Man arrested after shots heard outside mosque ‘was shooting at rabbits’

A man who was arrested after shots were heard outside a mosque was firing at rabbits with an air rifle, magistrates have accepted.

The explanation given by Ian Peart “appears to have been accepted” by police, prosecutors told York Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

Peart, 44, of Bellfarm Avenue, York, admitted possession of a loaded air weapon in a public place.

Sarah Tyrer, prosecuting Peart, told the court: “There is no evidence on the file to suggest that it was in any way an anti-Muslim case.”

The prosecutor said Peart insisted there was “no intention to cause anyone any harm”.

Ms Tyrer said: “The defendant’s explanation seems to have been accepted by North Yorkshire Police.”

Magistrates said they accepted the building and its occupants were not the defendant’s intended target.

“The fact you were near a mosque was irrelevant,” Magistrates told Peart.

Magistrates added there was “no suggestion that this building or its occupants were the intended target”.

They said: “We accept your intention was to shoot rabbits.”

Ms Tyrer said a witness heard a “big noise” outside the York Mosque in the early hours of July 30, which he described as “like a gunshot – the type you would hear in the movies”.

The prosecutor said the witness then spotted a man in a car at the gates of the mosque, brandishing a gun through an open door.

The gun has a barrel and a “telescope” on the top, according to the witness.

Ms Tyrer said the witness heard a second shot as he tried to take pictures and videos of the man in the car.

She said the witness was worried that the man was shooting at the mosque.

Mr Tyrer said the witness saw the man drive off quickly, without shutting the car door.

The prosecutor told magistrates that Peart was tracked down by officers, as the witnesses had logged his registration number.

Ammunition was found in his house and a .22 air rifle was found in his car.

Ms Tyrer said the police looked at the videos shot by the witness but found no evidence on them of shots being fired.

In a prepared statement in interview, Peart told detectives that he worked part-time in pest control and he had been out testing his air rifle with its infra-red scope.

He shot at some rabbits in a car park, but missed.

Peart was fined £317 and ordered to pay a further £199 in costs and government surcharge.

He was allowed to keep his air rifle, which he said he needed for his work.