December 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 December 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 December 2024.

Figure 1: December 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 https://gun-control-network.org/news-analysis/

We are aware of three reports in December 2024 concerning gun deaths:

• Following reports of a shooting outside a church in Harlesden, West London, police officers discovered a woman had suffered gunshot injuries. She died at the scene shortly afterwards. Two men were also injured, one of whom remains in a critical condition. No arrests have yet been reported.

•  Armed police officers were deployed after paramedics expressed concern for the safety of a man who had a knife at a property in Redditch, Worcestershire. Following a standoff, the man was shot by an officer. He died at the scene 20 minutes later. The incident has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

• The body of a man has been found at his home in Didcot, Oxfordshire. The deceased was found in the bath with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Inquests

We are aware of one report of an inquest verdict in December 2024 relating to a gun death:

• The coroner at the inquest into the death of a man in Gloucestershire in February 2024 has concluded that he took his own life. The man was found dead from a “catastrophic head wound” in a locked bathroom alongside one of his father’s guns, which he had borrowed to go hunting. Both men were licensed gun owners. In a narrative conclusion, the coroner stated that the evidence suggested a lack of suicidal intent. It is believed that an adverse reaction to medication prescribed for depression triggered a “sudden impulse” to take his own life.

Armed Domestic Violence and/or Victim Known to Perpetrator

We are aware of four reports in December 2024 that we believe to relate to the above:

• A 25-year-old man has been handed a four-month prison term after admitting possession of an imitation firearm in a public place. In June 2024, the man called to a woman’s home in Burnley, Lancashire and told her that her ex-partner owed him money. While they were talking, he took an airgun from his waistband and briefly placed it on a wall, pointing it towards her and her children. A restraining order has been imposed, preventing him from contacting the victim for ten years.

• Following reports of gunshots in Redditch, Worcestershire, police officers discovered damage to a property consistent with firearms being discharged. The incident is believed to have involved people known to each other. A man has since been arrested on suspicion of damaging/destroying property with intent to endanger life.

• A 57-year-old man has been jailed for three years after pleading guilty to unlawful wounding, intentional strangulation and threatening another with an offensive weapon. His co-defendant, a 41-year-old woman received two-and-a-half years for intentionally assisting in the commission of an offence, three counts of assault by beating and racially aggravated harassment After a six-month relationship with a man whom she violently abused, one fight ended with him catching her in the face with his stick, causing a black eye. After this incident, she paid the 57-year-old man to attack her partner and, in February 2024, he called at the couple’s home in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales on the pretext of a social visit. After firing a blank shot from a replica pistol, the man punched his victim repeatedly and held a knife to his throat, causing injury to his head and neck. He then strangled him while the woman looked on.

• A 20-year-old man from Howey, Powys has been handed a suspended six-month term in a young offenders’ institution after admitting possession of a prohibited weapon and sending a threatening communication during the same period. After a woman broke off a relationship with him in June 2024, he sent her a threatening message and videos of him holding and firing a Taser. The judge also ordered the man to complete 120 hours of unpaid work and 25 rehabilitation requirement days.

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

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

• See Gun Deaths above — A man died after being shot by a police officer following a stand-off in Worcestershire.

• A man has been jailed for a month after pleading guilty to possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and criminal damage to a police car. In July 2024, the man, who has long-standing issues with mental illness and had just been released from hospital, called police and told them he had a gun and ammunition. When armed police officers attended his home in Northwich, Cheshire, he refused to come to the door. He was seen in his back garden soon afterwards aiming what looked like a pistol at two officers. One of the officers fired a single shot through the garden gate but the man was not hit. After other officers entered the property and deployed electronic distraction devices, the man dropped his gun and was arrested. The weapon was found to be a gas-powered BB gun.

• A cloned van, suspected of carrying weapons, was pursued by police officers in Erdington, West Midlands. After a man stopped and abandoned the vehicle, a police firearm was discharged. No one was injured. The suspect remains at large.

• A 31-year-old man has been handed a suspended nineteen-month prison term after admitting possession of a firearm when prohibited, affray and possession of a knife in a public place. In May 2024, the man took two air rifles from a property in Beccles, Suffolk that he believed belonged to a friend who had lived there. Armed police responded to reports of men seen leaving the building with the weapons and recovered both guns. The court heard that the man, who was banned from having the airguns due to previous illegal possession of a stun gun, took a knife to the same property two months later and lunged at several people, telling them they had ruined his life.

