There is a widespread belief that "low powered" airguns are not particularly dangerous. They are cheap to buy, and can be bought without any background checks and no licence. Almost half of all gun crime is committed with airguns and they continue to be involved in many fatal shootings.  There is a dangerous cultural perception that airguns are 'boys toys'.   Follow the link below to view a video which addresses this perception.

/http://www.youtube.com/profile?v=kgt6ZhsxuO4&user=scottishgovernment  

The data confirm that a majority of all recorded gun offences are being committed with weapons that do not require registration.  Offences with airguns and imitation guns accounted for almost half of the total.

Source:  Crime Figures for England & Wales

AIRGUN FATALITIES INVOLVING CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE AS VICTIMS AND PERPETRATORS

Rhys Johnson, aged ten, killed after being shot with an air weapon pellet while playing with a 12 year old friend near his home in Llansamlet, Swansea on 27th September 2009.

Jonathan Cooke, aged five, killed after being shot with an air weapon pellet while playing with several other children and an adult in a garden during a weekend camping holiday in Wiltshire in August 2009.

Sam Shaw, aged fifteen, killed after being shot with an air weapon pellet while playing in a garden with his brother and a friend in Hayes, West London in March 2009.

Rachel Davis, aged eighteen, killed after being shot with an air weapon pellet while socialising with friends in a flat in Bury, Greater Manchester, in December, 2008.

Rashid Ullah, aged eighteen months, killed after being shot with an airgun pellet in a garden where his father had left a loaded air weapon which was accessed by a five year old in Birmingham on 1st September 2008.

Danny Marsh,  aged seventeen, killed after being shot with an airgun pellet while with his cousin and a friend in a garden shed at the house of his grandmother in Maesglas in November 2007.

Mitchel Picken, aged twelve, killed after being shot with an airgun pellet while playing at the home of a friend where a gun owning father had failed to store his gun responsibly, enabling access to the gun in Staffordshire in August 2006

Andrew Morton, aged two, killed while being carried by his cousin, after being shot with an airgun pellet fired from a window by a sniper in Glasgow in March 2005.

Alex Cole, aged twelve, killed after being shot with an airgun pellet while playing at the home of a friend where a loaded air weapon belonging a friend's father had been left under a bed, enabling access to the gun by the children in Doncaster  in May 2005

Scott Heap, aged eleven, killed after being shot with an airgun pellet while playing at the home of a friend in Scotland in October 2004.

Matthew Sheffield, aged fourteen, killed after being shot with an airgun pellet while playing with friends in a garden in Stockton on Tees in April 2001. 

George Atkinson, aged thirteen, killed after being shot with an airgun pellet while playing with a cousin at the home of an aunt near Mold in July l999.

Margaret McEwan, aged eight, killed after being shot with an airgun pellet while playing with a cousin at the home of an aunt in Warwickshire in August 1995.

Danny Sondergaarde, aged fourteen, killed after being shot with an airgun pellet while playing with his sister and friends at home in Kent in August 1994.

Matthew Fowkes, aged ten, killed after being shot with an airgun pellet while playing in woods with his sister and brother while other people were shooting nearby in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire in l989.

Infer Trust is working with victims, parents and others to reduce the number of incidents where children and young people access airguns and use them with devastating consequences. These tragedies are predictable and avoidable and are linked to issues of irresponsible owners, the casual culture surrounding these guns, 'boys toys' image, and lack of safe storage. If you, or someone you know, has any gun and/or amunition (including a "low powered" airgun and pellets) which you believe may be being treated casually or stored irresponsibly, eg. in a wardrobe, under a bed, in a cupboard, shed, garage, outhouse, or car etc. action should be taken immediately to store the gun safely. 

If you know of a gun which is no longer required please contact your local police who will advise regarding disposal.

AIRGUN FATALITIES INVOLVING ADULTS

Robert Lettin, aged 57, killed after being shot in the chest with his own air rifle during a robbery at his home in Cricklewood in January 2007

Thomas Nicoll, aged 72 killed after being shot with an airgun pellet at his home in Winchburgh, Scotland in August 2007.

Graeme Baxter, aged 32, killed after being shot with an airgun pellet at the home of a drunken friend in East Calder, Scotland in April 2006.

