Boy sentenced for wielding gun at shopkeeper

A boy who wielded a gun at a shopkeeper, before being apprehended by his own friend, has been sentenced.

Before Bolton Crown Court, the 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear, possession of class A drugs and attempted handling of stolen goods.

Yesterday (Wednesday 23 December), he was sentenced to an eight-month detention and training order.

On Friday 23 October, the boy went into a shop on Queensway to try and buy alcohol. Witnesses described him as being loud, already appearing to be drunk.

He went to the counter with some alcohol but the shopkeeper refused to serve him and the boy became abusive.

His friend spoke in Urdu to the shopkeeper, trying to warn him the boy had a gun, but the shopkeeper, who suspected the boy was already drunk, still refused.

The boy then pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the shopkeeper. His friend then apprehended him to try and stop him and the pair struggled. As this was happening, the victim struck the boy with a baseball bat in self defence.

Detective Constable Ben Harris: "While this boy is one of Rochdale's most idiotic criminals, he committed a very serious offence, which has been reflected in today's sentence.

"The victim was shaken up and was within his right to defend himself the way he did.

"The boy wanted to cause fear and I hope the communities of Rochdale are reassured that we do not tolerate the use of guns."