Masked man blasted organised crime rivals with pump-action shotgun

Nathan Scott, of Farm Hill Road, Idle, Bradford, shot a man in the back at close range before shooting another man as he sat in a car on Farleton Drive in Fagley, Bradford, on the afternoon of July 7 last year.

Seconds later, as locals including children looked on from neighbouring gardens, Scott shouted threats including “I’ll blow your f***ing head off and put you in a box!” before escaping on a stolen motorbike driven by Tommy Lupton.

Lupton, of Flawith Drive, Fagley, Bradford, was locked up for eight years and three months for his part in the incident.

Shortly after the incident, police released an image of a bike thought to have been used in the shooting (Image: West Yorkshire Police)

Sentencing Scott, 32, and Lupton, 21, at Bradford Crown Court, His Honour Judge Jonathan Rose said the incident had been “a planned revenge expedition” to shoot the two men, and that it had been “calculated and callous”.

The incident caused shock in the surrounding community.

The court heard that the shooting, which was caught on camera, was the culmination of a feud between Scott and the other men who were part of rival organised crime groups.

It arose out of a theft of cannabis with Scott deciding to “have it out” with his rivals. That led to insults, threats, and fighting that in turn escalated into Scott’s decision to shoot the man in the car – who was the main target - and the other man.

Mobile phone and CCTV footage played in court showed Lupton “scouting” the housing estate for the two men and then collecting Scott on the motorbike and driving him - as Scott clutches the shotgun - to the scene.

Police in Fagley after the shooting (Image: Newsquest)

Scott, dressed in dark clothes and a balaclava, is then seen emerging from a ginnel onto Farleton Drive and opening fire with the shotgun. After blasting the first man, who falls to the ground, he then fires into the car and hits the second man in the shoulder.

Members of the public can then be heard calling 999 and asking for an ambulance as the first man lies injured in the road. The second man can be seen wandering around in a daze.

After fleeing the scene with Lupton, Scott changed clothes and arranged for his brother to bring a petrol can in order to burn what he had been wearing.

Following the shooting, both men then left the area to evade arrest. Scott went to the Lake District where, after a few days camping with friends, he was arrested back in Bradford.

Lupton went to Morecambe on the night of the shooting. He was arrested at his aunt and uncle’s home on July 12.

Police in Fagley investigating the shooting incident (Image: Newsquest)

The stolen motorbike was dumped in a canal and later recovered after being found by a magnet fisherman.

Despite 31 different searches of properties, land, waterways, and vehicles the shotgun has not been recovered.

The court heard that the first man was rushed to Leeds General Infirmary where he suffered multiple organ failure, went into cardiac arrest and was resuscitated. He underwent emergency open chest surgery and remains on a mechanical ventilator to help him breathe.

He cannot walk or talk and his life “remains very much at risk”.

In a lengthy statement read to the court his wife wrote how her world had come crashing down and that her husband may yet succumb to his wounds.

The second man’s injuries were not life threatening and shotgun pellets were removed from his shoulder blade under local anaesthetic.

Describing Scott as “emotionally unstable” and Lupton as “immature and eager to please”, Judge Rose said: “The motive for this shooting was that you [Scott] believed you and your family had been disrespected, and this was your act of revenge.

“You had a loaded pump-action shotgun. You engaged in no conversation and made no threats towards your victims prior to shooting each of them at close range. The threats came afterwards. Your motive was then expressed: do not disrespect my family.”

Speaking after the conclusion of the case Det Ch Insp Guy Shackleton of the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team welcomed the sentences.

He added: “This was an extremely serious incident in which a man is still critically ill in hospital.

“Firearms have no place on our streets, and we work with our partners across West Yorkshire to educate people on the dangers of carrying illegal weapons.

“The criminal use of firearms is an issue that causes understandable concern in our communities, and I hope people can take some reassurance from knowing we have imprisoned those who use illegally held firearms.

“For the victim in this case he has suffered serious injuries, and his life has been changed forever. I hope that today’s sentence can bring him and his family some justice in knowing that two men have been sentenced for their crimes.”