Stephen Callaghan, aged 37 died after being shot with an air rifle and attacked with a cricket bat in Cottingham Hull on 26th December 2006 

Jonathan Hughes, aged 21, killed after being shot with an airgun pellet in Castleford, West Yorkshire in November 2004

Theresa Brooks, aged 36, killed after being shot with an airgun pellet in Hull in August 2002.

Isabelle Lewis, aged 38, killed after being shot with an airgun pellet, stabbed and mutilated in New Addington, Surrey in l998

Karen Floyd, aged 27, mother-of-three, shot dead with an airgun pellet at her home in Milton Keynes in July 1995. 

AIRGUN SUICIDE

Elaine Hollier, aged 44, from Malvern, suffering from a depressive illness and worried about debt, bought an air rifle and used it to take her own life on the following day, 12 May 2009.

John Robinson, aged 60, from Borras, suffering from depression and other illnesses used his airgun to take his own life in July 2008.

Ian Brotherhood, aged 47, from Derbyshire suffering from depression, used his airgun to take his own life in June 2008.

In the case of Ian Brotherhood H.M. Coroner, Dr. Robert Hunter wrote a 'Rule 43 letter' to the Home Secretary to request a review of the law relating to airguns. Mr. Brotherhood had previously threatened to harm himself using his airgun, but the Police reported they were unable to sieze the gun due to current legislation.

Charles Jones, aged 69, killed himself with an airgun which he had kept in the loft of his home in New Addington in September 2005

Nasseri Hussein, aged 26, an Iranian assylum seeker killed himself with a modified airgun in a children's playground in Eastbourne in June 2004

Jason Wardle, aged 29, a naval rating who killed himself using an air rifle following a siege at a flat in Helston, Cornwall in November 2003 

These tragic events draw attention to the lethality and availability of airguns to those suffering from depression, mental illness, alchohol abuse, etc.  

MENTAL HEALTH AND AIRGUN OWNERS

Gun owners suffering from certain mental health issues, pose a danger to themselves and others.  Infer Trust welcomes current proposals from the British Medical Association for G.P.'s to flag medical records of patients having access to guns.  However, the proposals will not extend to unlicensed air weapons and bb guns although many airgun / bb gun owners suffer from mental health problems which could impair judgement, and many take prescribed medication for conditions which may also lead to impaired judgement regarding the use of guns.

For example:-

Andrew Baker has been jailed for six years after pleading guilty to false imprisonment and possessing an imitation firearm and a firearm.  During the incident at a house in Glyncoch, Mid Glamorgan, in January 2010 he had asked another man to fetch guns from his (Baker's) parents' house, and had held a ball-bearing gun to the heads of both the man and his 17-year-old daughter and also threatened them with an air rifle.  He also shot the gun inside the house.  When an armed police response unit arrived he let his victims go but did not follow police instructions to put down the gun and was tasered several times.  Baker was taking diazepam medication at the time and could not recall the details of the incidents.  He had a significant history of mental health issues.

Source: Pontypridd Observer, 20 May 2010

For more information on this issue visit the "Gun Incidents" page and select "suicide/self harm" or "mental health" from the "Issue Type" drop down menu.

If you or someone you know is suffering from stress, depression, debt problems or a mental or physical illness, access to any gun, including a bb gun or "low powered" airgun, could be dangerous and inappropriate.  Please contact a Doctor, a mental health worker, the Police or Infer Trust for advice and support.

If you have been affected by suicide contact Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide, a national registered charity, you will find their contact details on our "links" page. 

AIRGUNS AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Because "low powered" airguns can be bought relatively and cheaply and easily and without any background checks on the suitability of the gun owner, they are regularly used by criminals. Airguns are bought and used by those with a history of drug abuse, alcohol abuse, mental illness, antisocial behaviour, violent behaviour and domestic violence.  Even when victims are not physically injured by shots from airguns the trauma of being threatened with a gun can have long term life changing consequences for adults and children who witness, or are involved in armed domestic violence. 

The immense financial and human cost of dealing with these incidents is met by Hospitals, General Practitioners, the Ambulance Service, Police, the Justice System, Local Authorities, Housing Organisations, Social Services and others, from funds provided by the public. 

