A couple who were found shot dead in a car were the parents of a two-year-old boy, police said yesterday. Detectives believe that Tony Easthope, 34, shot his former girlfriend Lucy Carter, 23, with his own rifle before turning the gun on himself. Their bodies were found in Mr Easthope's car on Saturday by a neighbour of Miss Carter's in Scunthorpe, North Lincs. The rifle was near the car. A post-mortem examination revealed that they both died from gunshot... (GunPolicy.org)

LONDON — A new generation of weapons light enough for 10-year-olds to use is helping to create child armies of killers and torturers deliberately recruited by adults, Amnesty International said today. "Around the world there are at least 300,000 children fighting in armed conflicts and thousands more who could be sent into conflict," human rights lawyer Rachel Brett told a news conference. "The development of lightweight automatic weapons that are light enough and... (GunPolicy.org)

A spurned lover shot dead his ex-girlfriend then killed himself — leaving their two-year-old son orphaned. Steelworker Tony Easthope, 34, was found dead in his car with Lucy Carter, 23, after a last attempt at reconciliation had failed. Their little boy Ethan was asleep in the care of a babysitter as gun club member Easthope blasted Lucy in the head with a rifle, then turned the gun on himself. Neighbours said that on New Year's Eve he had asked Lucy to marry him... (GunPolicy.org)

WASHINGTON — The FBI blocked 11,584 gun sales during the first 41 days of its new computerized, instant-check system and took steps to catch 1,541 would-be gun buyers who were wanted for arrest, the bureau said Monday. Most of the 11,584 denials were for prospective gun buyers who turned out to be convicted felons, the FBI said. FBI background checkers verified there were outstanding arrest warrants for 1,541 of the buyers, and the FBI advised either the state or... (GunPolicy.org)

Bethel Park, Pennsylvania — At a time when school officials are so skittish about weapons that some have even banned water guns, high school students routinely fire lethal-caliber bullets on campuses. Largely overlooked during the implementation of "zero-tolerance" policies toward guns on campus are school-sanctioned competitive rifle teams. "I think schools are sitting ducks," said Kenneth Trump, who operates National School Safety and Security Services in... (GunPolicy.org)

Community sponsors supporting Waukesha County's second gun buyback program already have surpassed the $5,000 in cash donations collected for the first such event in 1997, despite concerns by pro-gun advocates about the activity. "It shows that many people here are concerned that this is a health and safety issue, and Waukesha County — in addition to society — needs to address it," John Wallschlaeger, a member of the Crime Stoppers of Waukesha County Inc., said of... (GunPolicy.org)

NEW YORK — New York State's new attorney general is weighing a lawsuit against gun makers as a way of cutting down on accidental shootings and ensuring that strict local laws on firearm sales are not skirted, his spokesman said Monday. "Some top people at the bureau are looking at how do you sue gun manufacturers as a state," Marc Violette, the spokesman for the New York State's new attorney general, Eliot Spitzer, said, adding that he believes it would be the first... (GunPolicy.org)