May 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 May 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 May 2026.

Figure 1:  2026 May 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 five reports concerning gun deaths in May 2026:

• A woman died in hospital after being shot outside a bar in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. The victim was a “bystander” to an altercation that culminated in the shooting. A man has since been charged with murder, possession of a firearm and possession of criminal property, while a woman faces charges of assisting an offender, possession of ammunition, possession of drugs with intent to supply, possession of drugs and possession of criminal property.

• A man died in hospital after being shot in a drive-by attack at a BBQ in Brixton, South London. Three other people were injured. It is believed seven shots were fired from a car. No arrests have yet been reported.

• Armed police officers shot a man following an eleven-hour standoff at a property in Bedford, Bedfordshire. The man was pronounced dead at the scene shortly afterwards. Officers attended the address after receiving reports of vehicles being damaged and a man carrying a weapon. The man barricaded himself inside the property and refused to come out, reportedly threatening police as they tried to negotiate with him. He was seen with what looked like a gun and allegedly poured petrol out of a window. Two baton rounds were fired before the man was killed with a police firearm. The incident has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

• A man died at the scene from a single wound after being shot in a residential street in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire. Three people have since been charged with murder.

• It has emerged that the body of a former farmer, a licensed gun owner from Somerset, was discovered in his locked home in February 2024. See Inquests.

Inquests

We are aware of three reports in May 2026 of inquests relating to gun deaths:

• The coroner at the inquest into the death of a man near Earsham, Norfolk in February 2025 has recorded a conclusion of suicide. The man, who killed himself with his licensed shotgun, had suffered with ME and depression for some time before his death. After a serious deterioration in his mental health, the man and his wife sought help from his GP. Despite a shotgun marker on his medical notes, the GP did not make a referral to police firearms officers. The couple also sought help from NHS crisis services but were repeatedly rejected — the coroner considered this being influenced by the victim previously receiving private treatment. The man’s sister-in-law informed police of the man’s suicidal thoughts and told them he owned a gun. The control room staff who took the call did not inform licensing officers. The coroner said that although police were aware of historic mental health concerns and a previous overdose, the man had previously been assessed as fit to retain his shotgun certificate. He also said there was insufficient evidence in law to conclude that failure to inform firearms officers caused the death. The man’s wife is asking for a change in the law, saying, “Make the guidance for GPs to inform police statutory law. That way it cannot be ignored or misinterpreted and lives will be saved.”

• The coroner at the inquest into the death of a man who shot himself at his home in Esh Winning, Co. Durham in August 2025 has concluded that he died by suicide. The man, who had been diagnosed with anxiety and depression, was found unresponsive by his brother. The inquest heard that the victim had previously signed his own legally-held guns over to his brother, but his son had been allowed to keep a firearm in the home despite his father having a history of mental health issues. The man’s wife believes her husband was failed by police officers; however, a police spokesperson gave a statement following the inquest stating that all procedures had been correctly followed.

• It has emerged that the coroner at the inquest into the death of a man in Somerset in February 2024 recorded a conclusion of suicide. Although the man had made no statement of intent, the coroner determined he probably shot himself and inferred his intent to die from the factual and circumstantial evidence. The man, a retired farmer, died at his locked home from a head injury caused by the discharge of a shotgun beneath his chin. The remains of a propellant from the discharged cartridge was found on his left hand. The inquest heard that the deceased had recently seen his GP to discuss his low mood but had not expressed suicidal thoughts. He was prescribed anti-depressants but toxicology reports revealed he had not recently taken the medication. The man’s daughter challenged the coroner’s conclusion, saying that accidental discharge could not be ruled out and her father’s mental state may have deprived him of capacity or intention. For these and other reasons, she felt the coroner should have returned the narrative conclusion, shotgun injury with intent unknown. The judge at the review, however, accepted that the coroner’s conclusion had been made from reasonable inferences from established facts.

Armed Domestic Violence and/or Victim Known to Perpetrator

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

• A 23-year-old man has been jailed for five years after admitting threatening a person with an offensive weapon, possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, attempted kidnap and controlling and coercive behaviour. After his partner ended a relationship with him, he reacted angrily and threatened to kill himself unless she resumed their association. He planted tracker devices to monitor her movements and pretended she was in danger from his family, even staging a smoke bomb attack in her university room in Durham, Co. Durham to convince her of the risk. Fearing for her safety, the woman allowed the man to sleep on her floor to protect her. Some months later, the man threatened his victim with a lock knife and pressed an imitation gun into her chest. After this episode, the woman reported him. The victim said she felt “emotionally broken” by the man’s actions, suffers nightmares and panic attacks, and feels in genuine danger.

