Family of tragic toddler won’t stop in bid for stricter airgun controls

“My baby brother was killed by an airgun but 10 years on still there are no curbs. It’s like we’ve let him down.”

The sister of a toddler killed by an airgun maniac has revealed she still struggles to accept the tragic loss a decade on.

Tiny Andrew Morton, two, died when drug-crazed Mark Bonini shot him in the head with a pellet fired from an air rifle he had modified to give it more power. The crime shocked the nation and sparked calls for an immediate crackdown on deadly airguns.

Speaking for the first time, Andrew’s older sister Sammy has told how his death still affects her and how the awful events of March 4, 2005, have shaped her life.

“Andrew was my life,” she said. “He went everywhere with me because I used to love to show him off outside. When the ambulance took him away, I never thought for a moment I wouldn’t see him again.

“But he was put on a life support machine and died two days later in my gran’s arms my mum couldn’t bear to switch it off.”

Sammy was just 10 at the time of the shooting, but still vividly remembers Andrew and brother Brian going off to collect tea from a nearby chippy. Bonini had been taking pot shots at firefighters who were battling a flat blaze, when he fixed his sights on Andrew.

“I could hear a ‘pop-pop’ sound every so often but thought it was something to do with the fire,” said Sammy.

“Then I saw Brian suddenly lifting Andrew down and there was blood on his hands. I ran across and one of the firemen tried giving Andrew first aid. There was nothing from Andrew and we were scared.

“Someone ran to my mum and she called an ambulance. There was crying and screaming. I will never forget that moment when we found out he’d been shot. I wish I didn’t remember, but I do.”

Along with the rest of the family, determined Sammy has campaigned tirelessly for tougher controls on airguns. But 10 years on, the tougher controls are not law, but instead are still passing slowly through Holyrood.

“Sometimes, we feel we’re letting him down, because we haven’t seen it through yet,” added Sammy. “A lot of people don’t understand why it’s so important because they don’t realise the damage airguns can do.

“Half my life, I’ve been missing my brother. I still struggle to believe it happened to us, that it’s my wee brother in the cemetery rather than in his room. After all we’ve gone through and all the fighting we’ve done, we don’t think it’s much to ask for the politicians to step up to the mark, especially as they all tell us they agree.”

Heartbroken mum Sharon Macmillan, 44, said she wouldn’t stop until the powers were brought into force. “I’ve been making that promise for years now, and we won’t stop fighting until it’s done.”

Former Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill met Sharon last year to reaffirm his commitment to stricter airgun controls. As a result, the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Bill is undergoing a second consultation period, which ends this month. But it is hugely unpopular.

The Law Society of Scotland has warned controls are “impractical” and will not reduce crime. It will require anyone who owns an air pistol or rifle to apply for a certificate in the same way as those who have regular firearms. A certificate will cover all weapons held by an individual, with no requirement for each weapon to be listed. As such critics have argued rogue weapons could easily be circulated.

Despite the arguments, Sharon is clear that the curbs are needed. “I’ve started to feel as if it will never happen,” she said. “But if anyone is playing with us, I can promise them we’ll never go away. People who haven’t lived through it think time heals. You learn to cope, and for us the campaign gave us a positive focus, but when your child dies before you, especially when the death is so violent and senseless, you don’t heal.”

Dad Andy, 40, credits their campaigning nature with keeping the family together in the wake of little Andrew’s death.

“We think about him every hour of every day and we miss him all of that time,” he said. “We wonder what he’d be like, what he’d be doing, how he would be enjoying his life.

“It puts an incredible strain on a family and on a couple. We know people who have been through something similar and it has broken up marriages.

“It’s been really hard for us at times, and maybe without the campaign to pull us together we might not have survived.”

500,000 airguns

It is estimated there are about 500,000 airguns in Scotland but there is no requirement to have a licence for the lowest-powered weapons.

Under new legislation, anyone who owns an airgun would need a licence and those who wanted to own an airgun would need to demonstrate they had a legitimate reason for doing so.

The Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Bill is undergoing a second consultation period which ends this month.

Shooting organisations, though, claim the measures will fail to reduce criminal use and will have a detrimental effect on legitimate use. Last week, the Scottish Government issued an assurance saying it “hoped” its proposals introduced to the Holyrood parliament last year would “become law later this year”.

The spokesman added: ‘The death of Andrew Morton was a tragedy and the Scottish Government is determined to do all it can to make sure no other parent has to suffer the loss of a child in this way.

“The bravery of Andrew’s parents over the past decade is admirable and we are grateful for their continued interest in the development of new laws.”

Drug addict Mark Bonini was ordered to serve at least 13 years in prison for the murder of tragic Andrew. He had admitted firing the fatal shot but denied murder, his defence team suggesting it had been a “tragic accident”.

But his claims failed to convince Lord Brodie who described his actions as “wicked, depraved, and deliberate”. It also emerged that Bonini had failed to show any willingness or motivation to kick his drug habit.

When he was sentenced in August, 2005, Lord Brodie insisted that there was no guarantee he would be released at the end of 13 years, adding it would be up to the parole board to decide if he posed a risk to the public.

However, it’s understood he has already been granted leave from prison. Bonini was allowed to visit his seriously ill grandfather, and then to attend his funeral. He also received a day out of Dumfries Prison as a reward for doing his prison job exceptionally well. He was supervised each time, but Andrew’s family were relieved they had not encountered him on his visits home.

Sammy said: “I think I’d have freaked out to have seen him when I knew he should be in jail. I think the authorities should warn you in advance.”