June 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 June 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 June 2024.

Figure 1: June 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 seven reports in June 2024 concerning gun deaths, five being apparently self-inflicted:

• Following a concern for welfare report, emergency services attended a property in Stafford, Staffordshire. During the incident, the man concerned reportedly discharged a firearm and suffered serious injuries. He died a short time later. The incident has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct due to a previous police contact.

• Armed police officers were called to a domestic incident at a property in Leeds, West Yorkshire after first responders saw a man armed with what looked like a handgun. After a stand-off of almost ten hours, officers used distraction devices to “storm” the property and found the man had suffered critical injuries. He was pronounced dead shortly afterwards. Early evidence suggests that a firearm, found at the scene, had been discharged. The incident has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

• A man died in hospital after being shot on a street in Ealing, West London. Police believe the victim had been involved in an altercation with a group of men before the shooting. No arrests have yet been reported.

• Earlier this month, a man was found dead at his home in Liverton, Devon with a shotgun wound to the head. An inquest, opened and adjourned, found that there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death and that the shotgun he used was lawfully held.

• A teenage male died in hospital shortly after being shot in Liverpool, Merseyside. The youth was cycling home after an evening out with friends when he was attacked. No arrests have yet been reported.

• A member of the public discovered the body of a man in woodland near Santon Downham, Suffolk two days after he had been reported missing. An inquest has been opened and adjourned, cause of death being given as injuries from a shotgun wound.

• Police officers investigating a firearms discharge in Luton, Bedfordshire called at an address about three miles from the incident to carry out further enquiries. Before they entered the property, a gun was fired inside. A man, found injured, was given “immediate first aid” but died at the scene. Police later confirmed that they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the shooting.

Inquests

We are aware of three reports of inquests in June 2024 relating to gun deaths:

• A jury at the inquest into the death of a man, who was fatally shot by specialist armed police officers in Westminster, London in March 2020, has concluded that he was lawfully killed. After he was approached by two Ministry of Defence Police officers who thought he appeared lost, the man produced two knives. Both officers fired their Tasers but missed him. The man then ran into Great Scotland Yard, where he approached City of London police officers “holding a knife”. One officer discharged his Taser without effect, while a second officer fired a fatal shot from a gun. The man was given emergency first aid but died at the scene shortly afterwards. The inquest heard that the man was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and had been prematurely discharged from mental health care services. Following the inquest, a spokesperson for family said that the man “was not well and extremely vulnerable, but he did not harm anyone” and that they believed “there were opportunities for the police to recognise that and treat him differently”. An IOPC spokesperson said, “During the course of the officers’ interactions with [the victim], they made numerous attempts to apprehend him using non-lethal force — including multiple discharges of Taser over a five-minute period, which proved ineffective. The officer who shot [the victim] said he feared for his life as [the victim] moved toward him while holding two knives. Our investigation reviewed all available CCTV footage which showed [the victim] stepping towards officers, holding a knife, when he was then fatally shot.”

• The coroner at the inquest into the death of a 16-year-old boy in Birmingham, West Midlands in November 2023 has concluded that he died of a single gunshot wound to the head. The youth was “most likely inadvertently” shot dead by his 17-year-old friend who, it is believed, had been given a gun by “elders” for protection. The gun went off while the two boys were “hanging out” at the home of the 17-year-old boy. Five days later, the 17-year-old was found dead on a patch of wasteland near a canal. It is believed that he shot himself with the same gun that had killed his friend.

• The coroner at the inquest into the death of a man in November 2023 has concluded that he died as a result of a self-inflicted shotgun wound. The man discharged his shotgun when driving on the A52 in Bingham, Nottinghamshire while being pursued by police as part of a murder investigation. Expert evidence indicated that the man discharged his shotgun prior to a collision with a police vehicle. A non-police issue firearm was discovered in the man’s car. The officers gave the man first aid but he died at the scene. An investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct found that Leicestershire Police officers acted appropriately in their involvement with the deceased and that their decision to deploy armed officers, the drawing up of a tactical plan to perform an enforced stop and the implementation of the plan were reasonable.

Armed Domestic Violence and/or Victim Known to Perpetrator

We are aware of six reports in June 2024 relating to the above:

• A 73-year-old woman from Colchester, Essex has been handed a suspended ten-month prison term with a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement and ordered to pay £350 in costs after admitting possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. In August 2022, the woman shouted abuse at a neighbour before pointing an airgun out of a bedroom window at him. The court heard that a number of incidents between the woman and her neighbour had increased tensions between them prior to the incident.

