Scrutiny of Police Response and Firearms Licensing Follows Skye Shootings

The severe violence perpetrated by Finlay MacDonald in the Highlands two years prior has prompted scrutiny regarding the police’s actions, the process of firearms licensing, and the deployment of armed personnel throughout rural Scotland. On August 10, 2022, MacDonald attacked his wife Rowena with a knife and fatally shot his brother-in-law John MacKinnon, subsequently attempting to murder John MacKenzie and his wife Fay. MacDonald received a prison sentence on Friday of a minimum of 28 years for actions that Judge Lady Drummond described as “brutal and mindlessly violent attacks”. The Police Investigations and Review Commissioner has finalized two reports concerning the events of that day; however, their findings have not yet been disclosed publicly. During MacDonald’s trial, it was revealed that he had obtained a shotgun certificate 15 months prior to the attacks and possessed six such weapons. Despite police pursuing him after Mr MacKinnon’s death, the unarmed officers were instructed not to intervene because an armed response unit was en route from Inverness. MacDonald subsequently arrived in the village of Dornie, where he shot the MacKenzies. His injured victims and the officers, who had ignored their instructions and entered the residence, managed to subdue him. Upon the arrival of their armed colleagues 15 minutes later, Mrs MacKenzie stated: “You’re too late.” The Scottish Police Federation asserted that the directive given to unarmed officers not to halt MacDonald’s vehicle after the initial shooting was “absolutely right at that time.” The officers were mere seconds behind MacDonald when he shot the MacKenzies at their Dornie residence, and SPF chairman David Threadgold commended their courage as “unbelievable.” An ex-senior officer from Police Scotland’s command hierarchy supported the instruction provided to the officers. He commented, “It would have been an unfair fight.” He added, “They were simply not equipped to deal with the threat that they faced.” Police Scotland maintains a total of 494 authorized firearms officers, whose deployment is determined by the frequency of firearms incidents rather than the prevalence of firearms themselves. The majority of incidents occur in the central belt, whereas most legally owned weapons are located in the northern part of the country. The armed response vehicle from Inverness was stationed nearly 100 miles from Teangue on Skye, the location where MacDonald killed Mr MacKinnon. Mr Threadgold stated, “There are challenges that we have with the number of firearms officers that we can deploy across Scotland and they are exacerbated across rural areas.” A decision to equip more officers with firearms would likely be contentious. During 2020-21, Scotland recorded two homicides involving firearms, an increase from one in the preceding year. A spokesperson for Police Scotland commented: “Proportionate policing plans for the deployment of armed officers are in place across all communities in Scotland. However, we do not disclose the specific provision of any policing resources in order to maintain operational integrity.” Reverend Gordon Matheson, a Free Church pastor who knew MacDonald, expressed that the duration for an armed response “is too long”. He further stated: “The first line of defence for our communities is not the armed response team. The first line of defence is making sure firearms licensing is done well at the beginning.” He continued: “That has to be taken more seriously in the Highlands, where we have the highest level of gun ownership in the UK and some of the highest levels of male depression in the UK.” He concluded: “There’s a very clear argument that this should be done better and it should be properly resourced.” As of March 31, 2023, approximately 131,253 shotguns were legally possessed in Scotland, though their involvement in firearms incidents is infrequent and less common than any other type of weapon. A shotgun certificate remains valid for five years. To obtain one, applicants must demonstrate they do not present a risk to public safety and possess a legitimate justification for ownership. Police Scotland firearms inquiry officers issue certificates, necessitating interviews with an applicant’s referee, conducting background investigations, and performing home and security inspections. Certificate holders are obligated to notify the police if they receive a diagnosis or treatment for a pertinent medical condition, including mental ill health. Police Scotland possesses the authority to revoke a certificate if they perceive a risk to public safety, an action they took 94 times during 2022/23. The jury at the High Court in Edinburgh was informed that MacDonald was susceptible to angry outbursts and had a persistent anxiety regarding his health. In the months preceding the shootings, he was on sick leave from work and regularly consulted his GP for physical ailments. Experts testifying at the trial concurred that MacDonald had exhibited symptoms of depression and anxiety in the period leading up to the attacks. To date, the specific details concerning MacDonald’s acquisition of his shotgun certificate have not been publicly disclosed. Police Scotland stated: “The circumstances relating to this matter are subject to a Crown-directed investigation by the Police Investigation and Review Commissioner (PIRC), and it would therefore be inappropriate to comment further, however, Police Scotland has fully supported all investigations relating to this issue.” PIRC reported that it submitted a report detailing the circumstances of John McKinnon’s death to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in November of last year. A second report from PIRC, focusing on the involvement of Police Scotland officers in the Dornie shooting, was delivered to Police Scotland in June 2023. PIRC maintains that its reports are confidential “for legal reasons.” Following the mass shooting in Plymouth in 2021 that resulted in five fatalities, policing minister Dame Diana Johnson in England and Wales has declared the implementation of new mandatory training for firearms licensing personnel. Presently, all individuals applying for a firearms licence are required to have a digital firearms marker on their medical records. The Home Office indicated that Police Scotland has participated in discussions regarding the new training with the College of Policing and “will participate on a voluntary basis as observers.” A spokesperson for the Scottish government informed BBC Scotland News: “Firearms law, apart from air weapons, is the responsibility of the UK Government.” The spokesperson added: “Police Scotland’s Firearm and Explosives Licensing team manage applications and renewals for firearm and air weapon licences.” They also stated: “Mandatory training is in place and the licence application and renewal process uses GP record checks as part of the vetting and assessment process.” The spokesperson concluded: “We will update these processes if required in line with UK guidance.” In England and Wales, five police forces are currently piloting a procedure involving mandatory routine interviews with the domestic partners of individuals holding or applying for a certificate. Rhianon Bragg, who was held at gunpoint by her former partner after he began stalking her following the end of their relationship, supports this initiative. She commented: “I think it would be really useful if the licensing process went from five years down to every three years.” She explained: “So much can happen within a five year period. Within that time we’ve all lived through a global pandemic and it’s highly recognized that there have been mental health issues for many people as a result of that.” Following MacDonald’s attacks, the Scottish Affairs Committee at Westminster put forward recommendations for modifications to gun regulations, emphasizing mental health.