September 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 September 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 September 2025.

Figure 1: September 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 six reports concerning gun deaths in September 2025:

• A man died in hospital after being shot on a street in Clapham, South London. A second gunshot victim was discharged after treatment. No arrests have yet been reported.

• After three men reportedly forced their way into a house in Hemsworth, West Yorkshire, one of them was fatally shot. The other two alleged intruders have been charged with forcing entry into a property, aggravated burglary and having a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence while a fourth man was charged with possession of a prohibited weapon and production of a Class B drug.

• Paramedics responding to reports of a shooting in a park in Stoke Newington, North London treated a man and a woman for gunshot wounds at the scene. The man, referred to by police as the suspect, was later pronounced dead in hospital. It is believed that the man and woman were known to each other. A firearm was recovered at the scene.

• Following a shooting in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, two men were found critically injured in a car. One man died at the scene, while the other remains in hospital with life-threatening injuries. No arrests have yet been reported.

• A man has died five days after being shot in Wolverhampton, West Midlands. Another man was killed during the attack. Police have named a suspect they want to speak to in connection with the incident, but no arrests have yet been reported.

• A teenage boy has died four days after being shot in Wembley, North London. A man has since been charged with murder, while two others face charges of attempted murder. Seven other people have been arrested in connection with the shooting.

Inquests

We are aware of one report of an inquest in September 2025 relating to a gun death:

• The coroner at the inquest into the death of a man in Brecon, Powys in September 2024 has recorded a verdict of suicide. The man was found dead, with his licensed shotgun underneath him, on a road next to his vehicle. He had suffered a shotgun wound to the head. The inquest heard that he had been experiencing “personal difficulties” before his death.

Armed Domestic Violence and/or Victim Known to Perpetrator

We are aware of four reports in September 2025 that we believe to relate to the above:

• See Deaths above — A man has died and a woman is being treated for gunshot injuries after being found in a park in North London.

• A Metropolitan Police officer has been dismissed for coercive behaviour towards an ex-partner following a disciplinary hearing. The teenage male, who was training for a role on an armed response unit at the time of his relationship, reportedly pointed an imitation Taser stun gun at his partner’s head during “cosplay sex”, restricted her contact with family and friends and controlled her finances. He also tracked her movements and accused her of cheating. Another former partner told the panel that he had pointed a fake gun at her head several times. After the man was arrested in September 2024, a training Taser, three imitation pistols and a fake rifle were seized from his home in Maidstone, Kent. He also had Met handcuffs, a training baton, a small hunting knife, force helmets and counterfeit Counter-Terrorism Special Firearms Officer badges. The case did not meet the evidential test for prosecution, but the man has been placed on the College of Policing barred list.

• A 35-year-old from Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire has been jailed for fourteen months. In March and April 2024, the man sent abusive and threatening messages to his grandmother, as well as two videos of him cocking what looked like a handgun. When police officers arrested him, they found an imitation gun at his home. The court heard that he had sent the messages after falling out with his grandmother because she wouldn’t allow him to use a vehicle.

• A 43-year-old man has been jailed for eighteen months after hitting a woman with a replica handgun. In March 2023, the man had a drink with a woman acquaintance before they both went to his flat in Truro, Cornwall. Following a disagreement, the man grabbed an imitation handgun from a wall display, pointed it at her face and told her to get out. He then cocked the gun and hit her on the face, causing her to fall over, smash her glasses and cut herself. When police officers arrested him later the same day, they found “numerous firearms” at his home. He was also made subject of a five-year restraining order preventing him from contacting the victim.

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

We are aware of three reports in September 2025 related to the above:

• See Inquests above — A coroner reached a verdict of suicide in the case of a licensed shotgun owner in Powys. 

• Armed police officers were deployed after a man armed with a machete allegedly robbed a taxi driver in Gloucester, Gloucestershire. During a struggle with the suspect, a police firearm was discharged, hitting an officer in the leg. He was treated in hospital for injuries not thought to be life threatening. The incident has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. 

• Police issued images of two men they would like to speak to in relation to the theft of a blunderbuss gun and seventeen antique pocket watches from a museum in Exeter, Devon. The gun is believed  to date back to the early 19th century.

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

• Police Officers tasered and arrested a man after he crashed a car following a high-speed chase in Bristol. The driver has since pleaded guilty to driving offences including dangerous driving, failing to provide a specimen for analysis, driving without insurance and driving while disqualified.