• A 42-year-old man has been handed a suspended two-and-a-half-year prison term after admitting assault, possession of an imitation firearm and making threats to kill. In December 2025, the man assaulted his former partner and threatened her with a knife after she took a birthday card to him at his home in Colwyn Bay, Conwy. Two months later, he sent the woman a video of himself appearing to load a gun and threatening to “…shoot the lot”. A few days later, he turned up at the woman’s address and threatened to shoot her with the gun from the video. Armed police responded and arrested him at the scene. He was ordered to complete a 26-session accredited programme and ten days of rehabilitation activity, and was handed an indefinite restraining order.

• Following a report that one man had threatened another with a suspected gun on a street in South Shields, Tyne & Wear, police officers arrested a teenage male on suspicion of possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. It is believed the men were known to each other. No injuries were reported.

• Following a domestic incident at an address in Norton Fitzwarren, Somerset, armed police officers seized a BB gun and arrested a man on suspicion of assault causing actual bodily harm, possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and assaulting a police officer. A man was treated in hospital for an injury following the incident. 

• A 19-year-old man and a 22-year-old man have been found guilty of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and drug offences. In November 2025, the two men met in a stolen car in Smethwick, West Midlands to plan a shooting. As they talked, the younger man accidentally fired their gun, causing serious injuries to the other man’s leg. The injured man took a taxi to hospital where he claimed not to know what had happened. However, the other man’s phone revealed the pair’s plans as he was questioned by police.

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

We are aware of six reports in May 2026 that we believe to relate to the above:

• See Gun Deaths above — Police firearms officers fatally shot a man after an eleven-hour standoff at a property in Bedfordshire. 

• See Inquests above — A licensed gun-owning man in Norfolk, who continued to have access to his guns whilst known to be suffering from ME and depression, took his own life with a licensed gun.

• See Inquests above — A former licensed gun-owning man in Durham, known to be suffering from anxiety and depression, accessed a licensed shotgun belonging to his son stored in the family home, and used it to take his own life.

• See Inquests above — A licensed gun owning man in Somerset was found to have taken his own life in 2024 using his licensed shotgun.

• A man was shot in the arm by police after reportedly driving directly at officers who were trying to stop his car in Whitefield, Greater Manchester. The man was treated in hospital for an injury described as neither life changing nor life threatening. During the subsequent search of a nearby property, officers seized a firearm and drugs. The man has since been arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of drugs.

• An Independent Office for Police Conduct investigation has concluded that police officers acted in a “proportionate and reasonable” manner when they shot a man dead at a railway station in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire in April 2025, believing there was an immediate threat to life. Armed officers attended the station following reports of the man being in possession of a gun and a knife. The man approached the officers and members of the public holding the knife and ignored the officers’ commands to stop. When he ran at them, one officer discharged a single shot, hitting the man in the abdomen. Despite immediate first aid, he died at the scene.

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

• A man has been awarded £30,000 in damages after being wrongfully tasered by police in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire in July 2021. The man had been celebrating his birthday at a bar when he and his friends were asked to leave for dancing away from their table in breach of social distancing rules in place at the time. After being allegedly threatened by one of the security staff, the man and his friends began talking to three police officers outside the bar. As the situation “escalated”, the man ran away and try to climb over a gate in fear the officers were going to beat him up. One officer then tasered him, causing him to fall to the ground. The man suffered three fractured vertebrae and injuries to his chest, back, hands and right shoulder. The officer concerned said he had felt it was “necessary to discharge his Taser in order to prevent the man’s escape and safely detain him”. According to College of Policing guidance, however, a Taser “should only be used as a proportionate response to an identified threat, external”, and “should not be used to simply gain compliance with instructions or procedures where compliance is not linked to such a threat”.

• Police officers used a Taser and PAVA spray on a man who allegedly resisted arrest in Manchester. The man reportedly spat at a patrol car before attacking the officers with a knife when they stopped to speak to him. One officer suffered serious face and neck injuries. The man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker, possession of a knife and possession of Class B drugs.

• A 36-year-old man has been handed a suspended sixteen-month prison term after pleading guilty to possession of an imitation firearm and affray. In September 2025, the man was seeing walking around Loughborough, Leicestershire with a BB gun in the back waistband of his trousers. Responding armed police officers discharged a Taser and arrested him after seeing him with his hand on the gun. The court heard that, at the time of the incident, the man claimed to have found the gun and been “larking about”. The charge of affray concerned a separate, unrelated, incident.