For example:-

John Begg has been jailed for two years and two months after threatening to shoot his former partner if she tried to take their child away from him. Wielding an air pistol, the 21-year-old Begg pointed it at his ex-girlfriend in March in Wick, Highland threatening her in front of the child.

Source: John O'Groat Journal, 11 June 2011

An air rifle was confiscated from a house in Sittingbourne, Kent, where a man jumped from a chimney after an hour-long stand-off with police.  He was wanted by police after allegedly breaching bail conditions for an offence of domestic assault.

Source: This is Kenty, 2 February 2011

Richard Jackson shot his partner in the leg during a drunken assault.  The attack happened when he returned drunk to their home in Tamworth, Staffordshire.  He threw two punches at her and then ran upstairs to get his air rifle to find her cornered in the back garden.  He has admitted assault causing actual bodily harm, criminal damage and cultivating cannabis and been jailed for two years.

Source: Tamworth Herald 12 August 2010

Paul Thompson has admitted arming himself with an air pistol during a family brawl in Dagenham, east London, in December 2008.  He was attacked by his son and his son's stepfather after he pointed the gun at his ex-partner.  The other two men have been found guilty of affray and are facing jail.

Source: Barking & Dagenham Post, 23 June 2010

The jockey Eddie Ahern has been arrested on suspicion of assault and possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear.  The arrest followed an altercation with his girlfriend in Newmarket, Suffolk.  The firearm is understood to have been a broken air rifle.  He was released with no charge and commented that "this is a private matter which is now resolved".

Source: Racing Post l8 April 2010

Christopher Howse has admitted threatening his girlfriend and her friend with an airgun in January 2010.  He claimed he had been drinking.  He had pointed the loaded .22 air rifle inches from the other man's face and threatened to blow his head off.  He shot a pellet into the ceiling of the caravan in Chale, Isle of Wight.  The victim escaped after an ordeal lasting an hour.  Howse was in breach of a condition discharge imposed for assaulting his girlfriend.  He has been jailed for two years.

Source: Isle of Wight County Press, 26 February 2010

AIRGUNS AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE

Airguns are used to threaten and control and enable sexual violence. 

Two men have denied raping and sexually assaulting a woman in a pub in Checkendon, Berkshire, in May 2009.  It is alleged that the woman was too afraid to fight because she thought one of the men owned an air rifle which was in the property.

Source: Get Wokingham 29 July 2010

To read about more airgun crimes click on 'Gun Incidents' and from the 'Issue type' option select  'airgun'. For more information about airguns hover on 'Gun type' and select 'airguns'.

                                  
AIRGUNS AND OTHER CRIME

"Low powered airguns can be bought relatively cheaply and easily with no background checks on buyers regarding their suitability to own a dangerous gun. Airguns are responsible for about half of all gun crime and about a quarter of all gun injuries.

For example:-

Shaheur Rahman, 19, who lives in Tower Hamlets, east London, has been jailed for two and a half years for assault causing actual bodily harm and possessing a firearm. He shot another Londoner with an air gun while the two were both in Swansea. One day after legally buying the weapon in Swansea, Rahman shot the victim five times in what the court referred to as a 'pre-planned revenge attack.'

Source: This is South Wales, 4 November 2011

A 12-year-old boy was shot in the elbow with an air gun in Norwich. The boy required hospital treatment for the injury, which police believe may have been connected to attacks on two vehicles. The window of a bus was smashed, and a window on a van was also struck, causing shards of glass to injure the driver.

Source: Heart, 9 October 2011

A woman was shot in the leg by what was thought to be an air rifle pellet in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire. She was left with a wound that required hospital treatment.

Source: This is Scunthorpe, 10 October 2011

Matthew Rennison fired a rifle in front of a couple and their two-year-old daughter as he robbed a shop in Leeds in November 2009.  He was with an unknown accomplice and fled with cash and cigarettes.  He has been jailed indefinitely and must serve a minimum of two years and 81 days.  The weapon was an air rifle later recovered from a property linked to Rennison (Yorkshire Evening Post, 16 August 2010).

Source: BBC 12 August 2010

AIRGUNS ACCESSED BY FAMILY MEMBERS

We are concerned about the incidents involving guns belonging to associates and/or family members, taken by perpetrators and used in crime. 

