dasmi
Member
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnew...r-jailed-over-air-pistol-shots-name_page.html
It's a good thing they got that monster off the streets.
30 March 2005
TEACHER JAILED OVER AIR PISTOL SHOTS
By John Kelly
TEACHER Linda Walker was behind bars last night after she snapped and fired a gun she kept hidden in her underwear drawer at a gang of teenage yobs.
The mother-of-two, who teaches children with behavioural problems, admitted going "totally loopy" after confronting youths she blamed for a campaign of vandalism against her family.
Walker, 48, stormed out of her home with a potentially lethal Walther CP88 gas-powered pistol in her hand and fired six shots at the feet of one of the terrified gang.
She had just called the police and warned them: "I've got an air rifle and a pistol and I'm going to shoot the vandals that come around here, I'm going to shoot them."
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Yesterday she was sentenced to six months in jail for possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and one month for affray. The sentences will run concurrently.
She is now likely to lose her teaching job.
Neighbours slammed the decision to jail her. One said she "deserved a medal for her actions".
Norman Brennan, national director of the Victims of Crime Trust, said: "What does it say about the criminal justice system when a teacher with an unblemished teaching record and an unblemished criminal record is forced to take the action she has.
"I cannot condone those who carry weapons in a public place but this case clearly goes to show there are not enough police officers on the beat and the courts fail to give sentences which punish criminals and those who behave anti-socially."
He added: "That is what forced her to take the action she did."
Walker, wearing a light pink skirt and white shirt, had denied the charges but showed little emotion as her sentence was read out at Manchester's Minshull Street crown court.
Her 56-year-old partner John Cavanagh, a college lecturer, had earlier been cleared of affray following the incident on August 14.
At her trial, the court was told Walker had been receiving nuisance phone calls, one threatening to rape her and another calling her 17-year-old twin son James a "poof".
Her other twin, Craig, had his car wing mirror ripped off and Walker told police her shed had been broken into, garden ornaments trashed and fish from a pond stolen at her home in Urmston, Greater Manchester, in the run-up to the shooting.
The final provocation came when Walker, who was head of Year 11, in charge of food technology and careers co-ordinator at New Park School in Salford, saw a washing-up liquid bottle full of water had been emptied over her son's car.
She stormed across the road yelling "psychos" and "tossers" at the gang. She then returned home and grabbed the two guns before racing back outside and opening fire at the louts.
Police who arrived at the scene ordered Walker to drop the weapon and then arrested her.
Later Walker - who has 25 years of experience as a teacher - had told officers she had left the house "like a madwoman possessed".
She had tested the small black pistol by firing it into her staircase.
During questioning, she told police: "The pellet hit the top of the stairs. My son was standing on the landing so it was probably very foolish of me because it could have ricocheted off and hit him.
"I feel totally, totally distressed after all these things that have been happening. I know you do your best, but the law is on the side of the yobbos, these criminals, not the victim.
"Kids keep coming down the road to vandalise my sons' cars because they don't have cars and are jealous."
She explained: "When your kids work hard for things and they get damaged you get protective.
"That's why I am running around with a gun. I have had enough, I have simply had enough."
It later emerged one of the youths, Robert McKiernan, 18, had previous convictions for burglary, theft and criminal damage.
Another of the gang, 16-year old Nicholas Viollett, had been convicted of shoplifting just one day before the shooting took place.
Walker - who had won praise from Ofsted - had been under stress after her school was placed under special measures by government inspectors, the court heard.
But Judge Mr Recorder Louis Browne told her: "I accept you acted totally out of character but these are serious offences and you knew exactly what you were doing.
"The courts discourage two things, firstly vigilante action, and also the use or discharging of a firearm in a public place.
"There is no excuse whatsoever for what you did that night. Even had these children been using anti-social behaviour, your response was wholly disproportionate."
A spokesman for Salford city council, said: "Linda Walker was suspended from her teaching post pending the police investigation and court action. Now legal proceedings are ended, any formal disciplinary action can also be concluded. This will be completed as quickly as possible."
Neighbour Ian Haslam, 77, said: "These kids hang around in the streets in groups and can be a real nuisance.
"I can understand what drove this lady to do this. You reach a point when something snaps.
"She has a good record for teaching and the trouble is once they target someone they don't seem to let up."
Another neighbour, who asked not to be named, added: "She should get a medal for what she did - not a stretch in jail."
And the local newsagent said: "This business is the talk of the town and public opinion is very much on her side. Mrs Walker is a lovely lady.
"She was clearly driven to the end of her tether."
It's a good thing they got that monster off the streets.
