April 2026 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 April 2026 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 2026.

Figure 1:  2026 April incident reports by type

Gun Death

We monitor FATAL GUN INCIDENTS in Great Britain and compile lists that summarise the available information. Our summaries for 2017 to 2026 are available at https://gun-control-network.org/news-analysis/

We are aware of three reports concerning gun deaths in April 2026:

• A teenage boy died at the scene after being shot on a street in Woolwich, South London. A man and a teenage boy have since been arrested on suspicion of murder.

• An inquest into the death of a man at his home in Winchester, Hampshire earlier this month has been opened and adjourned. Following a post-mortem examination, the preliminary cause of death was given as head trauma and a shotgun injury.

• It has emerged that an inquest into the death of a British Army officer, killed in a live-firing training exercise at OtterburnTraining Area, Northumberland, has been opened and adjourned. The officer died at the scene after suffering a gunshot, “believed to have entered through his back and exited through his left shoulder”. The incident is being investigated by Northumbria Police, the Health and Safety Executive and the Defence Safety Authority.

Inquests

We are aware of two reports in April 2026 of inquests relating to gun deaths:

• See above, the death of a man at his home in Hampshire.

• See above, the death of a British Army officer at a training area in Northumberland.

Armed Domestic Violence and/or Victim Known to Perpetrator

We are aware of five reports in April 2026 that we believe to relate to the above:

• A 21-year-old man from Birkenhead, Merseyside has been jailed for sixteen years, with an extended three-year licence period, after being found guilty of three counts of rape, two charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and stalking. The man repeatedly assaulted and raped a woman he knew, the attacks including punching, pulling hair and impaling her with scissors. He also held a knife to her throat, placed a suspected BB gun in her mouth, “bombarded” her with abusive messages and left a voicemail at her place of work in which he threatened to harm her colleagues. In an impact statement his victim said, “The physical wounds have healed, but the emotional ones stay with me. I often feel scared, even when I know I’m safe. I have trouble sleeping. Sometimes, I wake up from nightmares. Other times, I lie awake all night because I’m replaying things… I don’t feel safe doing normal things. I check the doors and windows several times. Things that used to feel normal now feel stressful. Even with him being found guilty, I still have concerns.”

• A woman from Little Ellingham, Norfolk has appeared in court to face a charge of possession of the firearm (shotgun) with intent to cause her estranged husband fear of violence. The woman was also accused of engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour, criminal damage and assaulting occasioning actual bodily harm on two occasions.

• Two young boys found what looked like a pistol in a wooded area of Southampton, Hampshire. Mistaking it for a BB gun, the boys took it home, where one of them accidentally fired it at his friend’s head. Fortunately, the victim only suffered a graze. Police have appealed for information.

• A man has been handed a thirteen-month custodial sentence after admitting robbery, possession of an imitation firearm, criminal damage and two breaches of the sex offender register. He is expected to be released immediately, having already served time on remand. In October 2024, after having a conversation with a woman he knew at her home in Leeds, West Yorkshire, the man refused to leave when requested. After eventually going, he returned within minutes and fired an imitation rifle at the woman’s crockery and at her windows. The robbery occurred in February 2025, when he snatched a woman’s mobile phone after becoming involved in a domestic incident between a friend and the friend’s partner. The breach of the sex offender register relates to the man’s failures to register his address with police as required.

• Armed police officers were deployed following reports of a woman threatening a person with a gun in Minster, Kent. The woman was arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, while a man was arrested for assaulting the same victim. Both suspects were known to the victim.

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

We are aware of four reports in April 2026 that we believe to relate to the above:

• Following a series of raids connected to illegal waste sites, police officers arrested two men at a property in Drakes Broughton, Worcestershire. One of the men has since been charged with failing to comply with the condition of a shotgun certificate and selling or transferring a shotgun to an unauthorised person, while the second was charged with possessing a shotgun. 

• A member of the public found a bag containing police-issue ammunition and firearms, including a submachine gun, a pistol and a Taser, outside the Mayor of London’s home in Tooting, South London. A police spokesperson said it is believed the bag was misplaced by on-duty officers shortly before it was discovered. Five Metropolitan Police officers have since been removed from frontline duties.

• Sullivan Lee, aged 24, has been jailed for five years and ten months after pleading guilty to three counts of burglary and theft of a motor vehicle. In March 2026, Lee broke into a home in Toft, Cambridgeshire and stole a puppy, six firearms and a car. Lee’s DNA was recovered from an abandoned stolen car that was captured on CCTV driving in convoy with the vehicle taken during the burglary. The puppy was reunited with its owner following a media appeal.

• A group of two or three men allegedly stole a number of airsoft items and a mobile phone from a home in Derby, Derbyshire. One man has since been arrested in connection with the incident.

We are aware of at least five reports in April 2026 involving the use of a police Taser, including:

• Police officers tasered and arrested a man after he reportedly stabbed two people in Golders Green, North London. The alleged offender, who approached the officers holding a knife, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

• Police officers tasered and arrested a man following reports of a dispute in Heywood, Greater Manchester. The man chased the officers with a knife in his hand before he was detained.

