Banbury Dad calls for police action after baby narrowly misses being shot by pellet gun

The Dad called police at around 5pm on Saturday in a state of shock after two pellets were shot into his garden, hitting the family’s paddling pool and missing his 18-month-old son by inches.

The incident happened in the Hightown Road area of Banbury.

Police arrived quickly on blue lights and confiscated a gun. No arrests were made because they could not identiy the person who had fired the weapon. It is understood individuals were firing at a target.

The father has now complained to the firearms department of Thames Valley Police (TVP).

“My wife and six-year-old daughter were in the pool, which is one with very strong plastic sides. I was holding my little boy. I was taking him out of the paddling pool and I heard a whizzing noise. It was a pellet that had shot right past his head. “I shouted stop, but a second pellet went over my head. I tried to find the pellet but couldn’t. I found the first pellet and I gave it to the police. They put it in an evidence bag.

"The police went round to a neighbouring house where they tried to deny it but we had the pellet so they couldn't. The police had no evidence for the second shot as we didn’t have the pellet.

"The people with the gun tried to say it was ricochet but when the police came into my garden, their body-cams filmed it. They saw where the pellet had hit the side of the pool and they confirmed it couldn’t be a ricochet.

"By the time they came to inspect the pool, my son was there eating some food - too young to realise what had happened. Another 10cm either way and the pellet would have hit him or me,” he said.

"I understand there were several people firing the gun and there were targets. The police said they couldn’t tell who was shooting it. TVP was unable to give any information about the incident but the father said the TVP firearms department has accepted his report and was looking into the matter.