We are aware of at least two reports in December 2024 involving the use of a police Taser, including:

• An investigation by the Independent Office of Police Conduct has concluded that police officers acted appropriately during an incident in which a man died in Braintree, Essex in 2022. Police officers responding to a report of a domestic dispute, tasered the man after he became “physically confrontational”. A post-mortem examination found that there was no causal connection between the Taser discharge and his death. The fatality was attributed to acute cocaine toxicity.

• After a car failed to pull over when requested in Lymington, Hampshire, a police car made tactical contact to bring it to a safe stop. The driver was tasered and detained as he tried to flee.

Animal Death and Injury

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

• A cat suffered serious injuries after being shot with an air gun in Wybunbury, The incident has been reported to the police.

• After a dead raven was found in a field in Bradfield, South Yorkshire, an X-ray revealed it had been shot. It is believed the protected bird was killed in August this year. Police have appealed for information.

• A cat required surgery after being shot in the spine with an air rifle in Torpoint Police have appealed for information.

• A cat had a leg amputated after being shot with an air rifle in Burnley, Lancashire. The incident has been reported to the police and the RSPCA.

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 aware of at least one report in November 2024 relating to the above:

• Following an intelligence-led operation by the National Crime Agency, officers raided a suspected gun factory at a property in Kingsclere, Hampshire and recovered pistols, shotguns, long barrelled firearms, a deactivated machine gun, a range of gun parts, eleven imitation firearms, other military guns and nine revolvers. A man has since been charged with possession of a prohibited weapon in connection with the finds.

Sentences and Convictions

We are aware of at least 35 reports in December 2024 of sentences and convictions for gun crime, including:

• A 17-year-old youth has been jailed for life with a minimum of 29 years after being found guilty of murder, attempted murder, affray, having a firearm with intent to endanger life, possession of a bladed article and possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply. In December 2023, he shot a woman through the front door of her home in Hackney, North London. She died at the scene from a single gunshot wound to the head. Earlier the same evening, he shot a teenage boy and a man on the street outside. Both victims required hospital treatment. The court heard that the shootings were part of a feud with a rival gang and that rap lyrics glorifying the attack were later found in the man’s cell. In an impact statement, the woman’s sister said “I feel like I have lost my other half… This gun crime has ripped a hole in my family and there is nothing we can do about it.”

• A 56-year-old man has been jailed for five years after pleading guilty to attempted robbery and possessing an imitation firearm. In July 2024, the man demanded money from a member of staff at a building society in Newcastle, Tyne and Wear while brandishing what looked like a small handgun. The woman pressed an alarm and ran to a secure space while the man fled. Armed police officers responded and the man was arrested about an hour later. He was found carrying a BB gun and pepper spray. The court heard that he had become desperate about his financial situation on benefits before carrying out the attempted robber. In an impact statement, the victim said she had been diagnosed with PTSD and suffered “tearfulness, flashbacks panic attacks”.

• A 42-year-old man had been fined £120 and ordered to pay costs after pleading guilty to four counts of possession of a firearm and suitable ammunition in public. In October 2024, police officers acting on a tip off stopped the man’s van in Sunderland, Tyne & Wear and recovered two air rifles, two air pistols and a quantity of ammunition. Hutchinson told the officers that he had been taking his 12-year-old son to shoot at glass and canisters at a “makeshift outdoor rifle range”. The court heard that the man had “failed to properly understand the legalities around gun possession” and that police had directed him to a legal gun centre. The judge ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the guns.

• It has emerged that, in October 2014, a man fired a paintball gun at a police officer who had been sent to help him at his home in Rugeley, Staffordshire. The officer had to have his right eye removed due to the damage caused by the rubber balls. The assailant, made subject to a hospital order in 2016 after he was deemed unfit for trial, has now pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm and being in possession of a prohibited weapon. In an impact statement, the victim said, “After I was shot in the face whilst on duty in Rugeley, my life changed irreversibly, and my family suffered extreme trauma. I could no longer do the job I had done for 26 years, a job I loved and a job I was proud to do. I lost my right eye and had to go through numerous surgeries to have it removed and a prosthetic one fitted. Losing an eye is not just a physical problem. Mentally, I have an injury which is looked at every day by everyone I meet.”

• A 22-year-old man has been given an 18-month supervision order with addiction counselling after admitting threatening or abusive behaviour. In March 2024, the man asked for gun pellets at a shop in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, saying he planned to kill himself. When the shopkeeper refused to sell him any, the man shouted and swore at him. He went on to brandish a BB gun at staff before leaving the shop. Police traced him and recovered a BB gun and a knife from his bag.

