October 2025 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 October 2025 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 October 2025.

Figure 1: October 2025 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 2025 are available at https://gun-control-network.org/news-analysis/

We are aware of three reports concerning four gun deaths in October 2025:

• A man died in hospital after being shot on a street in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. A man and woman have since been arrested on suspicion of murder. Police appealed for anyone with relevant information or footage to come forward.

• A man died at the scene after being shot on a road in Wolverhampton, West Midlands. Police appealed for information but no arrests have yet been reported.

• Two men died after being shot by armed police officers following a terrorist incident in Crumpsall, Manchester. One of the deceased was the alleged attacker, who drove at a group of people and stabbed victims before trying to gain entry to a synagogue. The second man killed was hit by a stray bullet as he tried to prevent the assailant getting inside. The Independent Officer for Police Conduct has opened an investigation in connection with the deaths.

Inquests

We are aware of three reports of inquests in October 2025 relating to gun deaths:

• The coroner at the inquest into the death of a man in Wigan, Greater Manchester has recorded a verdict of suicide, cause of death being a gunshot wound to the head. The teenage male was found unresponsive in a shed at his home in February 2025. He died shortly afterwards. A “homemade, improvised privately-made firearm” was found nearby, while a “note of intent” had been left in his car referencing a matter that had been of concern to him. The inquest head that the teenager’s personality had changed in the weeks before his death and that anabolic steroids were found in his bedroom after he died. The coroner will send a Prevention of Future Deaths report to the Home Secretary regarding privately-made firearms.

• An inquest into the death of two people in Cardiff, South Wales in October 2024 heard that a man, a licensed gun owner, shot his wife with a rifle before using the weapon to kill himself. Both victims died from gunshot wounds to the head. The man owned several guns that he used for clay pigeon and pheasant shooting. He had a history of depression and the couple, who were found by their daughter, were in debt when they died. The coroner ruled that the woman’s death was an unlawful killing, while the man died by suicide.

• The coroner at the inquest into the death of a man in Ringwood, Hampshire has recorded a verdict of suicide, cause of death being extensive firearm trauma. The man, a licensed shotgun owner, was found on a sofa at his home with a shotgun between his legs in November 2024. He had been suffering from diabetes and chronic leukaemia and had been admitted to hospital twice in the weeks before his death, once for an overdose. He left a note detailing his decision to end his life.

Armed Domestic Violence and/or Victim Known to Perpetrator

We are aware of two reports in October 2025 that we believe to relate to the above:

• See Inquest above — A licensed gun owner from South Wales, in possession of several guns while in debt and having a history of depression, unlawfully shot his wife before taking his own life with a rifle.

• A man allegedly raped a woman at an address in Weymouth, Dorset before leaving the property armed with a suspected gun. Armed police officers and a dog unit responded but no arrest has been reported.

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

We are aware of ten reports in October 2025 that we believe to relate to the above:

• See Gun Deaths above — Two men have died after being shot by armed police officers following a terrorist incident in Manchester. 

• See Inquests above — The coroner at the inquest into the death of a licensed shotgun owner in Hampshire has recorded a verdict of suicide, cause of death being extensive firearm trauma.

• See Armed Domestic Violence and/or Victim Known to Perpetrator above — A licensed gun owner from South Wales, in possession of several guns while in debt and having a history of depression, unlawfully shot his wife before taking his own life with a rifle. 

• A panel at a misconduct hearing has found that a police constable based in Skegness, Lincolnshire breached the standards of professional behaviour when she used excessive or unreasonable force and failed to act with self-control and tolerance towards a detained person. In July 2024, the constable used a PAVA spray on a suspect who was not cooperating, at less than the recommended distance from their face. Policing guidance states that this risks causing serious harm to a person’s eyes. Her use of language and general conduct towards the detained person was also found to be “unwarranted”. She was given a final written warning, which will remain in place for two years.

• Armed police officers responding to reports of a man with a gun making threats to kill at an address in Walthamstow, East London, shot a man after entering the property. A suspected gun was recovered at the scene and the man was treated in hospital for life-changing injuries. The incident will be investigated by the independent Office for Police Conduct.

