Sponsored by
Ortons: Youth injured in airgun attack
POLICE have issued a warning about the dangers of airguns after a teenager was left injured by an unknown attacker who shot him while walking along Blackmead, in Orton Malborne.
POLICE have issued a warning about the dangers of airguns after a teenager was left injured by an unknown attacker who shot him while walking along Blackmead, in Orton Malborne.The 17-year-old, who did not wish to be named, was shot in the right leg at 1.30pm on Friday (12 February).
The air gun pellet entered the front of his leg and lodged between his shin and calf bones so deeply that a two-hour operation had to be carried out at Peterborough District Hospital to remove it.
The attack has prompted police to issue a warning to airgun owners that the weapons can cause serious injury if used on people.
A Cambridgeshire police spokesman said: "Although we are treating this incident as an isolated one, this was still a dangerous act. Any weapon in the wrong hands is dangerous. Airguns should never be aimed at people."
The young victim says he is too frightened to leave his home after the attack.
The youth, a former student at Marshfields School in Dogsthorpe, did not see his attacker, but police believe the shot may have been made from a window.
He said: "I was shocked when it happened. I felt a little sting in my leg, it didn't hurt that much, but when I got home I was bleeding and I called my brother to take me to hospital. I'm still scared to go outside in case it happens again."
Police are currently trawling through CCTV footage to look for clues as to the attacker's identity.
The victim's father said he wants to see the perpetrators caught to prevent anyone else getting hurt. He said: "I don't know if it was an airgun or something else, but regardless, it was still a gun."
He said the consequences could have been more serious, adding: "It could have been a small child."
Anyone with information should contact police on 0345 456 456 4 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Family's gang problem forcing them to leave
THE family of the victim believe the attack was down to gang with a history of intimidation in the Orton Malborne area.
Two days after the shooting, the victim's brother, who lives in Paynells, had a brick thrown through his window.
Police are now working closely with housing associations to find the family somewhere else to live.
The victim's father said: "I'm concerned about other people in the area. If someone is shooting people with an airgun, then they could eventually kill someone."
The area has had gang problems before. In October 2008, a gang of vandals went on a rampage across Orton Malborne and Orton Longueville and, in April 2006, 20 yobs attacked a man who asked them to stop a wrecking spree outside his pub in Orton Malborne.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Peterborough
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -3 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 0 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South west
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.