• In March 2023, after arguing with his half-brother over a pair of trainers, a man fired a Glock-type pistol into the ground, ostensibly to scare him. The bullet fragmented, ricocheted and hit his half-brother in the neck, killing him. Detectives found that, before the pair met on a street in Openshaw, Manchester, the perpetrator had contacted his victim and threatened to shoot him in the leg. They also discovered that the man acquired the gun on the day of the attack. The perpetrator has now been jailed for life, with a minimum term of sixteen years, having pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He also admitted possessing a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life in connection with an incident during which a house in Halifax was shot at two months earlier. He was not the gunman but had filmed the attack on a mobile phone.

• An 18-year-old man has been handed a suspended eighteen-month prison term and ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid community work after pleading guilty to possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear and violence. Following a row “over a girl”, two teenagers attacked the 18-year-old in Faversham, Kent. One of the assailants “hacked” at his victim ten times with a machete, puncturing a lung, slicing off the top of a thumb and cutting an arm very deeply. The victim then fired a starter pistol which he hid under a bin once his attackers had fled. The court heard that a family member had given the victim the gun for his protection, after learning threats had been made against him. On sentencing, the judge said, “It was a foolish decision to arm yourself but, to some extent this was the result of intimidation and fear of what was out there. You took an imitation firearm out in public where you clearly intended to cause fear or violence. You have paid a significant price for your actions. It did not protect you and you came off much worse. This is a very serious, but I do not consider you a risk or danger to the public.”

• It has emerged that, in December 2023, a man allegedly pointed a gun at his ex-partner’s head and threatened to kill her at an address in Glasgow, Scotland. The woman, who had a three-year-old child with her, pushed her assailant out of the house. Armed police officers were called in and the man, found carrying an unloaded air pistol, was later tasered and arrested. He has since admitted having an air weapon without a certificate.

• A 36-year-old man has been jailed for eleven years and nine months after pleading guilty to possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, possessing a firearm when prohibited, possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and possessing criminal property. In January 2020, after his girlfriend broke up with him, the man fired a live 9mm round from a semi-automatic handgun over the top of a car she was driving on a street in Newcastle, Tyne & Wear. The bullet went through the window of a nearby house and lodged in the living room wall. Fortunately, the house was unoccupied at the time. The court heard that he shot at his ex-partner after blaming her for his recent loss at a casino, saying she had stressed him out. Friends helped the man to flee to a hotel in Bradford, where he was arrested by armed police officers five days later. The officers recovered more than £4,000 cash, £4,000 worth of heroin, 2g of cocaine, steroids and needles from his hotel room.

• A 46-year-old man has been jailed for six years after pleading guilty to possessing a prohibited firearm and possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, and being found guilty of possessing explosives. In August 2023, the man brandished a loaded sawn-off shotgun at a neighbour in Newport, South Wales. Responding police officers recovered the shotgun, several cartridges, three petrol bombs, an axe, a sword, a mace and a BB gun when they searched his home. The man denied that the containers found were petrol bombs, saying he used them to store petrol after a jerry can broke. An expert, however, found them to be “Molotov cocktails”. On sentencing, the judge described the man as “a dangerous offender who had a fascination with weapons and a desire to possess them so he could threaten people with them when he disagreed with them.

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

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

• See Gun Deaths above — a man found with fatal shotgun injuries at his home in Devon was a licensed shotgun owner.

• A shotgun was stolen during a burglary at a home in Cornard Tye, Suffolk. Police are linking this incident to three other break-ins in the area.

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

• After police officers tried to help a man who appeared unwell at the railway station in Skegness, Lincolnshire, he allegedly grabbed a Taser from one of the officers and fired it at the ground. No one was injured and the man was detained for medical treatment.

• Armed police officers were deployed following reports of a man with a gun outside the tube station at Kingsbury, North London. After using distraction devices and a Taser, the officers arrested a man who was subsequently sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

• In January 2024, a man fired an AK-47-style military submachine gun at the counter of an off-licence in Liverpool, Merseyside before heading to a nearby cinema, from where he had been sacked as a security guard. He pointed the gun at a member of staff there and fired a round of shots outside the building. By the time armed police officers responded, the man had fled in his car to his girlfriend’s home where he fired another round before hiding the gun under a mattress. Police officers tasered and arrested the man at his mother’s home some hours later No one was injured during any of the shootings. When the firearm was recovered, police determined it had been fired seventeen times. The man, aged 49, has now been jailed for fourteen years after admitting possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, attempt robbery and possession of ammunition without a certificate.

