, the trapped police officer also felt the effects of the electric current.

Animal Death and Injury

We are aware of at least sixteen reports in April 2024 of animal cruelty and/or death involving a gun:

• A cat is recovering from surgery after being shot in Stoke, Staffordshire. The 3-year-old pet had a pellet removed from her ruptured spleen. The RSPCA has appealed for information.

• After a member of the public found the body of a goshawk near Kempley, Gloucestershire, an X-ray revealed it had been shot with an air rifle. Goshawks are a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

• A hedgehog has been put to sleep after being shot with an air gun in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. The hedgehog had suffered a dislocated shoulder. The RSPCA is investigating the incident.

• A swan is believed to have been killed after being shot with a suspected pellet gun in Dudley, West Midlands. A second swan suffered an injury to its neck. The incident has been reported to police.

• A duck has been shot in the head with an air gun at a park in Stoke, Staffordshire. Appealing for information, an RSPCA officer said the bird had suffered a large wound to the side of its face.

• Police believe that thirteen birds, found dead in woodland in Butley, Suffolk, were shot illegally. The birds, including four gulls, were protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. X-rays revealed that one of the gulls had been shot in the head and neck with a suspected shotgun.

• A cat has died after being shot with an air rifle in Bridge of Allan, Central Scotland. Police appealed for information saying, “Cats are legally protected from cruelty and this offence potentially also breaches the terms of being a licenced weapon holder, so it is vital that we find who was responsible.”

• After the bodies of wild rabbits, believed to have been shot by poachers, were found near homes in Conwy, North Wales, a police spokesperson said, “Trespass on land at night to take or destroy a rabbit is contrary to Section 1 of the Night Poaching Act 1828 and could lead to a maximum of 51 weeks imprisonment and or a fine. There are many public footpaths in the area and inappropriate use of a firearm so close to residential areas could endanger the public.”

• A swan is being treated at a wildlife centre after being shot with an air rifle at a park in Poole, Dorset. The swan suffered a wound above its eye. A spokesperson from the wildlife hospital said that they had also responded to the shooting of a seagull earlier in the month.

• Police appealed for information after a buzzard was shot dead near Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire.

• A cat was put to sleep after being shot with a suspected BB gun in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. The cat was left in “excruciating pain” after the attack and was paralysed from the waist down.

• A cat was put to sleep after being shot with an airgun in Cotgrave, Nottinghamshire. A pellet had shattered his spine and injured his bladder and bowel. A spokesperson from the PDSA hospital that treated the pet said, “Distressingly, injuries from airgun pellets are something we do see far too frequently. They can cause serious injury or even death, and it’s a horrendous experience for cats and their owners to endure. Anyone caught deliberately using an airgun to injure an animal can face up to five years in prison and an unlimited fine, if found guilty under the Animal Welfare Act.”

• Police appealed for information following the suspected shooting of a buzzard near Laskill, North Yorkshire.

• A kitten was put to sleep after being shot and suffering catastrophic organ damage in Mirfield, West Yorkshire.

• A female swan, one of a breeding pair, has been shot dead in Southampton, Hampshire. The swan, found on the waterside of a tide pool, had been shot in the neck. Intentionally killing or injuring a swan is a criminal offence punishable with up to six months in jail and an unlimited fine.

• It has been confirmed that a red kite, found dead near Purton, Wiltshire, had been shot. Police have appealed for information.

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 Government launched a consultation followed by a further consultation but as a result of responses, the overwhelming majority of which came from members of the shooting community, they concluded not to license airguns in England and Wales.

Border Force and National Crime Agency

We are aware of one report in April 2024 relating to the above:

• A 48-year-old man has been jailed for seven years and two months after admitting four counts of possessing firearms and three counts each of possessing ammunition and converting blank firearms. Following intelligence received by the National Crime Agency (NCA), armed police officers arrested the man in Croydon, South London in May 2023. The officers found a converted gun with two magazines of ammunition hidden under the passenger seat of his car and went on to recover converted weapons, imitation firearms, 174 rounds of live ammunition, a quantity of spent ammunition and tools used to convert blank firers from an industrial unit in Wimbledon. In all, the man had four converted guns and four unconverted blank firers. He test-fired the converted weapons by shooting through phonebooks attached to a concrete wall. Following sentencing, an NCA spokesperson said, “Tackling the criminal use of firearms is a key priority for the NCA and we work with partners at home and abroad to do everything in our power to protect the public.”