For example:-

A couple feared for their lives when a teenager held a .22 air rifle to their heads. David Edgerton, 19 put the gun to the cheek of a man and told him he would shoot him. The incident arose after he was released from custody for an offence involving the car belonging to the victim. Edgerton of Leeswood, Clwyd, admitted possessing a rifle belonging to his father with intent to cause fear of violence.  He received two years youth custody.

Source: Daily Post, 12 September 2009

To read about more airgun crimes click on 'Gun Incidents' and from the 'Issue type' option select  'airgun'. For more information about airguns hover on 'Gun type' and select 'airguns'.

AIRGUNS AND DRUGS 

"Low powered" airguns can be bought relatively cheaply and easily with no background checks on buyers regarding their suitability to own a dangerous gun. Airguns are therefore often the guns of choice for those using, dealing and producing drugs. 

For example:-

Stephen Easey has been banned from driving for three years after police caught him sleeping in a car while drunk in Cambridge. Easey, who admitted to heavy drinking and using cocaine, was also in possession of an air rifle. He was found guilty of failure to provide a specimen and keeping the weapon, while the charge of possessing the air rifle in a public place was reportedly dropped due to lack of evidence. In addition to the driving ban, Easy was also fined £645.

Source: Cambridge News, 8 November 2011

David Johns has been found guilty of possessing firearms and ammunition when prohibited. Johns, who is banned from keeping air guns for five years after being jailed for nearly three years following a pair of assaults, had two air guns in his pub in Bolton. Police discovered the prohibited weapons during a search for cannabis that went unsuccessful. A judge noted that due to Johns' previous sentence, he will not be jailed for this crime.

Source Bolton News, 16 September 2011

A drug dealer who was caught with a loaded gun, crack cocaine and cannabis has been jailed for five years for possessing a firearm and a further five years of possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply.  Richard Allen also received further sentences for other drug offences and for possessing ammunition without a certificate.  Allen was stopped in his car in Bromley, south London, in January 2010 following a tip off.  The gun was found at an address in Catford where he was staying.  The weapon was a Cuno Melcher ME9 Para-22D air pistol which had been modified to fire live rounds.

Source: East Anglian Daily Times, 22 September 2010

Kayley Steel from Walderslade, Kent, was one of two drug dealing brothers who pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply crack cocaine.  He also admitted possession of an air weapon and ammunition.  He was sentenced to 32 months in prison.

Source: Kent News, 19 February 2010

An air rifle, a crossbow and suspected cannabis plants were found by police during a raid in Rastrick, West Yorkshire. 

Source: Evening Courier, 15 February 2010

To read about other similar incidents click on "Gun Incidents" and under "Issue Type" select "drugs".

AIRGUNS AND ALCOHOL

"Low powered" airguns can be bought relatively cheaply and easily with no background checks on buyers regarding their suitability to own a dangerous gun.  Airgun crimes are regularly associated with alcohol and drunkenness.

For example:-

Stephen Easey has been banned from driving for three years after police caught him sleeping in a car while drunk in Cambridge. Easey, who admitted to heavy drinking and using cocaine, was also in possession of an air rifle. He was found guilty of failure to provide a specimen and keeping the weapon, while the charge of possessing the air rifle in a public place was reportedly dropped due to lack of evidence. In addition to the driving ban, Easy was also fined £645.

Source: Cambridge News, 8 November 2011

A cat owner found her pet dead in the garden in Farringdon, near Exeter, East Devon on Sunday 26th July 2009. The perpetrator was identified and admitted to firing in the vicinity the previous evening. The pellet extracted from the cat was matched to the type of pellet used with his air rifle. The perpetrator also admitted to drinking alcohol before going out to shoot. The owners took action involving the civil court and were able to ensure that the perpetrator paid a considerable sum of money to meet vet's bills etc.

Source: Correspondent August 2011

Paul Renshaw has pleaded guilty to brandishing an air rifle in a store in Alness, Ross-shire, in July 2010 alarming customers and staff as well as causing fear and alarm to other, and breaking of the peace.  He also pleaded guilty to assaulting a man.  He had been drinking when he and two friends walked to the shop where he brandished his air rifle.  He was later seen bare-chested in the streets still carrying the rifle.  He has been jailed for 22 months.