• A misconduct hearing for a firearms officer who fatally shot a man in December 2015 has been discontinued, with the panel finding that there was no case to answer. The man was shot at close range in a stolen car in Wood Green, North London as he was waiting with two others to break out two prisoners from a prison van. The counter-terrorism specialist firearms officer shot him thinking that he had been reaching for a gun. The victim was, in fact, unarmed but an imitation firearm was later found in the back of the car. A public enquiry into the man’s death, held in 2022, concluded that he had been lawfully killed.

• Armed police officers were deployed following reports of a gun seen at an address in Chelmsford, Essex. The officers seized a legally-held weapon at the property and gave the owner words of advice.

• A police firearm was discharged after armed police officers responded to a gun-related incident in Ollerton, Nottinghamshire. A man suffered a gunshot injury and was taken to hospital. He and a second man were arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm with intent to cause violence. The incident has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

• Police officers and a force helicopter were deployed following reports that two men had broken into a car and stolen a shotgun in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. A man was arrested on suspicion of theft and possession of Class B or C drugs.

• Police appealed for information after a starting pistol, cash, watches and jewellery were stolen from a home in Wortham, Suffolk. No arrests have yet been reported.

We are aware of at least six reports in October 2025 involving the use of a police Taser, including:

• A 50-year-old man has been handed a suspended sixteen-month prison term, with a mental health treatment requirement and an alcohol abstinence monitoring requirement for 90 days, after pleading guilty to possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. In June 2025, ambulance staff attended the man’s home in Hetton-le-Hole, Co. Durham after his partner suffered a fall. During their visit the man told them his neighbours had put down rat poison and that his dog had been affected. He then took an air rifle from its case and said he was going to shoot the neighbours. One of the ambulance workers pressed his panic alarm and armed police officers responded. After verbally abusing the officers, the man threw his bagged air rifle outside and shouted, “Come on then, shoot me.” He was tasered and arrested at the scene. In an impact statement, one ambulance worker said, “This incident made me afraid for myself and my colleague and the public in general. I was in shock and very upset. I was genuinely concerned I might get killed. This affected me for hours afterwards and I still feel nervous about what happened and how badly it could have gone.”

• Police officers tasered and arrested a man after he allegedly stabbed two men and a teenage boy in Uxbridge, West London. One of the men died after suffering fourteen wounds to the chest, neck and side, while the other sustained life-changing injuries. The teenage victim was stabbed in the hand.

• Police officers tasered an arrested a man on suspicion of murder, grievous bodily harm and threats to kill after he allegedly stabbed a woman at a block of flats in Tulse Hill, South London. The victim was found dead in her home.

Animal Death and Injury

We are aware of at least six reports in October 2025 of animal cruelty and/or death involving a gun:

• A cat is recovering from surgery on a back leg after being shot at close range with an air weapon in Hayle, Cornwall. The incident has been reported to police.

• Scans revealed that a dead badger, found in Attlebridge, Norfolk, had been shot by a suspected rifle. The animal had suffered two fractured vertebrae, with fragmentation apparent throughout the body. It is a criminal offence to kill, injure, or take a badger under the Protection of Badgers Act 1962. Police have appealed for information.

• Following a report that a pigeon had been shot with a suspected air rifle in Hailsham, East Sussex, police officers found the bird’s dead body. A local wildlife charity spokesperson said, “Using an air rifle in a built-up area carries significant legal responsibilities. It is an offence to fire an air weapon beyond the boundaries of the property where it is being used. It is also illegal to intentionally harm or kill most wild birds, including pigeons, without the appropriate legal permissions. Stray pellets can cause injury to people, pets or damage property – putting others at serious risk.”

• X-rays revealed that a heron, found injured in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, had been shot with an air rifle. The bird is expected to make a full recovery. Police have appealed for information.

• Police appealed for information following reports from residents that foxes, owls and squirrels had been shot at a cemetery in Darlington, Co.Durham. One resident reported seeing a man wearing camouflage gear and holding an air rifle, while gravediggers have found several dead animals.

• X-rays revealed that a cat brought into an animal rescue centre in Salford, Greater Manchester had been shot eight times. The pellets, lodged in his head, neck and body, do not need to be removed. No one has claimed the elderly cat.

