East Malling man jailed three years for air rifle shooting after flamethrower attack

Luke Crossman, 22, shot two people with air rifle pellets in East Malling after arriving at the scene with a homemade flamethrower. He was sentenced to three years at Maidstone Crown Court.

East Malling resident jailed after shooting two people with air rifle

Luke Crossman, 22, of Magpie Close, East Malling, has been sentenced to three years' imprisonment after shooting two people with an air rifle following a prolonged violent confrontation, kentlive.news reports.

The incident began at around 11pm on 15 October, when Crossman arrived at a property near New Road armed with a hammer. He smashed the rear window of a car and a pane of glass in the front door of the house. He then travelled to Kingfisher Road, where a woman known to him attempted to calm him down. Crossman held a wrench to her face, threatened to kill her and set fire to her home, and pulled a knife from his pocket.

He returned to the scene on multiple occasions, at one point carrying a homemade flamethrower, before appearing with an air rifle and firing pellets at the woman and another person who had tried to intervene during an earlier argument with an acquaintance. Both victims sustained injuries.

Kent Police was called at 11.53pm. Crossman fled the scene before officers arrived and uploaded a video of himself to Snapchat at 4am as he walked through the neighbourhood, continuing to behave aggressively. Officers located him nearly 10km away several hours later. A search of a black Audi led to the recovery of an air rifle believed to have been used in the attack.

At Maidstone Crown Court on 24 September, Crossman pleaded guilty to possession of an imitation firearm, two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, affray, and making threats to kill. He was sentenced to three years in prison and issued a six-year restraining order prohibiting him from contacting one of his victims. The remaining charges — possession of a bladed article in a public place and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place — were ordered to lie on file.

Detective Constable Carter Scopes, the investigating officer, said: "Our officers relentlessly pursued the violent offender through the night and located him nearly 10km away. The swift recovery of evidence consequently helped seal his fate."

Scopes added that Crossman had initially attempted to deny the charges before accepting partial responsibility. "We commend the bravery of the victims in this case, who tried their utmost to contend with Crossman's unpredictable violent outburst and keep each other safe," he said. "We hope the custodial sentence offers them some comfort."

Source: Google News UK — Crime (en)