Gunman ‘wanted to be killed by police’ during two-hour shooting spree
The city was put on lockdown as he shot up a cinema, newsagent and house.
A gunman claimed he ‘wished to be killed by the police’ when he went on a shooting spree at a cinema, newsagent and house in Liverpool.
Leslie Garrett, 49, terrorised the Croxteth and Norris Green areas of Liverpool during the two-hour rampage in January.
People were urged to stay indoors as a major incident was declared and parts of the city were put on lockdown.
Garrett was due to be sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court today after pleading guilty to eight offences, the Liverpool Echo reported.
These include possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, attempted robbery and possession of ammunition without a certificate.
He described the shooting spree as ‘a moment of madness’ committed in a period of ‘poor mental health’, the court heard.
Garrett’s lawyer, Paul Lewis, said his intention was ‘suicide by cop’.
Mr Lewis said: ‘Mr Garrett’s actions were in large part due to his mental health as an attempt to elicit a police response to cause him fatal harm.’
He claimed his client had recently been assessed by a psychiatrist, which ‘revealed a complicated and difficult mental health history’.
Mr Lewis told the court: ‘Mr Garrett has been able to open up as to his motivation, and his motivation has been examined by the doctors.’
But the prosecution is sceptical of both the rationale for Garrett’s actions and the his basis of plea.
David Birrell, prosecuting, told the court: ‘The defendant told the doctor “I don’t know why I did it”. So the motivation, it seems, is the doctor’s interpretation.’
As the basis for his guilty plea, Garrett claimed to have come into possession of the firearm and ammunition when he agreed to mind an item for money before learning what it was.
He said: ‘The owner was remanded into custody, and I was left with the items longer than I wanted. This caused me stress and anxiety.
‘At the time of committing all of the offences, I was in poor mental health. I committed the offences with the wish to be killed by police attending the scene.’
The prosecution rejected the basis of plea as ‘not acceptable to the crown’.
Judge David Aubrey KC, presiding, also wants more evidence, saying the explanation of Garrett’s actions had ‘not been positively asserted’ to the doctor.
Garrett’s sentencing will be postponed until after a trial of issue, a hearing to determine the basis on which the defendant is to be sentenced, on June 6 and 7.
The judge will hear further evidence and decide whether the defendant ‘committed the offences in consequence of the fact that it was your specific wish to be killed by the police attending the scene’.
Appearing via video link from HMP Liverpool, Garret spoke only to confirm his name at the start of proceedings.
He thanked the judge at the end and was remanded in custody until his next hearing date.
Security footage shows Garrett in a hood pointing a gun at the cashier of the News and Booze corner shop, known locally as Sangha’s, as he attempted to rob it on January 3.
He fired the first shot, into the Perspex screen, at 8.30pm.
Garrett then travelled to the Showcase Cinema in Stonedale where, 20 minutes later, he fired the gun into the air.
Further gunshots were heard at a property on Malpas Road around 10.20pm.
Nobody was injured during the shootings.
Garret was arrested the following morning after a nine-hour search with armed police deployed.
Assistant Chief Constable Jenn Wilson said it was the ‘first time we have had to deal with an incident of this nature on the streets of Merseyside’.
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