• A 41-year-old man has been released after admitting possessing an imitation firearm, having been in custody since his arrest.In March 2026, the man called police and told them he was armed with a gun. Firearms officers attended his home in Leicester, Leicestershire and evacuated nearby properties. The man came out of his home twice holding a drill wrapped in a carrier bag. On the second occasion, one officer realised the item was not a gun and the suspect was tasered twice before being arrested. The court heard that the man, drunk at the time of the incident, had been inspired to act after watching a TikTok video.

Animal Death and Injury

We are aware of at least eight reports in May 2026 of animal cruelty and/or death involving a gun:

• A pigeon was euthanised after it was suspected to have been shot with an air rifle in Norwich, Norfolk. There has been debate regarding the pigeon population in the city’s market area after traders complained about spoilt stock and customers had their food stolen by the birds. Some have called for measures to be taken to reduce the population, while a pro-pigeon campaigner suggested building a dovecote nearby to draw the birds away from the market. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, it is illegal to kill or injure pigeons without explicit permission.

• After being shot with a suspected air rifle, a cat was found dead at its home in Salisbury, Wiltshire. Police have appealed for information.

• After a cat was found injured in Feltham, West London, an X-ray revealed airgun pellets lodged in its hip and right front leg. The cat was not microchipped and is being cared for at an RSPCA centre. A spokesperson from the organisation appealed for information. 

• A buzzard was euthanised after being found injured in Bransdale, North Yorkshire. Shotgun pellets were found in the bird’s wing and its leg was broken. Police have appealed for information.

• A wild goose found dead by a lake at a nature reserve near Royal Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire, had suffered a single puncture wound consistent with being shot. The RSPCA was contacted for urgent guidance as it was thought the bird may have had goslings. It is illegal to intentionally kill wild birds without a licence, including geese, and offences can carry a six-month prison sentence.

• A cat was put to sleep after being shot with a live round from a .22 rifle in Malton, North Yorkshire. The family pet had been shot through the abdomen and suffered a shattered femur. The RSPCA has appealed for information.

• A heron was put to sleep after being shot with a suspected air rifle in Filby, Norfolk. The bird could not be saved due to its severe injuries. Police have appealed for information.

• A cat underwent surgery to remove an eye after being shot with an air weapon in Barnstaple, Devon. During treatment, vets discovered pellets embedded in his body from a previous attack. The pet’s owners have another cat that has also been shot twice, leaving five air rifle pellets lodged in its body. The attacks have been reported to police.

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 one report in May 2026 relating to the above:

• Following a National Crime Agency investigation, officers recovered five handguns, four AK47-style rifles and a quantity of ammunition from a car arriving at the port in Dover, Kent. A man has since been charged with smuggling firearms and ammunition.

Sentences and Convictions

We are aware of at least 36 reports in May 2026 of sentences and convictions for gun crime, including:

• A 19-year-old man has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in a young offenders’ institution after pleading guilty to offences including possessing a firearm without a certificate, possessing a knife in a public place and supplying Class A and B drugs. After police seized a sawn-off shotgun from a property in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire in March 2025, the man’s DNA was recovered from the weapon. He was under investigation at the time for dealing drugs and being found in a car with a machete.

• A 22-year-old man has been jailed for sixteen years after admitting possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and causing grievous bodily harm. His accomplices, a 25-year-old man and 23-year-old man, received six-and-a-half years and six years, respectively, after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. Following a fight involving weapons in Birmingham, West Midlands in August 2025, the three defendants went looking for one of the men involved. When they spotted a teenage boy who had not taken part in the fight but had been seen speaking to the man they sought, they “ambushed” him and shot him in the back, causing serious injuries.

• A 42-year-old former British soldier has been jailed for six years after pleading guilty to two counts of possessing a document or record likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, two counts of possessing an explosive substance, four counts of possessing a firearm without a certificate, two counts related to the possession of a prohibited firearm, possession of prohibited ammunition and possession of ammunition without a certificate. In May 2023, police officers found Nazi flags, over 600 weapons and chemicals in a shed at the man’s home in Littleport, Cambridgeshire. The weapons included landmines, grenades, rifles and ammunition, many legal WWII memorabilia. Officers also discovered component parts of firearms, bullet casings, shells, a book of instructions on how to produce a submachine gun and a downloaded banned document containing instructions to make viable explosives. The former soldier, who had a fascination for Nazi Germany, described the outbuilding as his “man cave” and “personal museum”; however, the judge said that he had an “obsession with weapons and tools” and was capable of repairing and making firearms, ammunition and functioning explosives. He added that, although the man kept the shed locked, it was in a residential area, “potentially within reach of children” and vulnerable to burglary.