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 two reports in October 2025 relating to the above:

• A 20-year-old man has been sentenced to three years in a young offenders’ institution after pleading guilty to drug offences, possessing ammunition for a firearm without a certificate and possessing a firearm of length less than 30cm (prohibited weapon). In March 2023, police officers stopped the man’s taxi after he visited a gun store inNottingham, Nottinghamshire and recovered a top-venting blank firer (TVBF) capable of being converted into a lethal firearm. During the subsequent search of his home address, officers discovered a sock containing 30 bullets. After the National Crime Agency identified four specific types of TVBFs with the potential to be readily converted into viable handguns, the law changed in February this year outlawing their ownership.

• National Crime Aency officers stopped a car in Radlett, Hertfordshire and found a loaded semi-automatic pistol and a lock knife in a bag behind the driver’s seat. They also recovered £30,000 cash and cannabis from the vehicle. Two men have since been charged with offences including possession of a prohibited weapon and possession of prohibited ammunition.

Sentences and Convictions

We are aware of at least 31 reports in October 2025 of sentences and convictions for gun crime, including:

• A 28-year-old man has been jailed for 33 years after being convicted of conspiracy to murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. In December 2020, gang members fired several shots at a car occupied by five men in Hackney, North London. Three of the men were hit, one suffering life-changing injuries. The court heard that the car had been mistakenly identified as containing rival gang members and that the 28-year-old, though not present, was involved in planning the attack and had supplied the gun used. Three other men have previously been sentenced for their part in the shooting.

• A 36-year-old man has been jailed for sixteen years after being found guilty of dangerous driving, three counts each of robbery and possession of a firearm. In March 2024, he pointed a gun at a man and his children before stealing their car in Birmingham, West Midlands. Police officers arrested the suspect after seeing him throw a gun from the stolen car. The weapon was retrieved and found to be a live firearm. The court heard that he had carried out two other car-jackings in “similar circumstances”.

• A 40-year-old man has been handed a twelve-month community order and ordered to complete ten rehabilitation activity requirement days and 60 hours of unpaid community work. In August 2025, he was involved in a fight with a man in Warrington, Cheshire. A CCTV operator saw him waving a suspected handgun as he walked away from the incident. Armed police officers and a force helicopter were deployed but the man could not be located. Later the same day, a member of the public saw the man in a park with “what appeared to be a firearm tucked into his waistband”. Firearms officers responded a second time and the man was arrested shortly afterwards. The court heard that the gun involved was a toy with no firing mechanism. However, on sentencing the judge said that people would not have known that the gun was not real and would have been “terrified”.

• Two brothers have been jailed for life after being found guilty of attempted murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. In February 2023, the older brother disguised himself as a street cleaner before hitting a man with a broom on a street in Liverpool, Merseyside. The younger brother then stepped out of a nearby alley and fired three shots at the man, all of which missed. The brothers were arrested the following month, with CCTV footage and forensics linking them to the crime. The court heard that they had come up with an “elaborate plot” to ambush their victim, but no motive was given.

• A 19-year-old has been jailed for life after being found guilty of murder. In July 2024, a man was fatally shot in Peckham, South London. Five shots were fired, after which the victim’s mother found him lying on the ground with a head wound. He died in hospital the following day. The court heard that the shooting had been a planned “execution”, with a stolen vehicle, firearm and ammunition obtained before the attack. The 19-year-old had carried out surveillance to determine the victim’s location and had been either the shooter or getaway driver.

• A 25-year-old has been jailed for life after being convicted of murder and robbery. In October 2023, he and another man stole a motorbike from a dealership in Battersea, South London. After the bike was stolen from them shortly afterwards, the two men confronted the man they suspected of being the thief. During the ensuing row, the 25-year-old shot the man in the chest at point-blank range. He was pronounced dead at the scene shortly afterwards. The 19-year-old was arrested days later in possession of a large hunting knife.