Sentences and Convictions

We are aware of at least 45 reports in April 2024 of sentences and convictions for gun crime, including:

• A 36-year-old man has been jailed for seven years after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm. In September 2023, the man fired a BB gun at the window of a house in Sheffield, South Yorkshire before he and his brother attacked the occupants. One man was stabbed in the head several times and two teenagers were “subjected to violence”. The 36-year-old’s brother was sentenced earlier this year.

• Four men, aged 23, 20, 24 and 20, have been jailed for twenty-one years, sixteen years, thirteen years and fourteen years, respectively, for conspiracy to wound with intent to cause serious harm. The first 20-year-old was also sentenced for having an offensive weapon and possession of cannabis, while the second 20-year-old was further sentenced for possession of a shotgun with intent to endanger life. In January 2023, the four men drove past a church in Euston, Central London where they believed rival gang members were attending a funeral. A sawn-off shotgun was fired into the crowd outside the church, injuring four women and two girls. One of the children was hit in her arms, legs and pelvic region, while a pellet lodged in a muscle next to her heart. Following sentencing, a police spokesperson said, “The innocent women and girls who were injured will have to deal with the impact of the shooting for the rest of their lives.” He added that the perpetrators would have time to consider that as they served their sentences.

• A 35-year-old woman has been handed a suspended 22-month prison term and ordered to complete 20 rehabilitation activity days after admitting possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and being found guilty of possession of a shotgun without a certificate. In December 2022, police officers investigating a firearms discharge recovered a shotgun and 33 compatible unfired cartridges from a garage in Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire that belonged to the woman’s father. The shotgun, which had been stolen from a farm the previous year, was not the weapon that had been fired in the incident under investigation. The court heard that, when the woman’s partner called her from prison and heard the police were going to conduct a search, he asked her where she had put “the thing”. DNA from both her and her partner were found on the shotgun. Three months later, police officers discovered nearly £700 worth of cocaine at the woman’s home. She told officers it was for her personal use.

• A 36-year-old man has been handed a suspended two-month prison term (having already served time on remand) and ordered to undertake ten sessions on an accredited programme after being convicted of possessing a knife and an imitation firearm in public, dangerous driving and drink-driving. In November 2023, police officers pursued the man’s car after seeing him behaving suspiciously outside a fast-food restaurant in Chirk, North Wales. After the man crashed into a roundabout, having driven at speeds of up to 70mph in a 30mph zone, officers recovered a compound crossbow and arrows, a knife and an airgun from his vehicle. The man, who was found to be over the alcohol limit, told them that the weapons were for catching food. He was banned from driving for three years.

• A 31-year-old man has been jailed for 28 years after pleading guilty to three counts of possession of a firearm, money laundering, possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and possession of bladed articles. He was also found guilty of attempted murder and a second count of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs. In April 2023, he fired a gun three times at a man through the window of a house in Lewisham, South East London. The man suffered superficial wounds from glass shards. After detectives analysed CCTV footage, the man was identified as having travelled from the house to a nearby storage facility. Police officers subsequently recovered two firearms, ammunition, drugs, cash and knives from this and a second storage facility. The man’s DNA was found on both firearms and one of them was forensically linked to the shooting, as well as to an earlier incident in which a bullet hole was found in a lorry.

• A 47-year-old man has been jailed for fourteen years after being found guilty of sixteen offences, including robbery, attempted robbery and possessing an imitation firearm. The man was a member of a gang that carried out a series of robberies in Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, during which victims were attacked with imitation guns, knives and hammers. One man was hit on the head with an imitation gun, while another had two knives held to his stomach. The man’s 67-year-old co-defendant received twelve years for eleven similar offences while other gang members were sentenced previously.

• A 45-year-old man has been jailed for eighteen years for possession of firearms with intent to endanger life, possession of ammunition and possession of Class A and B drugs with intent to supply. Police officers recovered drugs and six weapons, including two sawn-off shotguns and three handguns, from a property that the man had access to in Lambeth, South London. One loaded handgun was found in a child’s clothes drawer, a shotgun and a large amount of ammunition were discovered in a wardrobe, and a second shotgun was recovered from a coat cupboard. The firearms and drugs had been left in a place accessible to children.

