Man jailed for three years for accidentally shooting six-year-old great-grandson dead with pellet gun

Boy shouted ‘you shot me, granddad’, after Albert Grannon fired modified weapon into his stomach, court told

Stanley Metcalf was just six when he was fatally wounded by his great-grandfather during an incident in July 2018 (PA)

A pensioner has been jailed for three years for fatally shooting his six-year-old great-grandson with a pellet gun.

Albert Grannon admitted a charge of manslaughter over the death of Stanley Metcalf, after he accidentally discharged the firearm into the young boy’s abdomen in July last year.

The 78-year-old first told police the pellet must have ricocheted off the floor as he checked to see if the weapon was loaded at his home in Sproatley, near Hull in East Yorkshire.

However, expert analysis of the wound revealed the shot had been fired directly into the boy’s stomach, Sheffield Crown Court heard.

The .22 calibre rifle had been modified by Grannon to make it more powerful. He also admitted a charge of possessing an adapted pellet gun without holding a firearms licence.

At a sentencing hearing on Tuesday, the court was told how the incident took place during an annual party Grannon held in memory his son, Andrew, who died 16 years ago.

John Elvidge QC, prosecuting, said Stanley had asked to see the air rifle and went inside with his great-grandfather.

Family members outside the house then heard a loud bang, rushing inside to find the boy doubled over in pain. “You shot me, granddad,” the court heard he told Grannon after the weapon was discharged.

Shortly after, Stanley was found to have a wound the size of a 5p coin on the left side of his stomach.

He was transported to hospital in an ambulance, where he went into cardiac arrest before succumbing to his injuries two hours later.

A post mortem found Stanley died as a result of a “single penetrating injury to his abdomen”, which damaged his bowel and a major artery in his pelvis, causing massive blood loss.

Mr Elvidge said Grannon had a habit of keeping the rifle stored loaded in a cupboard, so he could use it to shoot vermin.

The gun required a firearms certificate, but he did not apply as he believed he would be denied one due to disabilities.

In an emotional statement read to the court, Stanley’s mother, Jenny Dees, said her grandfather Grannon had never apologised over the fatal accident.

“Now, if he did, it would be meaningless, too little, too late,” she said, adding that although she initially felt sorry for the defendant, she no longer had sympathy for his situation.

Paul Genny, defending, told the court that despite the views of his granddaughter, Grannon “blames himself totally” for Stanley’s death.

Given a final opportunity to disclose exactly what had happened during the fatal incident, Mr Genney said his client now accepted he pointed the gun directly at his great-grandson.

He said Grannon squeezed the trigger to check the gun was not loaded “but not, of course, deliberately”.

Handing down his sentence, the judge told Grannon: “You ended a young life and you brought lifelong grief and misery to his parents and to the whole of his family.

“What you did was obviously a very dangerous thing to do. Why on Earth did you do it?”

Grannon showed no emotion as he stood to be sentenced.

The court heard how Stanley’s extended family had been split by the incident and some relatives sat in the court itself while others were in the overhanging public gallery.

As Grannon was taken down, one woman shouted from the balcony: “Love you, Dad.”

Additional reporting by agencies