Gun incidents in Great Britain

An inquest has been opened into the death of a teenage boy who died earlier this month after being shot in the eye with an air rifle in Tadley, Hampshire. The inquest heard that the youth had been at a friend’s house when the weapon was fired in the garden. A preliminary cause of death has been given as a gunshot wound to the head. The inquest was adjourned until October 2026.

Police officers searching a property in Chelmsley Wood, West Midlands recovered a viable shotgun. A man has since been charged with possession of a firearm.

Armed police officers and a dog unit were deployed following a report that a gun had been seen as five men abandoned a vehicle on a street in Eston, North Yorkshire. Three male youths were arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm without a certificate.

Police officers searching a property in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire recovered drugs, cash and weapons including an antique firearm. A man was arrested in connection with the finds.

Police officers raided a property in Birmingham, West Midlands and recovered 20 bottles of imported alcohol, three imitation firearms and a shotgun. The raids were carried out by officers from a specialist team tasked with tackling crime in the area.

After police officers saw two people acting suspiciously at a petrol station in Coventry, West Midlands, they discovered the car they were in had been stolen. After drugs, a baseball bat and an imitation firearm were recovered from the vehicle, the men were arrested at the scene.

Police officers responding to reports of a gun fired in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire found an injured man in a car parked on a driveway. He had suffered a leg injury caused by a bladed weapon and pellet wounds to his back. His injuries are not believed to be life threatening. Police believe two males carried out the assault before fleeing in a car driven by a third person.

The coroner at the inquest into the death of a man in Great Yeldham, Essex has recorded a verdict of suicide, cause of death being a gunshot wound to the head. In June 2024, the man assaulted his mother at her home as she tried to prevent him gaining access to a locked gun cabinet. After the woman lost consciousness, the man found the key to the cabinet and shot himself with a legally-held shotgun. By the time the woman came round, her son had died. The inquest heard that the man had suffered mental health and drug problems before he took his own life. An individual is being prosecuted in relation to a firearms offence in connection with the case.

Armed police officers were deployed following reports of a person seen with a rifle outside a house in Market Harborough, Leicestershire. A man was arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.

It has emerged that, in September 2025, police officers tasered and arrested a man in Wrexham, Denbighshire. The man had allegedly threatened to kill a delivery driver while holding an axe before smashing up his own fence. When police responded, he reportedly shouted at officers from an upstairs window of his home, holding the axe and a kitchen knife. Officers entered the property when the man began cutting himself.