• A 50-year-old man has been jailed for two years and eight months afteradmitting possessing a firearm without a certificate and drug offences. In August 2025, patrolling police officers spotted someone placing an item into the boot of a car that displayed two different number plates. After stopping the vehicle in Stafford, Staffordshire, the officers retrieved a shotgun, two snap bags of cocaine and a quantity of cannabis. The double-barrelled 20-bore shotgun had been stolen during a burglary some years previously.

• A 50-year-old man and a 28-year-old man have been jailed for twelve years and nine-and-a-half years, respectively, after being found guilty of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life. In May 2025, the older man and another man approached a house in Willenhall, West Midlands before a revolver was fired at a window, with bullets going through to a pantry. The house was occupied by a couple, children and a grandparent, none of whom were injured. The younger man acted as the getaway driver after the attack. The court heard that the older man arranged the attack and supplied the gun but was not the person who fired it.

• A 23-year-old man has been fined £160 after admitting possession of an imitation firearm in a public place and possession of a Class A drug. After police officers stopped a car occupied by the man in Carlisle, Cumbria in October 2025, he told them there was an imitation firearm in the vehicle. Along with a Combat CO2-powered pistol, the officers also recovered one wrap of cocaine from the man’s jacket.

• A 22-year-old man has been jailed for 27 years after being found guilty of attempted murder. In August 2025, the man fired a handgun at a teenage male during a motorcycle gathering in Hounslow, West London, hitting him in the neck. Police were alerted after the victim attended a local hospital. The gun and a jacket worn by the man during the attack were later found in a stolen vehicle.

• A 23-year-old man and a 22-year-old man have been jailed for twelve years, eleven months and eleven years, two months, respectively, after admitting wounding with intent and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. In December 2024, the older man let himself into a parked car in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, planning to steal drugs from a drug dealer. He pointed a self-loading pistol at the male occupant before shooting him in the thigh. The younger man acted as getaway driver after the attack and CCTV footage later revealed the defendants had met up an hour before the shooting. Both men were arrested the following month.

• A 26-year-old man has been jailed for seven years and seven months after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, ammunition possession without a certificate, carrying a bladed article in public and driving without a licence or insurance. In July 2025, armed police officers responded following reports of a shooting near a primary school in Tipton, West Midlands. CCTV footage subsequently showed the man at the scene with a gun. He was arrested the following month while carrying a knife and driving a car linked to the attack.

• A 28-year-old man has been jailed for life after being convicted of murder and admitting conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. As part of an ongoing feud with rival drug dealers, he fired a converted gun at a man standing at a bus stop in Wakefield, West Yorkshire in August 2025. The man died in hospital shortly afterwards. The court heard that the victim, recently cured of lung cancer, was likely targeted in a case of mistaken identity. The 28-year-old’s co-defendants, a 21-year-old man and a 22-year-old man, both with the 28-year-old at the time of the attack, were jailed earlier this year.

• A 51-year-old man has been jailed for five-and-a-half years afterpleading guilty to possession of a prohibited weapon and six offences of possession of an offensive weapon in a private place. In February 2026, after a woman reported fears that her ex-partner had made bombs and “booby-trapped” her home in Abergwynfi, Neath Port Talbot, nearby homes were evacuated and military specialists were called in to search the property. No explosives were found but officers seized weapons including an air rifle, a knuckle duster, four truncheons, a Ninja sword and ammunition. The court heard that the man had breached a non-molestation order by staying at the woman’s address without her permission.

• A 27-year-old man and a 20-year-old man have been jailed for life after being found guilty of murder. In December 2024, at least four shots were fired from a car into a crowd of people outside a church in Harlesden, West London. One woman died at the scene while two men were injured, one left paralysed below the waist. The intended target, attendant at the event, escaped unharmed. The court heard that the older man helped organise the shooting but was not present when it was carried out. The younger man was in contact with the occupants of the car on the night of the shootings and set fire to the vehicle after the attack.

• A 23-year-old man has been jailed for sixteen-and-a-half years after admitting intentionally inflicting grievous bodily harm, possessing a firearm intending to endanger life and perverting the course of justice. In April 2024, he fired a shotgun through the window of a home in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, hitting a man in the abdomen. The victim, the father of his assailant’s long-time rival, needed life-saving surgery following the attack. The 23-year-old along with two “vulnerable” teenagers he recruited to help with the attack, were identified shortly afterwards using phone data and CCTV. The youths involved, aged now 19-years-old and 18-years-old, both admitted possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, while the younger man also pleaded guilty to attempting to possess a firearm. He was sentenced to nine years detention in a young offenders’ institution, while the older man received a sentence of six years and three months.

• 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.

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: May 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.