Firearm News
Northern Ireland
Who Owns Northern Ireland's 153,000 Legally Held Guns?
23 August 2012
The Detail (Ireland)
As the Department of Justice consults on proposed changes to firearms licensing laws here, The Detail can reveal information about the owners of Northern Ireland's 153,459 legally held guns.
Almost 60,000 members of the public own over 146,000 firearms with the remaining 7,018 legally held guns belonging to serving police and prison officers.
The Detail has been given rare access to information stored on the PSNI's Shogun firearms database in response to a Freedom of... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: The Detail (Ireland)
37247
England & Wales,United Kingdom,Scotland,Northern Ireland
When Are UK Cops Allowed to Carry Guns?
10 August 2011
Foreign Policy (USA)
This week's riots in Britain, which have spread from the north London neighborhood of Tottenham to the cities of Birmingham, Liverpool, and Manchester, were sparked by the Aug. 4 shooting by police of a 29-year old London man. The victim, Mark Duggan, was carrying a weapon, though tests show he did not fire it. But Britain has long been well known for having an unarmed police force. Is that still the case?
Yes, but there are an increasing number of exceptions. The... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Foreign Policy (USA)
37461
Northern Ireland
Stolen Gun Used in Dissident Republican Shooting in Northern Ireland
20 July 2011
BBC News
A gun stolen during a raid on a west Belfast home was later used in a dissident republican punishment shooting, the High Court has been told.
The loaded semi-automatic pistol was then found in the bedroom of another house in the city, prosecutors said.
Police have charged a 23-year-old man with an arms offence after DNA from the weapon was matched to their database.
Sean Megaw, of Glasvey Drive, Dunmurry, is accused of possessing a firearm and ammunition in... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
35089
Northern Ireland,United Kingdom,England & Wales,Scotland
Which UK Police Officers Carry Guns?
8 June 2010
BBC News
Q&A: Armed Police in the UK
Gunman Derrick Bird pointed a gun at two police officers during his rampage through Cumbria which left 12 people dead, it has emerged.
The county's Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Hyde said the unarmed officers tried to pursue Bird but could do nothing to stop the killings.
The incident has raised questions as to whether officers should be routinely armed on patrol.
Q. Which UK police officers carry guns?
With the exception of the Police... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
37462
United Kingdom,Northern Ireland
To Keep Hidden Handguns, Owners Join Gun Clubs in Northern Ireland
7 September 2009
Belfast Telegraph
Former members of the security forces are joining gun clubs so they can hold onto their personal protection weapons (PPWs).
With the terrorist threat from dissident republicans growing, former UDR, RIR and RUC officers in rural areas are joining local gun clubs so they won't have to surrender their PPWs.
One former UDR member who survived two IRA assassination bids said that he knows of 15 former colleagues in east Tyrone who have joined clubs to keep their weapons.... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Belfast Telegraph
30888
United Kingdom,Northern Ireland
Licensed Gun Dealer Loses 9 Handguns to IRA Robbers in N Ireland
25 November 2008
Irish Times / PA
A licensed Northern Ireland gun dealer was held up at gunpoint and robbed of a number of weapons, it was revealed today.
Three masked men, one carrying a shotgun, held up the dealer in his shop at Main Street in Garrison, Co Fermanagh on Saturday evening, police said.
Police are trying to establish whether dissident republicans are arming themselves. A Police Service of Northern Ireland spokesman said: "We are not ruling anything out at the moment."
He said a... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Irish Times / PA
28707
United Kingdom,Northern Ireland
Suicide of Loyalist Commissar Yields 80 Illegal Guns in Northern Ireland
17 October 2008
BBC News
More than 80 guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition have been found by police in a loyalist area of Belfast.
Police officers went to the Ballysillan area of north Belfast to investigate the death of a man at the weekend. It is believed he took his own life.
In follow-up searches of his house, police said they found more than 70 suspected guns.
More guns were seized from a nearby lock-up premises. The guns are thought to be linked to the UVF.
All the weapons... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
28454
United Kingdom,Northern Ireland,Ireland
Vast Extent of IRA Arsenal, Weapon Destruction Revealed
2 October 2005
Observer (UK)
Members of the IRA had to be issued with dozens of immunity-from-arrest certificates in order to transport tonnes of weapons being decommissioned last month.
The scale of the disarmament was so immense that the six certificates issued to the IRA had to be photocopied dozens of times to facilitate its "volunteers" taking guns, ammunition and explosives from arms hides to a central location in Northern Ireland.
Republican sources told The Observer that the Irish and... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Observer (UK)
18323
United Kingdom,Northern Ireland
Monitors Report Seeing the IRA's Entire Gun, Ammo Arsenal Destroyed
27 September 2005
Guardian (UK)
The IRA's entire arsenal of weapons has been destroyed, the head of the international decommissioning body said yesterday.
The retired Canadian general John de Chastelain said that he had examined "large quantities of arms" which he was satisfied made up the "totality of the IRA's arsenal". This included "a full range of ammunition, rifles, machine guns, mortars, missiles, handguns, explosives, explosive substances and other arms".
This is the first time in their... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Guardian (UK)
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