Source: Press & Journal, 1 September 2010

Michael Crook was seen by bus passengers walking over a bridge in Barrow, Cumbria, with a gun.  Later he took the weapon, an air pistol, into a bar, cocked it and waved it around.  The barman confiscated the gun.  He was too drunk to know or remember if it was loaded.   The gun had been a spontaneous purchase bought the same day from a fishing shop where Cook had gone to buy a fishing rod.  He had fired it into his own arm at his flat to test how dangerous it was.  He pleaded guilty to carrying an air weapon in public.  He has been given a 12-month community order with 12 months supervision and a three-month curfew order

Source: North-West Evening Mail, 11 August 2010.

David Gray walked into the A&E department of a hospital in North Manchester carrying an air rifle.  He had been drinking before the incident in December 2009 (see Incidents).  He pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear and to possessing a firearm while prohibited and was jailed for two years.

Source: Manchester Evening News, 17 June 2010

Angus Arthur, 18, was drunk and high on drugs when he threatened a woman with an airgun and stole her handbag at a music festival near Silloth in Cumbria in August 2009 (see September 2009 Incidents).   He has admitted robbery and possessing a firearm with intent to cause violence.  He has been jailed for five years (News & Star, 2 February 2010). 

Source: Fleetwood Weekly News, 1 November 2009

To read about other similar incidents click on "Gun Incidents" and under "Issue Type" select "alchoho

AIRGUNS - FINANCIAL COST TO THE PUBLIC

Senior Police Officers have expressed their concerns regarding the financial cost of armed response team call outs and other police officers responding to firearms iincidents which ultimately are found to be BB, replica, air weapons or imitation guns. This happens as a result of various circumstances including when those facing stressful situations have access to weapons, including air weapons.  The cost of responding to these incidents is met by the public, not the perpetrators who waste police resources and public money by their use of such weapons.

For example:-

Firearms officers surrounded a house in Launceston, Cornwall, amid concerns that a woman objecting to being evicted had access to an air rifle.  A woman was arrested after more than four hours of negotiation and the police were "in possession" of the air rifle.

Source: Cornish Guardian, 25th May 2010

Members of the public alert local Police when they see or hear individuals brandishing or firing guns including air weapons, bb guns and imitation/replica guns.  The cost of these operations is currently met by taxpayers, not the perpetrators, who waste police resources and public money by their irresponsible use of such weapons. 

For example:-

Vincent Martin who took a loaded air rifle into woods in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, sparked an armed police response.  He has pleaded guilty to possessing a loaded air weapon in a public place.  He claimed he did not know he was breaking the law.  He had bought the weapon in town for £30 planning to use it for target practice in the woods.  He was given a 12 month community order and ordered to pay costs and complete 100 hours of unpaid work.  The weapon will be destroyed.  In May another man was caught carrying an airgun in the same woodland (see September 2009 Incidents).

Source: Weston & Somerset Mercury, 22 November 2009

Following convictions legislation provides opportunities for courts to order the recovery of costs from perpetrators.  However, in many cases no action regarding use of public resources is taken, and costs are met from the public purse, and/or victims, not perpetrators. 

For example:-

A 16-year-old from Llanelli, Dyfed, who admitted shooting an air rifle at members of the public has been given a conditional discharge.  A man was hit in the head at the railway station in January 2010.  (See incidents). The air rifle will be destroyed.   

Source: South Wales Evening Post, 26 May 2010

Full firearms officers and air support were deployed to deal with the above incident.  Train services were suspended.  The rail company is understood to have incurred a loss in excess of £5000 

AIRGUNS OWNED BY THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN BANNED FROM OWNING GUNS

Because "low powered" air weapons can be bought relatively and cheaply and easily with no background checks and regardless of whether or not the buyer has been banned from owning guns, there are frequent cases of criminals who have been prohibited from possessing guns due to previous convictions, being in possession of air weapons. 

For example:-

David Johns has been found guilty of possessing firearms and ammunition when prohibited. Johns, who is banned from keeping air guns for five years after being jailed for nearly three years following a pair of assaults, had two air guns in his pub in Bolton. Police discovered the prohibited weapons during a search for cannabis that went unsuccessful. A judge noted that due to Johns' previous sentence, he will not be jailed for this crime.

