Three jailed after Lancaster firearms discharge
It happened in 2023.
Last updated 8th Aug 2025
Three men have today been jailed after shooting a firearm at a car in Lancaster.
Connor Lynch, 26, of Long Acre, Bamber Bridge, Sean Corless, 40, of no fixed abode, and Niall Thompson, 29, of no fixed abode, all appeared in the dock before Judge Graham Knowles at Preston Crown Court today after the incident in 2023.
The below footage shows them driving away in a stolen car, after the firearm was fired from the vehicle.
The incident began when Thompson committed a burglary, at around 8:30pm on 25th January 2023. He broke into a house on Whams Lane in Lancaster and stole a blue BMW series 2.
He drove the car through Lancaster, on his way to Heysham, keeping in contact with Lynch and Corless as he did so.
At 10:23, the BMW arrived on Ennerdale Close and reversed towards a nearby car. A single shot was fired at the vehicle, shattering the rear windscreen, and causing extensive damage to the bodywork.
The BMW then drove off at speed, mounting the pavement and narrowly avoiding a collision with an oncoming taxi.
The firearm, whilst never recovered, was thought to be a shotgun, due to the damage caused, and pellet marks located on the other vehicle.
The BMW continued on to Heysham, where it was abandoned on a farm track near to Meldon Road. They then set the BMW on fire, to destroy any forensic evidence.
Enquiries led to locating a number of items which had been discarded on the route between where the BMW had been abandoned, and a property where it had visited before the incident.
These items included a can of Jack Daniels & Coke, which had DNA that matched Corless, and a glove that had DNA matching both Lynch and Corless. The glove also held gunshot residues, which consist of the particles that are expelled when a gun is fired.
Lynch, Corless and Thompson were all identified as a result of our enquiries and were arrested. When Lynch was arrested, he told our officers “I knew it was coming anyway.”