• Police officers tasered and arrested a man seen with a 12-inch Rambo knife in Central London.

• Following a report of a man on the tracks at the railway station in Stirling, Central Scotland, police officers tasered and arrested the suspect after he reportedly failed to comply with orders. The man was given a medical examination before being taken into custody.

• It has emerged that, in November 2023, police officers responding to a report of a domestic incident at a property in Birmingham, West Midlands, used PAVA spray and a Taser on a man after he attacked them with a knife. One of the officers later described the incident as the worst he had attended in his seventeen years as an officer.

Animal Death and Injury

We are aware of at least eight reports in June 2024 of animal cruelty and/or death involving a gun, including:

• A cat has had an eye removed after being shot with a pellet gun in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire. A second cat is recovering after being shot in the leg with an airgun in Ashford, Kent, and a third cat has been put to sleep after being shot in the eye with an airgun in Darlington, Co. Durham. A fourth cat is recovering after being shot with an airgun in New Rossington, South Yorkshire. An X-ray revealed that the cat’s leg was broken, and a pellet had lodged in the limb. A spokesperson from 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.”

• Three people have been arrested following reports of shooting at a nature reserve at Colne Point, Essex. Police officers seized an air rifle at the scene. No wildlife was harmed.

• Police appealed for information after a swan suffered injuries consistent with being shot with an air rifle in Whiteley, Hampshire.

• Police are investigating the death of three birds that were found, shot dead with an air rifle, in a garden in New Radnor, Powys. A police spokesperson reminded the public, “It is an offence to fire an air rifle pellet beyond the land where you have permission to shot, unless the person holding the shooting rights of the neighbouring land has given you permission.

• A 43-year-old man from Chelmsford, Essex has been jailed for twelve years after being convicted of two counts of assault against a female by penetration and engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour, and admitting disclosing private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress. The man filmed himself sexually assaulting a woman known to him and threatened to post the footage in a WhatsApp group as she tried to get away. He also sent her pictures of her hamster after he shot it dead with a BB gun and told the woman to kill herself. He was arrested in November 2021 after his victim alerted police. The judge imposed an indefinite restraining order preventing the man from contacting his victim.

• After responding to reports of gunshots and finding an injured pigeon in a garden in Bolton, Greater Manchester, police officers seized an air rifle from a nearby address and arrested a man on suspicion of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and firing an air weapon beyond the premises boundary. The pigeon was taken to a vet but is unlikely to survive.

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 June 2024 relating to the above:

• A 39-year-old man has been jailed for five years after pleading guilty to offences including possessing ammunition for a firearm without a certificate, possessing a firearm of length less than 30cm/60cm and two counts of possessing a prohibited weapon. In July 2023, Border Force personnel intercepted two packages addressed to the man that contained realistic imitation guns, one of which could fire conventional ammunition. During the subsequent search of his home in Mexborough, South Yorkshire, police officers recovered a Taser, air guns, ammunition, Zombie and WWII knives, a deactivated sawn-off shotgun, volatile chemicals, knuckle dusters and an Airsoft gun. They also found a 3D printer and a template for shotgun construction. The man who describes himself as an “engineer, a welder and armourer”, told the court he had bought the Airsoft weapon for target practice and that the ammunition had been “a birthday present for display purposes”. The judge, however, said that, in his judgement, the items found in the man’s home displayed “an unhealthy mindset”. The weapons found will be forfeited and destroyed. The man also faced a summary charge of bringing an imitation firearm into the UK.

Sentences and Convictions

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

• In February 2024, police officers searched a property in Portsmouth, Hampshire and recovered around 70 firearms and over 600 rounds of ammunition that had been hidden in suitcases. The guns were found to be blank firearms that had been converted into viable prohibited firearms, while the ammunition had been converted from blank rounds. During a second search at an industrial estate in Horndean, ammunition in various stages of conversion as well as tools and equipment used to convert ammunition and firearms were discovered. A 37-year-old man has now been jailed for eight years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to sell/transfer firearms, conspiracy to sell/transfer ammunition and possession with intent to supply heroin. His 46-year-old co-defendant was sentenced to ten years in prison after admitting the first two offences as well as manufacturing firearms and manufacturing ammunition.