Source: Bolton News, 16 September 2011

A man formerly from Hartlepool, Teesside, has been charged with two counts of possessing an air pistol and one of possessing ammunition after being arrested during an armed raid on his house in July 2010.  He was banned from owning any firearm for five years under the conditions of his release from a previous custodial sentence.

Source: Peterlee Mail, 29 October 2010

Wesley Harvie from Oakhurst, Swindon, had been drinking when he pointed an SMK air rifle at the spy hole in a friend's front door and threatened to blow it in and shoot him.  He was convicted of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of unlawful violence and jailed for four years and three months.  He had previous convictions for violence including affray, carrying a weapon and common assault.

Source: This is Wiltshire, 22 September 2010

David Gray walked into the A&E department of a hospital in North Manchester carrying an air rifle.  He had been drinking before the incident in December 2009 (see Incidents).  He pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear and to possessing a firearm while prohibited and was jailed for two years.

Source: Manchester Evening News, 17 June 2010

A man from Chichester, West Sussex, who pleaded guilty to a number of sex offences also admitted possessing ammunition for a shotgun when banned for five years and possessing an air rifle, again while banned for five years.  David Lacey was jailed for four years.

Source: The Argus, 8 June 2010

North-West Evening Mail, l4 January 2010

Infer Trust and others are particularly concerned about the dangers posed by the possession of guns by those with a criminal record whom Courts have prohibited from ownership.  Private sales of "low powered" airguns are currently unregulated, and firearms dealers are not required to carry out background checks on individuals buying "low powered" airguns. 

AIRGUN INJURIES WHICH ARE 'ACCIDENTAL'

We are aware of a number of instances where children are injured by adults who are 'messing around' with air weapons in the home while caring for or playing with very young children.  In these instances adults (usually men) claim they didn't know the gun was loaded.  The problem of the 'boys toys' image of air weapons, compounded by the lack of registration makes it more likely that owners of air weapons fail to regard the guns as lethal weapons, but rather as 'toys' and treat them casually with serious consequences for small children. 

For instance:

A two-year-old boy is to undergo surgery after being shot in the neck with an air rifle in Winthorpe, Lincolnshire.  The boy's father is believed to have fired the gun without knowing it was loaded.  He was arrested and released on bail (Independent, 18 August 2010).

Source: BBC l7 August 2010

Michael Thomson has admitted culpable and reckless conduct and possessing a loaded weapon.  A three-year-old boy was shot in the chest with an air rifle at Thomson's home in Selkirk in February 2010. Sentencing was deferred.

Source: BBC 18 August 2010

AIRGUN INJURIES

Airguns are responsible for a quarter of all gun injuries.  Because there are no registration requirements for low powered airguns there is a widely held belief that these weapons are not 'real' or are 'less dangerous' than guns which do require registration. This is not the case.  As well as fatal shootings involving airguns, many people suffer injuries inflicted by airguns. The total number of airgun injuries is nearly two-and-a-half times the number of injuries caused by shots from handguns and shotguns combined.

A man was arrested and charged with shooting an 11-year-old boy with an air rifle in Hull. The boy needed an hour-long operation after apparently being shot in the leg while playing with friends on a green.

Source: Yorkshire Post, 14 June 2011

For example:-

A man is recovering in hospital after being shot with an air rifle in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester.  He was walking along a canal when he was shot in the back and a pellet became lodged in his lung.  He remains in a stable condition.

Source: Bury Times, 1 July 2010

A man has been shot in the head with an air pistol pellet in Jaywick, Essex.  It is believed that an individual had been firing pellets at various stages prior to the shooting and that the victim's car also sustained damage.

Source: Clacton and Frinton Gazette, 1 July 2010

A teenager was rushed to hospital after being shot in the head with an airgun pellet.  The incident occurred between Handsacre and Hill Ridware in Staffordshire.

Source: Staffordshire Newsletter 1 July 2010

A 4-year-old boy required surgery after he was shot with an airgun as he and his mother were walking in a park in Stoke, Plymouth.  His mother heard a crack the moment before he fell to the ground screaming.  An X-ray showed a pellet lodged in his leg.

Source: The Herald (Plymouth) 21 April 2010

A 14-year-old boy was taken to hospital after being shot with an air rifle on a housing estate near St Austell, Cornwall.  A pellet was removed from his neck.  A man was arrested and later released on bail.