• Police officers deployed a Taser and PAVA spray during the detention of a man in Lowestoft, East Suffolk. The man was arrested on suspicion of two counts of theft, assault of an officer, possession of Class A drugs and criminal damage.

• Following a report of an assault, police officers used a baton and Taser while attempting to detain a man in Workington, Cumbria. The man escaped the officers but was later arrested on suspicion of assaulting a person thereby occasioning actual bodily harm.

Animal Death and Injury

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

• A hedgehog was put to sleep after it was shot three times with an airgun in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. X-rays revealed the hedgehog had been shot once through the eye, with another pellet shattering her pelvis and leaving her legs paralysed. Hedgehogs are a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act: Wild Mammals (Protection) Act of 1996.

• A peregrine falcon was euthanised after being found unable to fly in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. An examination of the bird revealed it had previously been hit with shotgun pellets, but this was not confirmed as the cause of death.

• After a member of the public found an injured gull in Troed-y-rhiw, Merthyr Tydfil, an X-ray revealed it had been shot. Its wing had been fractured and a pellet was lodged in its body. The gull was put to sleep on welfare grounds. 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.

• After a cat was found “dragging itself across the floor” in Widnes, Cheshire, X-rays revealed he had been shot in the spine with an airgun. The cat was put to sleep due to his extensive injuries. The RSPCA has appealed for information.

• A cat was put to sleep after being shot with an air rifle in Deganwy, Conwy. The family pet had been shot through the chest, with the pellet hitting her spleen and liver. The attack has been reported to police.

• A cat underwent surgery to have four pellets removed from its body after being shot with an air weapon in Houghton Regis, Bedfordshire. The cat’s owner, who has been told of similar incidents in the area, is calling for the weapons to be banned or used only with a licence. A spokesperson for the RSPCA said, “We continue to call for tighter controls on air weapons. This, along with better education and explanation of the law when buying an airgun and requirements that everyone must receive basic safety training before being allowed to walk out of the shop, could help relieve the problem.”

• A pigeon was killed and two notice boards were damaged in a suspected pellet gun incident in Denmead, Hampshire. Police have been informed.

• A cat had its leg amputated after being shot with a suspected air rifle in Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire. Police have appealed for information.

• A cat was injured after being shot with an air rifle in Shrawley, Worcestershire. Police have appealed for information.

• A cat is to undergo surgery to remove an eye after being shot with an air weapon in Pontypool, South Wales. The cat has been left with a pellet lodged at the back of his skull. His owners say they are aware of similar incidents involving local cats. Police have appealed for information.

• An RSPCA spokesperson appealed for information after a crate containing 25 dead pigeons was found beside a litter bin in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. All the birds had been shot with an air weapon, many suffering broken wings. Some of the birds had also had their neck broken, “suggesting they weren’t killed instantly by the pellets, but later killed manually”. The animal charity has emphasised the need for stricter controls on air weapons after receiving nearly 1,000 calls each year reporting their use in targeting animals. The RSPCA is advocating for mandatory safety training, stricter licensing and better education on current laws to prevent deliberate cruelty.

• Police appealed for information after the bodies of three badgers that had been shot were found in woodland near Broadway, Worcestershire. A fourth badger, found nearby, is also believed to have been shot.

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.

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 aware of at least two reports in April 2026 relating to the above:

• As part of a joint operation with the National Crime Agency, police officers recovered a weapon from a car stopped in Loughborough, Leicestershire. During the subsequent search of a nearby address, officers seized a readily-convertible gun, a 3D printer and material used in the production of weapons and ammunition. Three men have since been charged with conspiracy to manufacture, possess and supply firearms, while one man was further charged with possession of a readily-convertible firearm and a second man was further charged with possession of a firearm and possession of prohibited ammunition.

• A 19-year-old man has been jailed for six years and three months after pleading guilty to multiple drugs and firearms offences. In March 2025, a parcel addressed to him was intercepted before it left America and found to contain a 9mm forward-venting, blank-firing handgun, magazine, brush and muzzle adapter. Following an investigation by the National Crime Agency and Metropolitan Police, officers searched a family property in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire and discovered ammunition, three viable antique firearms that had been modified to accept modern ammunition, as well as tools that could be used to manufacture and adapt guns and ammunition. A cannabis grow was also found, along with drug-related paraphernalia. Following a search of the man’s car and home address, more ammunition, knives and tools were seized.

Sentences and Convictions

We are aware of at least 20 reports in April 2026 of sentences and convictions for gun crime, including:

• A 32-year-old man has been jailed for five years and three months after pleading guilty to two counts each of manufacturing a firearm and possessing a firearm, possession with intent to supply a Class B drug and production of a Class B drug. In October 2023, police officers searched the man’s home in Carlisle, Cumbria and recovered a semi-automatic firearm, a semi-automatic rifle made with his 3D printer, instructions on how to make the firearm and cannabis plants worth an estimated £5,000. A police spokesperson said that recovered files revealed that the man was also planning to manufacture a Military and Police Firearm, ammunition and a rifled barrel.