• A 33-year-old man has been jailed for 25 years after pleading guilty to conspiring to possess firearms with intent to endanger life and conspiring to supply cocaine, MDMA and amphetamine. The man, a member of an organised crime group, was arrested after the criminal messaging network, EncroChat, was decrypted and messages revealed a “stash house” in Ancoates, Manchester, where large quantities of Class A and B drugs, cash, ammunition and weapons, including sub-machine guns, were stored. Police officers also discovered a black handgun, bullets and large quantities of cash in the footwell of a car linked to the group. The man was responsible for brokering deals with other gangs in the UK and Ireland and, in total, the group organised the supply of £70m worth of cocaine and sold 48 Skorpion machine pistols. On sentencing, the judge said this trade in guns and ammunition had been described by an expert as being amongst the very highest level of criminal firearms trafficking ever encountered by law enforcement in the United Kingdom. He went on to say that that the defendant knew the harm arising from his actions and was inspired by greed and selfishness, sacrificing the welfare of countless others with a view to becoming very rich indeed. Six other members of the group were jailed in December 2023.

• A 19-year-old man has been jailed for four years and been given a five-year crime prevention order after admitting to attempting to possess a prohibited firearm, harassment, making malicious communication and three counts of communicating false information with intent. After USA security services intercepted a parcel addressed to him that contained a .38 calibre pistol, the weapon was replaced with a replica firearm and surveillance equipment. After he opened the parcel at his home in Helmshore, Lancashire in April 2023, police arrested him and seized the fake gun, the phone used to order the pistol and his computer. Far right-wing political ideology and images were found on the computer, along with evidence that he had paid an online user in cryptocurrency to call UK hotels housing migrants to make hoax bomb threats. The caller used the automated message, “Attention. We have posted an explosive device that will detonate at this hotel. Evacuate immediately.” The calls caused major disruption, including one emergency response that involved five police cars, bomb disposal personnel and seven ambulances. The court heard that he also paid to acquire the personal phone number of the chief executive of a charity opposing far-right extremism and harassed him over a long period. On sentencing, the judge said, “You have no other previous convictions and have a diagnosis of Asperger’s a form of autism… I have also read your psychiatric report and accept that the psychiatrist believes you are particularly vulnerable to extremist ideology. It seems clear to me that radicalisation was a factor in your offences… I accept that your diagnosis and young age take part in your offending … Nevertheless, although you are not an imminent danger to the public, you pose a high risk of serious harm that cannot be contained within the community.”

• A 35-year-old man has been handed a suspended five-month prison term with a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement and a programme requirement after admitting carrying an imitation firearm in a public place. In May 2023, the man pulled an imitation firearm from his waistband during an altercation outside a pub in Liverpool, Merseyside and pointed it towards the entrance. He then took a taxi to his ex-partner’s house, telling the driver he was “strapped”. The driver of a fire engine, passing by on the way back from a call out, saw the man “messing about” with the gun and followed the taxi. Armed police officers responded and the man was arrested as he left the property. A plastic gun and a BB gun were recovered from the downstairs bathroom of the house.

• A man, now aged 37, has been jailed for twelve years after being convicted of conspiracy to kidnap and conspiracy to blackmail. He was a member of a gang that kidnapped a man from a golf course in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire in October 2023. One of five men pointed a gun at the victim before he was forced into a car, blindfolded, gagged and taken to a property near Guildford where he was locked in a cage. The victim was later released in a remote area after a ransom demand of around £12m in Bitcoin was made, but not paid. The man was arrested just before the victim was released, his car having been identified as travelling in convoy with the vehicle used in the kidnap. He was found with passports and identity cards belonging to the gang members, a number of whom are believed to have fled the UK. On sentencing, the judge said, “Within 40 minutes of your arrest, your co-conspirators suddenly decided to let (the victim) go. There is no doubt in my mind they had heard of your arrest and panicked.”

• A 40-year-old man has been jailed for 30 months after pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine, possession of cocaine and two counts of the possession of a firearm when prohibited for life. In March 2023, police raided the man’s caravan in Cwmbran, South Wales and recovered an air rifle and an air pistol. The man was barred from keeping such weapons as a result of a previous conviction. The officers also found drugs in the man’s car and a phone that proved he had been supplying cocaine for money.

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: April 2024 weapon types recorded in firearm Incidents

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 airgun 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 at least £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.