Drive-by BB gun shooting leaves RAF Scampton protestors ‘shaken up’

Protestors had gathered outside the former airbase on August 28 to voice their opposition towards the government’s proposal to house up to 2,000 asylum seekers on the site.

A video of the incident was shared on X, formerly Twitter, by a Grimsby man under the username Active Patriot.

He said: “I went to Scampton to support the locals protesting against the use of the former RAF base to house thousands of migrant men.

“While there, a car drove past and shot what we think was a BB gun at protestors, hitting at least one person. There was a child present protesting with his mum who could have easily been hit.

“The protesters were really shaken up as this could have so easily been a real gun.”

No arrests have been made as of yet.

A Lincolnshire Police spokesman said: “We were called to two reports of disturbances outside the main gates of the former RAF Scampton base during a protest on August 28.

“The first was a report of a car being driven past protestors and a BB gun having been fired out of the passenger window. No injuries were caused and the vehicle left the scene. We have a criminal investigation ongoing into this incident.

“The second report was a minority of protestors, who we believe were not local, were walking into the centre of the A15, preventing access and exit from the former base and verbally abusing members of staff.”

Superintendent Lee Pache said: “We are working hard to establish the circumstances of the alleged offences and pursuing a number of lines of enquiry.

“All incidents reported to us are assessed based on threat, risk and hard, so we can ensure we provide the best possible response. This includes the deployment of firearm officers.

“While we appreciate the individuals at RAF Scampton may have felt shaken by the incidents, the suspects had left the area before we received information, meaning a firearms response would not have been proportionate.

“As soon as our officers became available from other urgent and priority incidents, they attended and attempted to deal with both incidents, but unfortunately the remaining protestors did not wish to engage.”