• The Independent Office for Police Conduct has opened an investigation after a man died in police custody in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. Hours before, the man called police threatening to harm himself and others. Responding officers tasered him when they found him hurting himself. The man, who had taken drugs, suffered seizures and was taken to hospital “for medical care and to have his self-inflicted wounds treated and the Taser barbs removed”. His condition deteriorated and, despite medical intervention, the man died. An inquest has been opened and adjourned, the cause of death not yet established.

• An Independent Office for Police Conduct misconduct panel has concluded that a police officer was justified in his actions when he tasered a man in Haringey, North London in May 2020. The panel accepted that the officer had believed he and his colleagues were facing an imminent threat from the man, who he thought was carrying a knife. The man, who was tasered as he ran away from officers, fell from a wall and was left paralysed and needing a wheelchair. In April 2022, the Crown Prosecution Service charged the officer with assault occasioning grievous bodily harm, but he was later acquitted.

Animal Death and Injury

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

• X-rays revealed that a peregrine, found grounded in Hammersmith, West London, had a shotgun pellet in his leg. It has not been confirmed whether the pellet caused the grounding or whether it was an old injury. The 14-year-old bird is one of London’s resident breeding peregrines.

• A horse, shot in a field in Deighton, Yorkshire, was found with a ball bearing lodged in its neck. Police have appealed for information.

• Police appealed for information after a cat was shot with a pellet gun in Nairn, Scottish Highlands. No arrests have yet been reported.

• A cat is undergoing treatment after being shot with an air weapon in Innerwick, East Lothian. The cat had been missing from home for a few weeks when he returned, barely able to walk with a back wound. He has been left with parts of metal in his spine and bladder damage. The attack has been reported to police and the Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

• A cat underwent surgery to remove his eye after being shot with an air weapon in Stoke, Staffordshire. The attack has been reported to police.

• After staff from a wildlife hospital rescued a fox that had fallen into a basement lightwell in Brentwood, Essex, they found an air rifle pellet lodged in her skull. It is believed she was shot some time ago.

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 one report in September 2025 relating to the above:

• A 44-year-old man has been jailed for nine years after admitting importing guns into the UK. In May 2025, Border Force officers stopped his car at the port in Dover, Kent and found 61 self-loading pistols hidden in the voids of the flooring.

Sentences and Convictions

We are aware of at least 28 reports in September 2025 of sentences and convictions for gun crime, including:

• A 35-year-old man has been jailed for life, with a minimum term of 45 years, after being convicted of murder. In February 2024, he used a handgun to fatally shoot a man once in the head and five times in the body as he was leaving a gym in Skelmersdale, Lancashire. The court heard that the man had found an illegal mobile phone in the 35-year-old’s cell some years before when he was working at HMP Altcourse. The man offered his victim £1500 not to report the find, which revealed he was in a sexual relationship with a female prison officer. The man refused and the 35-year-old vowed revenge, saying he would “bide his time”. Detectives discovered phone and vehicle data showing that 35-year-old had stalked his victim to learn his daily schedule before shooting him.

• Five men and a teenage boy have been jailed for life after being found guilty of murder. In April 2024, a man was fatally shot outside his home in West Kensington, West London in what was described in court as a “planned and organised execution” linked to a drug dispute. An 18-year-old used a handgun to shoot the 21-year-old victim in the chest after a 22-year-old lured him outside his home. A 24-year-old, two 19-year-olds and a 17-year-old boy were part of a mob waiting nearby with knives as back up. Following a thorough investigation using CCTV and forensic evidence, police officers quickly identified the suspects and tracked down those who had fled the country. The five men received sentences totalling over 167 years.

• A 69-year-old from Orcheston, Wiltshire has been fined £80 and ordered to pay costs after pleading guilty to possessing an air rifle while prohibited. The man, serving a suspended prison sentence for causing cattle to suffer in squalid conditions and breaching a disqualification order, is banned from having firearms or ammunition for five years.

• A 33-year-old man has been jailed for a minimum of 34 years after being found guilty of causing grievous harm with intent and attempted murder. In May 2024, he played a “key role” in a gangland shooting in Hackney, Noth London, scouting the target area and driving the shooter away after he fired at three men outside a restaurant. A young girl was also hit and left with a bullet lodged in her brain that has caused long term physical and cognitive problems. The male victim suffered wounds to the arm, leg and thigh. The shooter remains at large, while the defendant refused to identify the person who recruited him.

