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Armed thugs,Armed police,Gun use in UK UP
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
But no armed self defense for law abiding citizens:
ARMED ROBBER HOLDS UP CENTRE
11:00 - 30 July 2002
An armed robber held up a member of staff at Lockleaze Community Centre and stole cash before locking the man in an office and making his getaway.
The shocked man was confronted at about 11pm on Sunday night.
He was then forced into the centre in Romney Avenue by the assailant, who had what appeared to be a hand gun.
The robber was a slim white man, aged between 25 and 35, about 6ft tall with a pale complexion.
http://www.thisisbristol.com/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=86419&command=displayContent&sourceNode=86416&contentPK=2245117
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
ARMED ROBBER HOLDS UP CENTRE
11:00 - 30 July 2002
An armed robber held up a member of staff at Lockleaze Community Centre and stole cash before locking the man in an office and making his getaway.
The shocked man was confronted at about 11pm on Sunday night.
He was then forced into the centre in Romney Avenue by the assailant, who had what appeared to be a hand gun.
The robber was a slim white man, aged between 25 and 35, about 6ft tall with a pale complexion.
http://www.thisisbristol.com/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=86419&command=displayContent&sourceNode=86416&contentPK=2245117
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Comments
By Andrew Hirst, The Huddersfield Daily Examiner
A BRAVE lorry driver tried to stop robbers who fled after raiding a Huddersfield petrol station.
Two masked and armed thieves went into Sovereign Service Station in Shepley early today.
They escaped with cash and cigarettes before speeding away in their getaway car.
A passing lorry driver saw what was happening and tried to force the car off the road with his vehicle - but the thieves managed to escape.
The drama started at 5.10am when a 57-year-old man was working alone at the station on Lane Head Road.
The two robbers walked in, one armed with a silver handgun and the other with a knife.
One jumped over the counter and the other rushed round to confront the shocked cashier.
Sgt Bob Filby, of Huddersfield police, said: "They demanded to know where the money was and took cash from both tills.
"They then ordered the cashier to fill a blue and cream bag full of cigarettes and one of the thieves helped him to put them in the bag.
"They escaped with the cigarettes and a relatively small amount of cash."
Both thieves wore masks and gloves.
The gunman is about 6ft, slim and wore a black quilted jacket, blue jeans and a cap.
The knifeman wore a two-tone blue top and grey hat.
The car sped off down Barnsley Road towards Denby Dale.
Police are now anxious to trace anyone who saw it.
Contact Det Con Derek Moorhouse on 01484 436582.
http://ichuddersfield.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100localnews/page.cfm?objectid=12076742&method=full&siteid=50060
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
The city has been rocked by a series of shootings over the last few days, which have left four people injured. Police have stepped up patrols in a bid to reassure the public and catch those responsible. Crime Correspondent STEVEN SHUKOR reports
The most visible reaction to the spate of shootings across the city is more police patrols.
The heightened presence is aimed at providing reassurance following attacks that have left four people needing hospital treatment.
The force's specialist armed response units have also been placed on standby.
There were five separate shootings in nine days across the city between Thursday, July 18, and Saturday.
They have caused alarm among community leaders faced with the evidence of what they describe as a growing "gun culture".
And it has led Nottingham South MP Alan Simpson to call for more stringent penalties for firearms possession.
Notts's Assistant Chief Constable, Peter Ditchett, told the Post: "We are actively involved in pursuing our inquiries into a number of firearms-related incidents that have occurred during the last week.
"As well as carrying out inquiries based on information we are receiving, we are talking to community leaders in our continuing efforts to secure the arrest and successful conviction of those responsible.
"We have increased our high-visibility street patrols in some key areas and as usual our armed officers are available to be deployed as required."
Beat officers deployed in the areas where the shootings took place are also there to encourage people to come forward with information.
But despite the number of firearms incidents, community leaders believe the police do have the situation under control.
