CRIME
- Paintball guns resemble 'real' guns. They can be purchased without the need for a licence or background checks etc. on the buyer. Paintball guns are accessible and available to criminals. It is likely that crimes involving threats with guns which are not fired and not recovered, may involve the use of a paintball or other imitation/bb/replica guns.
BOY SUSTAINED EYE INJURY IN PAINTBALL GUN ATTACK
A 15-year-old boy was almost blinded when he was shot in the face with a paintball machine gun in a drive-by attack in Rainham, east London. The shooting may be linked to the theft of ten high power paintball rifles, which look almost identical to an M4 machine gun, from a paintball centre in Upminster in December 2009. (See below)
A jewellers shop in Rainham has also been shot at.
Source: Romford Recorder, 15 January 2010
WOMEN ATTACKED WITH PAINTBALL GUNS
A gang of young men armed with paintball guns has been taking pot-shots at prostitutes in Leicester. The men are cruising in a car and have struck several times in recent weeks.
Source: Leicester Mercury, 22 October 2009
VANDALISM WITH PAINTBALL GUNS
A number of vehicles on the A14 around Haughley, Suffolk, have been targeted with a paintball gun.
Source: East Anglian Daily Times, 26 November 2009
The cost of dealing with incidents involving paintball guns and other imitation/bb/replica guns has to be met out of Police budgets, and funded ultimately by members of the public. Such incidents represent the hidden costs to society due to the availability of paintball /bb/imitation/replica guns.
DANGERS
Paintball pellets contain substances which are harmful to the environment, wildlife and people. Safety advice and protective clothing is essential. The face, eyes, throat and spine are particularly vulnerable and players should be advised not to aim for these regions.
MEDICAL EVIDENCE
In 2006 the journal 'Injury Prevention' published a report based on a study carried out at the Indiana Academy of Ophthalmology. The study referred to increasing numbers of injuries associated with paintball games, which accounted for 4% of the workload. In all cases eyesight was severely affected, bleeding and swelling being the most common problems suffered by patients. Four patients needed urgent surgery and in two cases the damage was permanent. Injuries treated included:-
- Black eye
- Corneal abrasions and cuts
- Haemorrhaging of the vitreous which contains the eyeball fluid
- Retinal detachent
- Glaucoma, or increased pressure in the eye
MOORFIELDS EYE HOSPITAL LONDON
A spokesperson for Moorfields Eye Hospital expressed concerns about the increase in numbers of eye injuries caused by paintball activities being dealt with by the hospital.
Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/552535.stm
UK PAINTBALLING FATALITY
A game of paintballing ended in tragedy when Kenneth Costin, a 39-year-old father of two died from a stroke after being hit in the neck by a paintball. A post mortem revealed that Mr. Costin suffered a major stroke probably triggered by the velocity of the paintball. Dr. John Xeureb, Consultant Neurologist at Addenbrookes Hospital Cambridge said: 'I have listened to the evidence of the team and they sway me more with the link to paintballing..." Recording his verdict, Mr. Morris said he was satisfied it was the paintball game which led to Mr. Costin's death.
Source: www.News.bbc.co.uk
Infer Trust is concerned that some paintballing promotional information fails to deal adequately with the personal safety issues, and paintball guns cannot always be relied upon to be accurate in delivering the projectiles to the area of body the player intended to target.
PAINTBALL GUNS USED IN LAW ENFORCEMENT
In 2004 Boston Police Department used slightly modified paintball guns to deliver pepper spray in a crowd control situation. Twenty-one year old Victoria Snelgrove was hit in the eye and died of her injuries twelve hours later. (To read about this tragedy hover on 'Gun Types' and select 'Paintball Guns). The Officers on crowd control duty would have had access to information regarding the vulnerability of eyes etc. when deploying weapons to disperse crowds and consequently, following the tragedy, there have been concerns regarding the inaccuracy of some paintball guns.
The weapon that killed Victoria Snelgrove was manufactured by Fabrique Nationale de Herstal. After this fatality, several police forces, including the Seattle Police Department, discontinued use of the model FN303. Following this there were further claims regarding the inaccuracy of this gun, and in November 2006 The Journal of Testing and Evaluation published a paper on the subject.
http://www.astm.org/JOURNALS/TESTEVAL/PAGES/
PAINTBALL SITES MARSHALLS/STAFF
There are concerns regarding the recruitment of staff and the awareness of health and safety issues by marshalls etc. employed to carry out safety etc. checks following a recent prosecution.
- A man has admitted firing a paintball gun at a colleague in Ratho, Edinburgh. Calvin Blyth was found guilty of culpably and recklessly discharging a paintball gun. His victim has suffered long-term damage to his eye after being shot. Blyth was a paintball marshal at a paintball centre where the two men were cleaning and doing safety checks. Blyth was given 150 hours community service (BBC, 30 April 2009).
Source: BBC, 18 March 2009
PAINTBALL WEAPON STORAGE
There is no legislation regarding safe storage of paintball guns and security of paintball premises can therefore be unsatisfactory. Legal owners of paintball guns, dealers and sites all contribute to gun crime when these guns are misappropriated by criminals.
For example:-
Thieves stole a number of paintball guns from a centre in Farr, Highland. A large quantity of sweets and soft drinks were also taken.
BBC: 10th July 2009
Twenty dangerous paintball guns and explosives have been stolen from a company in Harewood Forest, Hampshire. Thieves forced open a storage unit and made off with a range of replica weaponry and ammunition.
Source: BBC 12th May 2009
