Gun incidents in Great Britain

A man from York, North Yorkshire received a parcel containing a stun gun after ordering onion bulbs and snowdrop seeds online. He handed the weapon into police, after which a spokesperson said, “Stun guns are prohibited weapons in the UK and it is therefore an offence to possess, purchase, acquire, manufacture, sell or transfer such a weapon, without lawful authority.”

Police appealed for information after 81 air weapons were stolen from a parked lorry in Basildon, Essex. The driver contacted police after discovering 51 SLR 5520 and 30 Coyote 1474-J air rifles had been taken from the vehicle. No arrests have yet been reported.

Several people were affected after a man allegedly sprayed CS gas during a fight at a pub in Grimsby, Lincolnshire. Of three men arrested at the scene on suspicion of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, one was further arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker.

After three people reportedly “ransacked” a hair salon in Leeds, West Yorkshire last month, police officers tasered and arrested one man, while his accomplices escaped. He has since been jailed for one year after admitting several offences.

After police officers searched a man in Penrith, Cumbria, they recovered a small sword and two air rifles from his home address. He was arrested on suspicion of being involved in the supply of controlled substances. Following his detention, a police spokesperson said, “The investigation continues whether the male can legally possess the air rifles owing to previous convictions and the power of the air rifles.”

Policed officers used PAVA spray during the arrest of a man who allegedly threw large chunks of wood onto a dual carriageway in Titchfield, Hampshire. The man was arrested on suspicion of causing danger to road users and for three outstanding offences.

It has emerged that National Crime Agency investigators arrested a  man from Bristol in July 2024 after he bought 35 top-venting blank firearms, three antique firearms and more than 1,000 bullets. He was also detained in relation to the manufacture of a 3D printed submachine gun. The man was arrested again in January 2025 after police officers found a Glock-style pistol and a revolver hidden in a bush in the city. He has since been charged with two counts each of possessing firearms and possessing ammunition, as well as converting a firearm, manufacturing a firearm, selling firearms and conspiracy to import firearms.

Over a period of six days in July 2025, a man left airguns and samurai swords in various places around Glasgow, Scotland, including on a bench and on the steps of the Royal Concert Hall. The man called 999 a few days later and told the call handler he was standing outside a shop with a “large cache of weapons”. After police officers seized two swords and three knives from a bench outside the shop, the man called again to thank them for taking the weapons out of his hands. Officers recovered another sword shortly afterwards and arrested the man nearby. An air rifle was recovered from his home address and indecent images of children were discovered on his phone. Sentencing was deferred after the man admitted having eight knives, two samurai swords, an air pistol in a public place and an air rifle without a certificate, as well as possession and distribution of indecent images of children and taking or permitting to be taking indecent images of children.

Nathan Ingram, aged 29, has been jailed for five years after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm, ammunition and Class A drug. In November 2025, police officers stopped a car that was speeding in Hackney, East London. Ingram failed a breathalyser test and was apprehended after fleeing into a nightclub. Officers found a loaded Bernardelli 69 self-loading pistol in his rucksack, along with a small quantity of cocaine.

Following a report of a man carrying a gun on a train, police officers detained the suspect at the station at Gatwick Airport, West Sussex. He was arrested for possession of two imitation firearms.