Mr Simpson wants those caught in possession of a firearm to receive a minimum five-year prison sentence.
Together with Hackney MP Diane Abbott, he is pressing Home Secretary David Blunkett for a change in the law.
He has had several meetings with Mr Blunkett, who said he would consider the idea as part of a raft of proposals to address violent crime.
Mr Simpson said: "Every one of us has grounds to be worried about the increase in gun-related crime because it takes us into a quite different dimension of violent crime.
"Gun crime allows for a randomness of brutality which takes you down a path closer to America.
"I have no desire to go in that direction. That's one of the reasons I have been calling for automatic five-year sentences for anyone caught in possession of a firearm.
"There is no circumstance in which you can legitimately defend walking around in public with a gun.
"I am fairly clear that whether these are gang-related or drug-related, there are people within the community who will know those who are carrying guns.
"My plea is to people within the different communities to speak out, even anonymously, to make sure police know before it turns out to be your child or your brother or your sister who's on the receiving end.
"It is our collective failure to blow the whistle on this that ends up allowing that gang or gun culture to dominate our lives."
The first of the five shootings was on July 18, in Old Basford.
A 17-year-old was shot in the leg after the car he was travelling in was fired at in Fenton Road.
The following Monday, Mohammed Yousaf Hussain, 36, suffered serious chest wounds after being gunned down in a garage in Forest Fields.
On Friday, a 33-year-old was shot outside the Drum nightclub, in Bulwer Road, Lenton, at 2am.
The same day Courtney Gordon, 23, was shot twice as he cycled along Alfreton Road during the rush-hour.
He was hit in the stomach and groin after an argument with a group of men in a white saloon car.
He was put under heavy sedation following surgery on his wounds.
Police hope to interview him sometime today.
And on Saturday afternoon a man was seen brandishing a handgun and another an axe, in George Street, Hockley.
Police say an argument might have broken out and shoppers reported hearing a gun being discharged.
Armed officers searched the scene but found no traces of a shooting. Georgina Culley, Conservative group leader and member of Notts Police Authority, said: "People are right to be concerned about the shootings and I, like everybody else, am concerned as well.
"There's clearly been a demonstrable rise in the situation over the last week and I'm hoping the police will begin to tackle the situation."
Police authority chairman John Clarke said he was alarmed at the randomness of the shootings.
"I am very concerned but quite confident that the force will deal with it because they are highly trained," he said.
"At the moment they seem to be in control of most of these shootings.
"The problem is you never know when or where they are going to happen.
"It's worrying for the city because it could put people off coming here. It's a shame because it's not the norm.
"There appears to be an increase in the use of guns. I would call for an increase in the penalties for possession of firearms."
Joe Robinson, a member of the Partnership Council, a community action group covering NG7 including Hyson Green and Radford, said: "The big problem is the fear these kind of incidents create. Coming together in such a short time makes it feel that it's more common than it might actually be.
"People will get scared about things that they may never actually experience in their own lives.
"While we hope that the police solve these crimes, in the long term everyone must work together in reducing violent crime.
"As a resident myself, Nottingham is probably like every city in Britain.#
"It has all the good points but it also has some bad points."
A common sight
Armed policemen are not an uncommon sight on the streets of Nottingham.
For the past two years, as part of Operation Real Estate, officers with guns have patrolled the inner-city.
This year armed response vehicles, carrying marksmen armed with Hecklers and Koch MP5 submachine guns, have been called to hundreds of incidents.
All armed officers in Notts are put through an intensive training course lasting several weeks.
They retrain four times a year, and are made to re-qualify for the unit at least once a year.
An armed unit is only called if the police, or the public, are in danger from someone with a firearm.
Firstly, a fast response vehicle containing armed officers will be called.
If there is enough time, a tactical unit, containing a sergeant and ten armed constables, will also go to the scene.
Communities caught in firing line
There is currently no minimum sentence for people caught in possession of an illegal firearm.
