Teenager Sentenced for Firing BB Gun at School Children

An Edinburgh teenager, who shot eight primary school children with his BB gun because he was "letting off steam" while studying for his Highers, has been ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work in the community. Jack Hewitt, 18, was a pupil at George Watson's College in Edinburgh in May 2013 when he began firing at the children playing during their lunch-break at Gilmerton Primary School.

Hewitt, who was 17 at the time of the incident, pled guilty at the city's Sheriff Court in December that year to culpably and recklessly discharging a firearm on May 30, 2013. He admitted firing the gun from the bathroom window of his home in The Spinney, which overlooked the playground. The court heard that teachers were puzzled when children began complaining about being hit by something. When they found BB pellets on the ground they contacted the police and Hewitt was traced. He told the officers: "I was just letting off steam. I'll never do it again". He added that he had been taking his Highers at the time. Of the children, all in primaries four and five, one girl was struck on the forehead, another just below the eye, and others had red marks and bruising on their arms,legs and stomach. Sentencing Hewitt, Sheriff McColl said that taking into account his previous lack of offending and his early plea of guilty, she would reduce the period of unpaid work from 300 hours to 200 hours. Part of the blame for the offence, she said, lay in "the fascination of young people with firearms".