• A 36-year-old man has been jailed for five years and four months after admitting possession of a prohibited firearm when prohibited for life, possession of ammunition without a certificate and possession of ammunition when prohibited for life. In February 2024, police officers responded to reports that a man with a gunshot wound to his face had been seen outside a property in St. Helens, Merseyside. The man, who had suffered a puncture wound and several loose and dislodged teeth, would not tell the responding officers how he came by the injuries. A self-loading pistol, dating back to 1922, was subsequently recovered from a garage behind the property, alongside a magazine containing six rounds of .32 calibre cartridges. The court heard that the man, who is prohibited from holding any firearm for life due to a previous conviction for robbery, claimed to have found the gun hidden inside a cushion of a sofa following a party. The judge, however, said that he was not telling the truth. He went on to say that the court was satisfied that the man had discharged the gun himself accidentally while under the influence of drink or drugs.

• In March 2024, staff at a nightclub in Birkenhead, Merseyside alerted police after a man threatened both them and members of the public with a crowbar. He then smashed the rear window of his own car before fleeing the scene. When police officers visited his home shortly afterwards, he shouted at them from a window and threatened to shoot them. Armed police officers and negotiators were called in, after which the man threw objects at officers and pointed what appeared to be a handgun at them, shouting threats including, “I wanna die, I’m gonna put a bullet in someone’s head.” After about nine hours, the man walked out of his flat with his hands on his head and was taken to hospital over concerns for his mental health. A BB gun was recovered at the scene. During interview, the man told detectives that he had heard voices telling him that people were laughing at him and sometimes telling him to harm people. The man, aged 22, has now been jailed for four years, having admitted making use of an imitation firearm with intent to resist arrest, making threats to kill and affray.

• A 30-year-old man has been jailed for five years after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition and possession of Class B drugs. His co-defendant, a 28-year-old woman, received four years for conveying a list A and list B article into prison, conspiracy to convey list A and list B article into prison, possession of a knife and possession of criminal property. A few hours after the woman smuggled drugs into the prison where she worked, police officers found her in a car with the 30-year-old man in Salford, Greater Manchester. Drugs, syringes, a lock knife and a loaded pistol were recovered from the vehicle, while more drugs paraphernalia and thousands of pounds in cash were seized during subsequent house searches.

• Three men have been jailed for fifteen years and four months, 22 years and 28 years, respectively, for firearms and drugs offences. After the criminal messaging network, EncroChat, was decrypted, texts exchanged by the defendants revealed they had trafficked drugs and guns across the UK. Their discussions involved weapons including a number of different firearms. The first man, from Liverpool, Merseyside, was convicted of two counts of conspiracy to possess firearms, two charges of conspiracy to possess ammunition and conspiracy to supply drugs. The second man and third men were found guilty of similar firearms and drugs charges.

• Three men have been jailed following violent robberies in November 2023: a 26-year-old man received thirteen years, a 25-year-old man received six years and eight months, and a 30-year-old received four years and eight months. The 26-year-old grabbed a woman in a headlock in Newton, Derbyshire and pressed a handgun to her temple while demanding cash, the other two men threatened a shop owner and a customer with a large axe and a small black handgun before stealing £50 and £1,755-worth of cigarettes. Two of the men then went on to threaten a second store owner with a sledgehammer and a gun only fleeing when he pressed the panic button. After each robbery, the men used a stolen getaway car. Police officers arrested all three offenders after tracking stolen items to their home addresses.

• A 47-year-old woman has been handed a suspended two-year prison sentence with 30 rehabilitation sessions and 200 hours of unpaid work after admitting possession of a firearm. When police officers called at her home in Chatham, Kent in April 2016 following a tip off, she told them that she had been asked to hide a sawn-off shotgun by someone known to her and showed them where she had buried it. Her trial was delayed because she was a witness at the trial of the man who gave her the weapon. Noting her early confession, the judge said, “The reality is you have waited well over eight years since you confessed. I’m not going to make you wait any longer. You are not going to prison today. This was an exceptionally serious crime. Firearms are made to do one thing and one thing only — kill. We are fortunate that in this country we have relatively low gun crime due to very strict laws. This offence usually carries a minimum five-year term. However there was no malice on your part and no desire to kill or injure anyone.”

• A 40-year-old man has been jailed for four months after admitting possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear or distress. In March 2024, the man threatened a bus driver with a black plastic pistol in Washington, Tyne and Wear. Security guards from a nearby supermarket detained the man who was “extremely intoxicated” at the time.

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: June 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.