Source: BBC 11 February 2010

A five year old girl is being treated in hospital after she was shot in the neck with an air rifle while playing with her ten year old brother and an uncle who was looking after them at their home in Muirhouse Lanarkshire while their mother visited a neighbour.

AIRGUNS AND EYE INJURIES

The eyes are particularly vulnerable in airgun attacks.  There are several incidents where people, adults and children, have sustained airgun pellet injuries to their eyes which are so serious that the eye has had to be removed, resulting in blindness in one eye.

For example:-

Bradley Pullen, 16, from Tavistock, Devon, opened fire on a 14-year-old boy with an air rifle and shot his victim in the eye in May 2010.  The .177 pellet detached the retina and lodged in the eye socket.  "The gun was of limited power but caused catastrophic injury".  Pullen pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm and possessing a firearm at the time of committing an offence.  He has been told he is at grave risk of immediate custody.

Source: Herald (Plymouth 2 November 2010

Dean Tromans fired an air rifle at a 19-year-old while he was high on drink and drugs.  The victim had to undergo emergency surgery and has been told by doctors it is likely he will lose the eye.  Tromans, who had previous convictions, admitted wounding and also possessing a .22 calibre air rifle which had been fitted with a crude silencer.  He and another man used the gun for target practice using tin foil and pellets as ammunition at a premises in Lye, West Midlands, before turning the gun on the victim.  He has been jailed for five years.

Source: Stourbridge News, 17 December 2009

Doctors and surgeons continue to draw attention to the dangers of airgun use.  There are a number of published research papers which can be accessed from www.pubmed.gov using keywords eg. air weapon  injuries etc. or select 'Research' from our 'Links and Resources' page.

AIRGUN STORAGE AND THEFT

Airguns which do not require registration are not subject to any 'safe storage' legislation.  The consequences, according to Home Office statistics, are that airguns are the most frequently 'misappropriated' weapon.

For example:-

An air rifle was among hundreds of items stolen from schools in Lothian in the past two years.  The school in Edinburgh has subsequently improved its security.

Evening News 31 August 2010

Nine high-powered air rifles were stolen from the fishing and shooting lodge at the hotel in Gleneagles, Perthshire.

Source: Daily Record, 31 August 2010

An air rifle was stolen in a burglary at a home in Walpole, Suffolk.  A silencer and scope/sight were attached to the gun.  Nothing else was stolen.

Source: Beccles & Bungay Journal, 13 August 2010

An air rifle was among items stolen during garage burglaries in New Addington, south London, March 2010.  A number of youths, all under 18, have been arrested at three addresses in the area.

Source: Croydon Guardian, 20 April 2010

An air weapon was stolen from a caravan parked in a garden in West Lothian Scotland.

Source:Evening News 9th July 2009

IRRESPONSIBLE AIRGUN OWNERS

Irresponsible owners leave airguns propped up in kitchens, on tops of wardrobes, under beds, in sheds, cars and outhouses. The lack of safe storage legislation results in children accessing airguns left lying around in homes, sheds etc. with devastating consequences.  (See the list of airgun fatalities at the top of this page.)

For example:-

Mitchel Picken, aged twelve, killed after being shot with an airgun pellet while playing with two boys at the home of a gun owner who failed to store his gun responsibly, enabling access to the gun in Staffordshire in August 2006. 

Infer Trust, victims, families and others are working to raise awareness of the problems caused by irresponsible storage of all guns, including airguns. If you, or someone you know, has a gun and/or amunition (including a low powered airgun and pellets) which you think may be stored irresponsibly, eg. in a wardrobe, cupboard, shed, garage, outhouse, or car etc.  they are creating a  potentially dangerous situation.  Immediate action should be taken to store the gun safely if it is still required. 

If the gun is no longer required please contact your local police who will advise regarding disposal.

AIRGUNS AND CRIMINAL DAMAGE/VANDALISM

There are thousands of cases of criminal damage involving airguns.  Many involving public transport and services, eg. trains, buses, cleansing vehicles, ambulances and fire engines are targets.  Street lighting, bus shelters, shop windows, cars, and domestic windows etc. are also regular targets of airgun attacks.  The financial cost to businesses, insurance companies, local authorities, transport network providers, and home owners etc. is ultimately bourne by the wider community in increased charges for goods and services etc. There are also 'hidden' costs of inconvenience, delay and disruption which occur as a result of misuse of airguns.