• A 37-year-old man has been jailed for nine years and nine months after pleading guilty to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. In May 2024, a man fired a shotgun through the front door of a property in Spilsby, Lincolnshire. The resident’s brother, who was visiting at the time, stepped outside and was shot in the leg. The 37-year-old man did not fire the shotgun but forensic tests on the jacket he was wearing showed he was close by at the time. More than 90 pellets lodged in the victim’s body and he needed extensive surgery. The court heard that he had been “in the wrong place at the wrong time”.

• A 29-year-old man has been jailed for fifteen-and-a-half years after being convicted of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. In September 2023, the man fired a submachine gun towards a man standing in the doorway of a property in Smethwick, West Midlands. The man was not injured but a house and car were damaged. The man and his associates fled in a hired car, which the police traced just hours later. The court heard that the shooting was carried out as part of a dispute. Following sentencing, a police spokesperson explained that the type of weapon used are highly dangerous as they can fire up to 800 rounds a minute.

• A 23-year-old man has been jailed for 36 years for murder, attempted grievous bodily harm and conspiracy to commit robbery. Following a failed attempted robbery by the man and four others in Sheffield, South Yorkshire in December 2023, the group incorrectly identified a car as being involved. In a case of mistaken identity, the 23-year-old fatally shot the man sitting in the vehicle. He died the following day. The four other gang members were sentenced for conspiracy to commit robbery.

• A 39-year-old man from Burnley, Lancashire has been fined £40 and ordered to pay costs after admitting to possession of an imitation firearm. Police officers recovered a blank-firing starting pistol from the boot of the man’s car after receiving a tip off. The man claimed he had taken it from his nephew after seeing him “messing about with it” and had intended to hand it in to a police station.

• A 37-year-old man and a 26-year-old man have been jailed for a minimum of 32 years for murder and related firearms offences. In November 2020, the older man fatally shot a teenage man with a handgun in Stockbridge, Merseyside following a row over money. The conspirators then fled on the victim’s e-bike while he lay dying. The court heard that, prior to the attack, one of the men bought two pairs of black gloves, two black hats and two face masks while the other waited outside a shop for him. The younger man fled to Spain following the shooting, only returning in 2023.

• A 55-year-old man has been jailed for ten years, with an additional five years on extended licence, after being found guilty of racism, antisemitism, Holocaust denial, breach of the peace and offences under the Terrorism Act. Armed police officers raided the man’s home in Falkirk, Stirlingshire in September 2022 and seized weapons including a crossbow, machetes, a tomahawk, a samurai sword, knuckledusters, a catapult, an extendable baton, a stun gun and an air pistol. They also recovered an SS-style skull mask, goggles and a respirator, fighting gloves with hardened knuckles, pellets, ball bearings, and hunting tips for crossbow arrows. The court heard that the man idolised the neo—Nazi Norwegian mass murderer, Anders Brevik, and had “posted and shared videos, memes and images online of a racist, homophobic and violent nature, including information associated with extreme right-wing groups”. Following sentencing, the judge said, “It is necessary to punish you, to seek to deter you and others from possessing weapons and engaging in activities for the purposes of terrorism and to protect the public from you.”

• An 18-year-old man has been jailed for ten years and three months after pleading guilty to grievous bodily harm and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. In August 2023, armed police officers were deployed following reports of a male with a gun in Stretford, The officers found a seriously-injured teenage boy at the scene, with multiple organs affected. He was treated in hospital for wounds consistent with having been inflicted by a shotgun. CCTV footage revealed that a group of males, including the 18-year-old, had been in the area at the time of the shooting and had fled soon afterwards. Investigators discovered that a 37-year-old co-defendant helped him dispose of the shotgun. He has now been sentenced to two-and-a-half years after admitting two counts of assisting an offender. Other younger members of the group were sentenced for violent disorder. Following sentencing, a police spokesperson said, “Gun crime is something we are absolutely dedicated to tackling, and over the last three years, officers across every district have collectively seized more than 230 firearms as we look to take these deadly weapons off our streets. If you have any information about illegal firearms or activity, I would urge you to get in touch with police so we take action against those responsible.”

• A man from Birmingham, West Midlands has been jailed for 27 months after pleading guilty to making threats of death or serious harm contrary to the Online Safety Act. In August 2024, Khan posted a video online in which he brandished a decommissioned AK-47 assault rifle while threatening to “blow away” the English Defence League. The post attracted 1.4million views on an extreme right-wing account on X during a period of civil unrest that included demonstrations and riots across the UK. The man was also sentenced for threatening behaviour relating to homophobic and abusive comments made after he was taken to hospital by police on the day of his arrest.

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: December 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 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.