• A 61-year-old man has been jailed for six-and-a-half-years after being convicted of possession of a firearm and ammunition. In July 2023, he supplied a luger pistol and over 50 bullets to a 50-year-old man in Epping, Essex. Following the handover, armed police officers stopped older man’s taxi and found the weapon and ammunitions in the vehicle. He has since been jailed for five years and eight months. Following further investigation, the 61-year-old man was arrested after armed officers searched a property linked to him in October 2023.

• Three men have each been jailed for 31 years, while a fourth man received 32 years, after all four were found guilty of two counts of attempted murder and one of conspiring to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life or enable another to do so. In August 2021, the defendants stabbed a man in Doncaster, South Yorkshire before shooting him in the abdomen. They also shot at a second man, hitting a phone he was holding close to his head. The car the defendants used was found to be registered to the address of two of the men and CCTV footage showed them carrying out the attack. In addition, phone analysis showed all four men were in contact at the time of the incident, while clothing and a bullet casing, recovered from the scene, revealed DNA of the other two men.

• A 24-year-old man has been jailed for six-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to drug offences, possession of a prohibited weapon (electrical incapacitation device) and possession of prohibited ammunition. In September 2025, police received a report of a person gaining access to a DVLA compound in Reading, Berkshire. Responding officers stopped the suspect nearby and found him carrying a Taser and over £60,000 worth of Class A&B drugs.

• An 18-year-old man has been handed a two-year community order with a 30-day rehabilitation activity requirement after pleading guilty to making threats to kill. After he mentioned planning a school shooting, armed police officers searched his home in Llandrindod Wells, Powys and recovered an air rifle. His phone revealed images of Samurai swords and the man making a Nazi salute while watching footage of Adolf Hitler, as well as an English version of Mein Kampf, visits to gun and air rifle websites, searches relating to pipe bombs, mass suicides, school attacks and terrorist incidents, and news reports about knife attacks in schools. During interview, he named an individual he intended to target and, when asked if he wanted to kill himself, replied, “Suicide by police”. Investigators also found a document addressed to political parties, media organisations and the Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Commissioner, intended to be sent after the “commission of a serious crime and (the suspect’s) ultimate death”. The court heard that the teenager was “remorseful” and had viewed the material while isolated due to mental health issues and alcohol and drug use.

• An 18-year-old man has been jailed for three years after pleading guilty to carrying a fake gun with intent to cause fear of violence, making threats to kill and assault. In December 2025, the man brandished an imitation gun while threatening to shoot and kill a worker at a fast-food shop in Penge, South London after complaining that the wrong sauce had been put on his food. The incident was caught on CCTV and the suspect was arrested around a week later by armed officers. The replica gun used in the attack and a quantity of fake ammunition were seized at the time of his arrest.

• A 33-year-old man from Norwich, Norfolk, has been handed a twelve-month community order including 26 rehabilitation days and 100 hours unpaid work after pleading guilty to the importation of a USB stun gun with intent to evade a prohibition/restriction. Tasers and stun guns are classified as prohibited weapons in the UK, making it an offence to possess, purchase, sell or import them without authority.

• A 31-year-old man has been jailed for eleven months for breaching a suspended sentence and handed an eighteen-month community order to work with the probation service to address his fixation with firearms after admitting possessing a firearm without a certificate and two offences of possessing an offensive weapon in a private place. In October 2025, police officers searched the man’s home in Newcastle, Tyne & Wear following intelligence that he had been buying items online potentially connected to weapon construction. The officers recovered two knives and a 3D printer that had been used to make a lower and upper receiver for a semi-automatic firearm. The components were confirmed as essential parts of a lethal-barrelled or prohibited weapon. Two more similar lower and upper receivers were subsequently found in a bag, along with more than 100 plastic 3D-printed objects. The court recorder said, “These are essential components for a firearm and when put together with other items, which are readily available in hardware stores, it’s possible to manufacture a functioning weapon… It’s clear you have, at 31 years old, an obsession with military hardware, fantasy films involving fantasy violence and it’s clear that’s an obsession of yours. It’s an extremely concerning obsession.”

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 2026 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** certain 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. Gun Control Network and others welcome the increase in Firearms Licence fees to ‘Full Cost Recovery’ in the interests of public safety. The under-resourced licensing procedure has consistently failed to protect the public from licensed gun-owning perpetrators and women are particularly at risk of domestic violence involving licensed gun owners. Any number of shotguns can be held on one certificate, which lasts for five years.

The Home Office continues to fail to publish data regarding the number of Licensed Gun Owners/Dealers/Legal Guns and Ammunition involved in non-fatal crime. Similarly, the status of guns used in suicides is not necessarily recorded at Inquests.

Guns that are prohibited: Handguns (revolvers, pistols etc.); 3D guns, Olympic starting pistols; Tasers; certain top venting blank firers; 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.