A Lanarkshire mum has demanded a jail sentence for the crazed neighbour who fired shots at her from his garden and battered her dog.
Paul Ritchie kicked Emma Davis’s dog in the air for no reason as she and four children walked past his home.
He then shot at them, prompting armed police to race to their village.
Emma said she believes Ritchie will “end up killing someone” if he is not jailed.
Ritchie, 36, had previously been caged for 12 months for sending “vile” emails making threats of violence to politicians, including ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford.
Emma said: “This man needs to be jailed again but he must also get medical help.
“People like him end up slipping through the net and killing someone. There has been an escalation in his behaviour.”
Ritchie appeared at Airdrie Sheriff Court, having admitted at a previous hearing culpably and recklessly discharging a paintball gun in the direction of Emma, a boy aged eight and three 15-year-old lads.
He also admitted causing Emma’s Staffordshire terrier unnecessary suffering and assaulting two police officers, headbutting and spitting at one and kicking another.
The incident happened outside his home in Dolphinton, Lanarkshire, in October 2020.
Emma, 40, said she and her family were forced to move from the area after the incident.
She added: “It was horrific. I genuinely thought the children were going to die. It didn’t make any sense – it was crazy behaviour.
Her 14-year-old dog Maya was traumatised by the attack and later had to be put down.
Shown a photograph of the paintball gun, Sheriff Joseph Hughes said: “I can see why people thought it was a gun.
"It really is quite a scary item.”
Sheriff Hughes deferred sentence last Wednesday to get an assessment of Ritchie’s mental state.
Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.
And did you know Lanarkshire Live is on Facebook? Head over to our page to give us a like and share.
