A lad pointed a BB gun at a college student who had a ‘silly’ argument with his girlfriend before firing at him.
The 17-year-old victim was revising when he got involved in a minor argument with Jackson Williams’ girlfriend.
Later on that day, she returned to where he was studying and ‘began to film him’ before stating: “I’m going to tell my boyfriend to come after school and shoot you”.
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As the teenager left the college and got into his cousin’s car, he was approached by Williams, 20, who attempted to open the door before removing a ‘black pistol’ from his waistband.
He then pointed it at the boy and ‘tilted it to the side’, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
As the car reversed out of the car park near to Bury Catholic Preparatory School, Williams began banging on the passenger window with the handle of the gun before ‘firing’ it and smashing the window.
Fortunately, nobody was injured.
Williams, of Salford, pleaded guilty to possession of an imitation firearm and was jailed for 19 months.
'Mums life I'll have yous'
Megan Tollitt, prosecuting, said that on November 2 last year at around 11.45am, the student was revising for an exam when he was approached by Williams’ girlfriend.
“She asked if anybody was sitting at the table, there was some disagreement which resulted in her taking his water bottle from the table and he ran after her to get it back,” she said.
“The female left and came back about five minutes later to where he was sitting and it looked like she was filming him on her phone.
“His friend confronted her and she replied: “I’m going to tell my boyfriend to come after school and shoot you”.”
The student then began receiving messages from an Instagram account with the handle “Jackson2333_” which read: “Oi, come outside you little m**g boy. Mum’s life, run in there and do you up”, and “Y u get ring bad to birds saying ur going to blitz them but wont come out of college, you Met boy. Mums life I’ll have yous 2 on 1”.
The victim sent a message to his cousin asking him to pick him up and when he arrived, he left the college alongside a teacher.
The 17-year-old walked over to the waiting car on Manchester Road when Williams walked out of a side street with his girlfriend.
He heard Williams shout ‘oi’ and began to sprint towards the car.
“He was able to get into the car and lock the door and described that the defendant tried to open the door and said ‘come here and get out’,” Ms Tollitt continued.
“The defendant stood at the front passenger side and pulled out what looked like a black pistol from his trousers, extended his arm, tilted it sidewards and pointed it towards him.
“The defendant then hit the passenger window twice with the handle and as the car began to reverse, he pointed the weapon towards it and the cousin heard the loudest bang they had ever heard.
“He looked over at his cousin and saw shattered glass over him.”
As they drove away the teenager recalled that parts of the window were still ‘crumbling’ on him and said his cousin was asking him if he had been shot.
'I thought I was dead'
In a victim personal statement, the teen said: “The image of Jackson standing so close and pointing the gun at me keeps replaying in my mind - I thought I was dead.
“I believed he shot at me through the car window. If my cousin hadn’t been there, I don’t know what would have happened.
“He shot at me in broad daylight without any thought of who he might hurt.”
Williams was said to have no previous convictions.
Mitigating, David Morton said his client suffered from a difficult childhood including poverty and deprivation, and has since developed mental health problems.
“He struggled to obtain his medication, and was abusing alcohol, cocaine and cannabis,” he said.
“This is a tragic situation for anyone involved. He has bigger ambitions and wants to work in the domestic industry as a professional.
“It was a BB gun, he bought it for £15 from a local corner shop, which he used to shoot at cans in the back garden.
“He made that absolutely crazy decision - there was no real justification. He expresses utter regret and remorse.”
Sentencing, Recorder Neil Usher said: “Your barrister described this case as a tragic case - and it is.
“You are a young man with no previous convictions, before the crown court, for a very, very serious offence.
“It’s every parent’s nightmare seeing their young son in a dock for a very serious offence.
“A young man, younger than you, was in college when he was approached by your girlfriend and there was a minor, silly, trivial disagreement.
“You said in a letter to me that you saw red and reacted to your girlfriend’s distress.
“You armed yourself with an imitation firearm, a BB gun, and you took it to where young people, students, were likely to be in their numbers, in broad daylight, and discharged it - that is a terrifying experience.”
Williams, of Walsall Street, was jailed for 19 months.
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