For example:-

An air rifle was fired at a window in Brockholes, West Yorkshire, smashing an outer pane of glass.

Source: Huddersfield Daily Examinder, 6 February 2010

If you or someone you know is involved in activities which could result in criminal damage, please contact Crimestoppers UK (Trust), a charity helping to prevent and solve crimes which allows you to give information anonymously about crimes that affect you and your local community. You can contact them directly online, or on 0800 555 111

AIRGUNS AND ANIMAL CRUELTY - CATS

It has been estimated that fourteen thousand cats are killed and injured each year by airgun attacks.  Many of these attacks prove fatal, others result in long term injuries, some are relatively minor.  In cases of serious injuries pet owners have to meet expensive vetinerary bills for treatments and procedures needed by their pet.  In some cases successful prosecutions have resulted, and those responsible have been obliged to pay for the pet's treatment.

For example:-

A cat owner found her pet dead in the garden in Farringdon, near Exeter, East Devon on Sunday 26th July 2009. The perpetrator was identified and admitted to firing in the vicinity the previous evening. The pellet extracted from the cat was matched to the type of pellet used with his air rifle. The perpetrator also admitted to drinking alcohol before going out to shoot. The owners took action involving the civil court and were able to ensure that the perpetrator paid a considerable sum of money relating to vet's bills etc.

Source: correspondent August 2011

AIRGUN CRUELTY OTHER ANIMALS AND BIRDS

As well as animal cruelty involving cats, the misuse extends to other domestic animals eg dogs. rabbits, donkeys and horses, farm animals and large numbers of birds, especially swans, ducks and geese.

For Example:-

A dog was shot and killed with an air gun in Hampshire. Police said two neighbours reported hearing a single gunshot but the dog was found dead after being hit near the ribcage.

Source: BBC News, 19 July 2011 

A dog was shot in the head and left lying in deep water in Cardiff.  The animal sustained horrific injuries before dying.

Source: BBC 1 November 2010

A reward has been offered for information on the person who shot dead a female swan with an air weapon at a country park in Rotherham, South Yorkshire.  She was brooding six eggs at the time.

Source: Yorkshire Post. 22 June 2010

In August 2008 Phil Bishop a retired TV executive used his legally owned air rifle to shoot dead a dog belonging to his neighbour after becoming annoyed at its barking.  The owner has been left devastated by the death of 'Foggy' a much loved member of her family, and has lost weight and suffered sleepless nights.  Bishop, Chairman of a parish council claimed he had not meant to hit the dog and was aiming for a metal bench to scare the dog away.  He admitted causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and was ordered to pay costs and compensation to his neighbours.

For more information visit http://www.rememberfoggy.com/

Infer Trust is working with others to raise awareness regarding the deliberate acts of animal cruelty committed using guns, including airguns, and to ensure that pet owners and gun owners understand it is a criminal offence to cause unnecessary suffering to an animal, and are aware that both criminal and civil remedies are available to those affected.

If you or anyone you know has been affected by gun misuse relating to animal cruelty please contact us, your local Police, or Crimestoppers UK (Trust) a charity helping to prevent and solve crimes which allows you to give information anonymously about crimes that affect you and your local community. You can contact them directly online or on 0800 555 111

CALLS FOR SCOTTISH LICENSING OF AIRGUN

Figures from Scotland's chief statistician showed that 211 people were killed or injured by guns over the year, down from 248 in the previous year. Of these, 38 victims were under 10-years-old and 46 were aged between 11 and 15.  Crimes involving guns and fatal shootings have fallen over the year. Scottish police recorded 1125 firearm offences, a drop of 11% on the previous year. Airguns accounted for just over half the total, leading to renewed calls on Westminster to devolve firearms legislation to enable Scotland to create their own laws.  Previous attempts to discuss a Scottish pilot were rejected by Westminster, which has responsibility for the Firearms Act 1968.

The Scottish Government has launched a campaign to raise public awareness about the dangers of airweapons, imitation guns and bb guns. To see a short video about airgun misuse click here.