Pub manager shot by lousy marksman

A man who accidentally shot a pub manager in Scotland while trying to hit a noisy pigeon that was keeping him awake has been jailed.

Steven McGraw was hit in the temple by the air pistol pellet as he sat in the beer garden of his pub in Pitlochry last July and suffered minor injuries, suspected nerve damage and had his “public confidence shattered”.

As reported by the Herald Scotland, the shooter, Ali Ahmed, expressed regret over the incident and said he had been trying to silence a pigeon sitting in a tree outside his window.

His solicitor, David Holmes, said: “He was tired and trying to get some sleep before working later. He was disturbed by repeated noise from a pigeon in the tree outside.

“He used the airgun to shoot at the pigeon. Not only did he miss that, but he missed the tree and it went into the group beyond. He couldn’t see the group but knew people would be sitting there.

“He is sorry for what he has done. It was something he did without thinking it through properly. He did not mean harm, but harm was caused. He has expressed his regret and concern for the victim.”

“He was tired and trying to get some sleep before working later. He was disturbed by repeated noise from a pigeon in the tree outside.

“He used the airgun to shoot at the pigeon. Not only did he miss that, but he missed the tree and it went into the group beyond. He couldn’t see the group but knew people would be sitting there.

“He is sorry for what he has done. It was something he did without thinking it through properly. He did not mean harm, but harm was caused. He has expressed his regret and concern for the victim.”

“He was tired and trying to get some sleep before working later. He was disturbed by repeated noise from a pigeon in the tree outside.

“He used the airgun to shoot at the pigeon. Not only did he miss that, but he missed the tree and it went into the group beyond. He couldn’t see the group but knew people would be sitting there.

“He is sorry for what he has done. It was something he did without thinking it through properly. He did not mean harm, but harm was caused. He has expressed his regret and concern for the victim.”

“He was tired and trying to get some sleep before working later. He was disturbed by repeated noise from a pigeon in the tree outside.

“He used the airgun to shoot the pigeon. Not only did he miss that but he missed the tree and it went into the group beyond. He couldn’t see the group but knew people would be sitting there.

“He is sorry for what he has done. It was something he did without thinking it through properly. He did not mean harm, but harm was caused. He has expressed his regret and concern for the victim.”

Ahmed admitted guilt for culpably and recklessly discharging a firearm and sheriff Lindsay Foulis of Perth Sheriff Court jailed him for 17 months saying: “”It should have been perfectly obvious to you that if you started firing from your window on a Sunday evening in July there was a distinct possibility someone in the beer garden might be struck.”It should have been perfectly obvious to you that if you started firing from your window on a Sunday evening in July there was a distinct possibility someone in the beer garden might be struck.”