Under the Firearms Act, the maximum sentence for possession of a prohibited weapon, such as a pump action shotgun, is five years.
For possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, the maximum penalty is life in prison.
Possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence carries a maximum ten-year sentence.
Nottingham South MP Alan Simpson is calling on Home Secretary David Blunkett to impose new, stricter sentences for firearm possession.
His call follows several meetings with Notts police chiefs and community groups in Radford, St Ann's and Hyson Green.
"People within the community must know who is carrying guns," he said.
"The possession of a gun cannot be taken as an equivalent to the possession of other weapons, such as a baseball bat or piping, which people have fights with.
"To go out tooled up with a gun is qualitatively different. You are talking about the ability to inflict random injury, maybe death, on people in the most casual and arbitrary terms.
"You don't have to be involved in an affray to become a victim of it.
"The prospect of large numbers of people innocently being caught up in crossfire is dramatically increased if you accept the emergence of a gun culture.
"It is for that reason I am saying to the Home Secretary we ought to consider a five-year automatic sentence for possession of a gun."
http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=66056&command=displayContent&sourceNode=65583&contentPK=2244207
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
16:00 - 29 July 2002
A sniper hidden in undergrowth shot a man on an Aberdeen street today.
The 29-year-old victim was hit in the leg in the attack at the Mounthooly roundabout.
He was walking on Hutcheon Street towards the Gallowgate with his girlfriend at about 4.20am when he was shot.
The sniper - armed with an air rifle - was concealed in greenery in the centre of the roundabout.
He fired one pellet when his victim was about 300 yards away, hitting him in the left leg.
The victim's girlfriend saw the gunman ducking down after firing the shot.
The sniper - dressed in a long, dark coat - then fled in the direction of Nelson Street.
The victim limped about half a mile to Queen Street police station to report the attack.
He was taken by ambulance to Accident and Emergency at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
His injuries were not thought to be serious.
Today a Grampian Police spokeswoman said: "This was a random and dangerous attack which could have caused more serious injuries.
"We're anxious to trace the reckless individual who did this."
She said they did not think the gunman knew the victim and there were no other attacks over the weekend.
Although the attack happened at night, the area was very well lit.
http://www.thisisnorthscotland.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=84106&command=displayContent&sourceNode=83936&contentPK=2238853
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
16:30 - 29 July 2002
Drug dealers and macho culture have been blamed by police for soaring gun crime across Derbyshire.
And the number of violent crimes recorded by police have also rocketed by more than 50 per cent in the last 12 months.
New police figures have revealed that the number of firearm related incidents in Derbyshire have risen by 60 per cent in 12 months.
Officers believe this is due to criminals involved in the sale of illegal drugs increasingly resorting to arms.
Deputy Chief Constable Bob Wood said: "An increase in the possession of firearms can be attributed to problems with drug dealing and macho culture."
Police logged a total of 275 firearm related incidents between April 2001 and March 2002, with an armed response vehicle dealing with 253 calls.
In the previous 12 months, there were 174 reports of gun incidents, with armed officers responding to 149.
A total of 118 arrests were made in connection with fire-arm crimes over the 12-month period.
In a report to go before tomorrow's meeting of Derbyshire Police Authority, the force reveals that 4,481 violent crimes were recorded between April 1 and June 30 this year - 1,570 more than in the same period last year.
But Chief Constable David Coleman said new rules for recording this type of crime were responsible for magnifying the increase.
"The implementation of the National Crime Recording Standard and the crime audit process has significantly contributed to the increase in this crime category," he said.
The new counting system was introduced on April 1 and aims to promote greater consistency between police forces in the recording of crime.
In March 2002, before the new counting system was introduced, 1,188 recorded violent crimes were recorded - an increase of 20.9 per cent on the figure of 983 for March 2001.
