Monkseaton shootings

Monkseaton shootings
Location Monkseaton, North Tyneside, England, United Kingdom
Date 30 April 1989 (1989-04-30)
Attack type
Murder
Weapons Shotgun
Deaths 1
Non-fatal injuries
14
Perpetrator Robert Sartin

The Monkseaton shootings occurred on 30 April 1989 in Monkseaton, North Tyneside when Robert Sartin killed one man and left fourteen other people injured during a twenty-minute shooting spree. It remains, along with the 1978 crimes of Harry Williams, 1987 Hungerford massacre, 1996 Dunblane massacre and the 2010 Cumbria shootings, one of the worst criminal atrocities involving firearms in British history.[1]

Sartin, a 22-year-old clerk, took his father's double-barrelled shotgun and began shooting at people in nearby gardens, houses, and in passing cars. Witnesses described how Sartin fired indiscriminately at people.[2] He then drove his car towards the seafront at Whitley Bay, followed by an unmarked police car, and was arrested by unarmed police officer Danny Herdman.[1]

Sartin was charged with the murder of Kenneth Mackintosh in Windsor Road, Monkseaton, and 17 counts of attempted murder.[3] In May 1996, he appeared at Durham Crown Court where he pleaded not guilty due to insanity and he was subsequently detained indefinitely at a secure mental unit.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Adrian Pitches (2 May 2009). "Town struggles to recall shooting". BBC News. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
  2. "Ministers set to reject calls for new gun curbs". Glasgow Herald. 2 May 1989. p. 1. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
  3. "Man on 17 murder bid charges". Glasgow Herald. 31 May 1989. p. 3. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
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