• Seven men have been jailed for a total minimum of 149 years for their involvement in the fatal shooting of a man in Greenock, Inverclyde in February 2023. One of the men pleaded guilty to murder while the remaining six were convicted of murder and attempted murder. Their victim was shot in the head in the doorway of his mother’s house and died in hospital shortly afterwards. Eight bullets were fired into the property, occupied by the victim’s mother and other relatives, including children. The court heard that, while it is not known who fired the gun, all the defendants conspired in the “criminal plan”.

• A 41-year-old man has been jailed for twelve months and made subject of a five-year restraining order after admitting to wounding causing physical harm. In January 2023, the man used an airgun to shoot a man out walking his dog in Holyhead, North Wales. The victim required surgery after being hit in the face and chest. The court heard that the assailant also tried to bite the man’s ear during the unprovoked attack.

• A 60-year-old man from Studland, Dorset has been ordered to carry out 80 hours of unpaid community service and pay costs after pleading guilty to using threatening or abusive words or behaviour and possessing ammunition for a firearm without a certificate. In July 2024, the man told a boy to leave his house after finding him outside his daughter’s bedroom in the early hours of the morning. Upset that the boy did not apologise to him, the man drove his tractor to the boy’s home after a drinking session and shouted abuse at him and his mother before threatening to get his gun and shoot them. Police officers removed the man’s air rifle and shotguns following the incident.

• A 21-year-old man has been jailed for four years, with a further three years on licence after pleading guilty to three counts of assault by beating, two counts of sexual assault, possession of an imitation firearm with intent, possession of an imitation firearm whist committing a schedule one offence and inflicting actual bodily harm. In addition, he was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault and engaging in sexual communication with a child. In September 2024, whilst under investigation for assault and sexual offences, the man confronted a person in Crewe, Cheshire, asking if they had threatened a friend of his. During the conversation, the 21-year-old mentioned that he was armed and the person saw a BB gun in a holster under his jacket. He was arrested three days later after carrying out another sexual assault.

• A special forces soldier has been handed a six-month suspended prison sentence after admitting to performing a duty negligently. He was also ordered to pay his victim £5,000 in compensation. In January 2019, the defendant was taking part in a hostage drill when he shot a comrade seven times with live ammunition. The court heard that the soldier had failed to pack blank ammunition separately when preparing for the exercise as he “didn’t want to be the last person ready”. He then mistook live rounds for blanks while reloading his assault rifle in the dark. The victim, who was shot in the abdomen, chest and arms, suffered life-changing injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder. He believes that his decision to wear body armour, not compulsory for the exercise, prevented him from being killed. On sentencing, the judge said that the defendant’s culpability had been reduced by several fallings by the unit, including the cancellation off a safety briefing.

• A 39-year-old man and a 38-year-old man both from Warrington, Cheshire, have been jailed for twenty-six years, eight months, and eleven years, four months, respectively, after pleading guilty to firearms offences and conspiring to inflict grievous bodily harm by trying to get another man to throw acid in the face of a rival. After the criminal messaging network, EncroChat, was decrypted, texts revealed that the older man had smuggled firearms into the UK, while the younger man sold them on to criminal gangs. The pair advertised military-grade weapons, and the National Crime Agency and policing partners recovered a number of these as well as hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Some of the weapons sold were used in shootings in the UK.

• A 29-year-old man and a 19-year-old man have each been jailed for five years after admitting possession of firearms and ammunition. In January 2024, specialist officers saw the younger man handing over a bag to the older man in Birmingham, West Midlands. Armed police officers intercepted the older man’s car shortly afterwards and recovered the bag, which contained two loaded handguns, a sawn-off shotgun and ammunition. Following sentencing, a police spokesperson said, “These guns could have caused death, injury and untold damage to communities in the West Midlands, and their removal, and the jailing of the two men who were handling them, has made the region safer.”

• A 30-year-old man has been handed a suspended eighteen-month prison term, ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and ten Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days, and wear an alcohol-abstinence monitoring device for 90 days after admitting possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear and possession of CS gas. In August 2024, the man visited another man’s home in Grimsby, Lincolnshire and, following a row, pointed an air pistol at him. Police officers later recovered the weapon and a can of CS spray from the 30-year-old’s home address.

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: September 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** 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. 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; 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.