Pensioner whose grandson shot teenager in Kesgrave fined for failing to store shotgun properly
He admitted to failing to comply with shotgun certificate conditions.
Last updated 16th Jul 2021
A pensioner whose teenage grandson took one of his shotguns and blasted a 15-year-old boy in the face as he walked to school has been fined ÂŁ500 for leaving a shotgun, that was not the one used in the attack, insecurely.
His 16-year-old grandson, who was last month found guilty of attempted murder, took a 12-gauge Beretta and drove to Kesgrave, near Ipswich in Suffolk, in his father’s car.
The boy then shot his victim, whom he had known since primary school, from less than 5ft (1.5m) away on September 7 last year – the first day back since the first national coronavirus lockdown.
The teenager’s trial at Ipswich Crown Court was told that the victim’s injuries were “devastating and life-changing” and that he has been left “partially paralysed”.
The boy’s grandfather, from Ipswich, admitted in an earlier hearing at Ipswich Magistrates’ Court to failing to comply with a condition of a shotgun certificate, a court official said.
The charge relates to a Beretta 20 bore shotgun, which was not the weapon that his grandson shot the boy with.
The defendant admitted that on September 7 last year he “failed to comply with a condition subject to which a shotgun certificate was held by you, namely leaving a Beretta 20 bore shotgun insecure in a utility room”.
A court official said the defendant, who was sentenced at Ipswich Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, was fined £500 and ordered to pay £105 costs and a £50 victim surcharge.
Suffolk Police said the force had revoked the man’s shotgun certificate.
The defendant’s grandson is due to be sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court for attempted murder on September 3.