A SOUTHAMPTON teenager who pointed an imitation gun and shot down at helpless high street shoppers has been jailed.

Kieron Gomm took to the Above Bar Street roofs on August 29 last year with the weapon - which forced armed police to block off the high street.

Southampton Crown Court heard that Gomm’s actions on that Saturday afternoon had caused panic on the busy streets below, with one witness saying that he “feared people may be killed”.

One witness, who was selling balloons at the time, was hit in the face by one of the pellets shot from the weapon. However, no injury was caused.

Daily Echo: Gomm was one of two men seen shooting down at shoppers.Gomm was one of two men seen shooting down at shoppers.

Another witness had the gun pointed at her, and ran to a nearby restaurant to hide before phoning the police.

“She thought [the guns] were real,” prosecutor Simon Gledhill said.

The court heard that the same witness saw that Gomm, 19 of Foundry Lane, “appeared to be enjoying causing fear” to those in panic below, along with another man who was also shooting pellets from the same weapon at shoppers.

Defending Jamie Gammon confirmed that the second man, 22-year-old Aaron Vas of Derby Road, had fled to India since being charged last September. A warrant is still outstanding for his arrest.

A report read to the court confirmed that Gomm was under the influence of cocaine and marijuana at the time the offence took place.

During sentencing yesterday, Judge Peter Henry told Gomm that he was “very lucky that armed [police] responders did not shoot you”.

The court heard that just days before the incident on August 26, Gomm had been stopped by police in Cranbury Terrace as he was part of a group shooting traffic signs with a “blue coloured pistol”. Officers confiscated the weapon, along with some cannabis and gas cannisters.

Daily Echo: Kieron GommKieron Gomm

Back in January this year, Gomm had also been convicted of assaulting a police officer, which had taken place on August 23.

During mitigation, Mr Gammon told the court that Gomm was suffering from undiagnosed mental health issues, and had been taking prescribed psychiatric medication to combat this.

It was also heard that, around the time of the incident, it was the one-year anniversary of his mother’s death.

Mr Gammon added that since the incident, Gomm had been part of a council-funded rehabilitation programme, and was now a “different” person. Continuing this would be “more in the public interest” than a prison sentence, he told the court.

But Judge Henry said that he could not pass a suspended sentence, due to the “extremely serious offence”.

He added that he was “in no doubt” that the “main factor” of his actions was from his intoxication due to drugs, rather than his mental health issues alone.

He sentenced him to 14 months in a young offenders institution.