• A 45-year-old man has been jailed for 27 years after pleading guilty to drug offences, conspiracy to supply firearms, conspiracy to supply ammunition without a certificate, conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm and robbery. The man was the leader of an organised crime gang that supplied “huge amounts” of drugs and had access to weapons. After the criminal messaging network, EncroChat, was decrypted, detectives discovered messages in which the man referenced someone hiding guns at their “nana’s home”. Police officers raided the property in Newcastle, Tyne & Wear and seized a machine gun, two self-loading pistols and a viable improvised hand grenade. Drugs and another pistol were recovered from a linked address. The court heard that the gang moved drugs and cash around the country, hidden in vans that sported company logos, such as British Gas. A 28-year-old co-defendant received seven years for drug offences and conspiracy to possess ammunition without a certificate, while a 45-year-old was sentenced to eight years for drugs offences and conspiracy to possess firearms. Other gang members were sentenced for drug offences.

• Three men, two from Derby, Derbyshire, have been jailed for a total of 29 years for their involvement in planning terrorist attacks after being found guilty of preparing acts of terrorism and collecting information likely to be useful to a person preparing or committing an act of terror, with one sentence including time for manufacturing a prohibited weapon while another included time for obtaining an illegal stun gun. The court heard that the three men were “followers of an extreme rightwing Nazi ideology” and that “They justified, encouraged and glorified serious violence against and killing of persons of other races (who were) effectively seen as inferior and unworthy of human dignity or indeed life.” The men were arrested after their online group was infiltrated by undercover officers acting on security service fears of an imminent attack. They had discussed targets including mosques, Islamic education centres and synagogues, and had collected weapons including machetes, hunting knives, swords, axes, crossbows, body amour, a stun gun and a baseball bat. They also tried to acquire improvised explosives. One of the men had 3D-printed most of the components of a semi-automatic firearm and was trying to obtain the remaining parts. Defence claims that the men, who never met in person, were fantasists were rejected by the jury.

• A 28-year-old man has been jailed for sixteen months after admitting possessing a stun gun. Police officers seized the prohibited firearm, a 500,000-volt weapon that could also propel PAVA and pepper sprays, from his home in Callander, Stirlingshire in May 2024. The man claimed to have believed the weapon was legal, adding he had planned to stun himself with it during online videos to make some cash.

• A 29-year-old man has been jailed for ten years and three months after pleading guilty to possession with intent to supply cocaine, possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition for a firearm without a certificate and possession of criminal property, namely cash. In December 2024, police officers raided the man’s home in Knockholt, Kent and found a safe under some floorboards that contained almost 5kg of cocaine, over £30,000 in cash, a firearm, six rounds of ammunition, BB guns, knives, a knuckleduster and a mobile phone, The man escaped through the back garden as police arrived but was arrested a few days later.

• A 31-year-old man has been jailed for 56 months after admitting possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, possessing cannabis, two counts of racially aggravated harassment, alarm or distress, riot and burglary. His 25-year-old co-defendant received 40 months after pleading guilty to having a bladed article, violent disorder, burglary and two counts each of racially aggravated harassment, alarm or distress and racially aggravated assault by beating. In February2025, the two men were verbally and physically abusive to door staff after being asked to leave a bar in Sunderland, Tyne & Wear. When the staff members went back inside, one of the men pulled a knife from his jacket while the other banged on the doors with a firearm. The BB gun and 17 pellets were recovered later from a nearby bush. The men were also sentenced for throwing missiles at police and burgling a vape shop.

• A 39-year-old man has been jailed for 28 months after pleading guilty to possession of an imitation BB gun with intent to cause fear of violence and affray. In April 2021, the man got into a row with his neighbours in Brown Edge, Staffordshire after they decided to put up CCTV cameras on their driveway. He threatened to shoot the cameras down, adding that he would not hesitate to shoot them too. When one of the neighbours later visited his home to confront him, he threatened to smash her face in and burn her house down. As other neighbours approached, the man came out of his home with a baseball bat and swung it at a man several times. He then fetched a BB gun from his home and pointed it at another neighbour, threatening to shoot. Responding police officers arrested the man and seized the BB gun. Other imitation guns were found at the property. In a victim statement, one neighbour said she now feels unsafe in her own home, while two others have suffered poor mental health.

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: October 2025 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.