But in April 2002, after the changes were introduced, 1,395 violent crimes were recorded - a massive 51.3 per cent increase on the figure of 922 for April 2001.
Derbyshire police spokeswoman Jill Walden said: "The new recording system does not apply to firearms offences, which have always been recorded the same way.
"For violent crime, we used to record offences reported by victims who wanted police action to be taken.
"Now if someone reported a suspected assault we would have to record it even if the victim did not wish to make a complaint."
In the past twelve months a total of 13 real guns, 70 replica weapons and 27 air guns have seized and melted down by police.
The previous year saw officers recover 14 guns, 25 replicas and 14 air guns.
Overall, reported crimes rose by 22.7 per cent from 23,087 for April to June 2001 to 28,328 for the same period this year.
Valerie Giles (39), of Boscastle Road, Alvaston, said she was "disgusted" by the fact violent crime is rising.
Mrs Giles' son Gavin (15), a paperboy, was pushed to the ground by a thug who stole his ?200 mountain bike in February.
"When it is dark I don't go out to the shops or anything because it is just too dangerous.
"I think if there were more things for the kids to do violent crime might go down again," she said.
http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=64387&command=displayContent&sourceNode=63914&contentPK=2240326
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
By Steve Madeley and John Corser
Jul 30, 2002, 3:19pm
Part of Dudley town centre was sealed off after armed police were called in in response to a firearms incident today.
Officers, including a West Midlands police armed response team, closed off Churchfield Street and Richmond Road.
The drama began at about 11.12am when police received a report of someone armed with a gun in Richmond Road.
Dudley North officers were first on the scene and they cordoned off the area.
A West Midlands police spokeswoman said officers were called out to a report of a person in possession of a gun. She said that there were no reports of a gun being fired and no one had yet been arrested.
"Officers are at the scene and investigations are ongoing. Richmond Road has been closed," she added.
A police mobile control centre was also brought in.
An unconfirmed report said that officers were trying to get a mobile phone into one of the houses in the closed street.
A number of onlookers assembled at the scene to watch the incident unfold. Some said they were residents who wee not being allowed back to their homes.
Two eyewitnesses, who did not want to be named, said rumours were circulating that a woman was holding her mother hostage.
Another man said he had attempted to walk up Churchfield Street but had been escorted by police to King Street via an alternative route.
He said officers had told him that someone was "holding a gun to somebody."
Malcolm Taylor who works at Extreme Motors in King Street said: "All of a sudden lots of police vehicles pulled up and asked to use our car park.
"A lot of them were armed. So we knew something serious must be going on. An ambulance then turned up but we couldn't tell exactly what was happening. It Looked like some sort of siege."
http://www.expressandstar.com/artman/publish/article_7800.shtml
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Two armed raiders escaped with thousands of pounds after pointing a handgun at a female worker in a betting shop.
The robbers struck between 10.10am and 10.20am yesterday at Premier Racing, in Radford Road, Radford.
A 45-year-old female employee had just opened up, and police said there were no customers in the shop.
Det Con John Fanti said the pair used an alleyway at the back of the row of shops to get into the premises.
Once inside, they confronted the woman worker, pointing a handgun at her.
She was forced to open the safe and cash till, and the robbers are believed to have escaped with about ?4,000.
Det Con Fanti said: "Although the employee was not hurt, she was obviously very scared and shaken by what happened."
The thieves, both wearing hooded tops and scarves covering their faces then fled out of the rear of the shop.
Witnesses saw them run through the alleyway into Dugdale Road, before going into Wyley Road.
They jumped into a red car parked at the corner of Wyley Road and Radford Road, and drove off towards Engleton Road.
The worker was sent home to recover, but boss John Bell was open for business as usual by yesterday afternoon.
The two robbers are described as Asian and aged in their 20s. One was 5ft 6 and the other was about 6ft.
Anyone with information can contact police on 024 7653 9082.
http://www.expressandstar.com/artman/publish/article_7800.shtml
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878