'Unstable' woman fired gun at terrified staff at Leeds homeless charity

Rachel Hemmingway took the pistol from her waistband, waved it around and pointed it at staff from Ladybeck House in Leeds city centre, before pulling the trigger.

Staff were uncertain if the gun was real, but it turned out to be a pellet-firing air pistol and the projectile left a minor injury to the victim.

She was jailed at Leeds Crown Court this week when the judge said custody was the only option after she pleaded guilty to five offences.

The court heard that the 25-year-old, who has an unstable personality disorder, had been using the facilities at the Becklin Centre at St James’s Hospital on August 8 last year, but was told it was time for her to leave.

She became agitated and later accused another service user of stealing her phone, before punching them to the face.

The police arrived and she lashed out, kicking one in the leg as they tried to restrain her.

On the evening of September 24 she went to Ladybeck House and staff noticed she looked angry, throwing down an e-scooter that she had arrived on.

She began punching and headbutting the window where staff members were, so they came out to speak with her and try to calm her down.

Hemmingway, then removed the gun from her waistband and began pulling the trigger. The staff thought it was a real gun at first, prosecutor Carmel Pearson said.

Caught on CCTV she then fired the pistol and the pellet “slightly injured” the staff member in the leg.

By the time the police arrived, she had fled. She returned six days later and the police were called immediately.

She was calm this time, and was sat having a cup of tea and a cigarette when officers arrived. She had the gun on her again and a knife in her pocket.

Appearing in court this week via video link from HMP New Hall, she admitted possession of an imitation firearm to cause fear of violence, two counts of assaults on emergency worker, assault, and possession of a bladed article.

Hemmingway, of Greenlea Avenue, Yeadon, has three previous convictions for four offences, including assaults on emergency workers, threats to kill and possession of a bladed article.

Mitigating, Craig Sutcliffe said: “Her mental health conditions do not afford her a defence but do provide an explanation to her conduct and paranoia.

“She has no intention of committing any further offences and this period in custody has very much been a lesson to her.”

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Judge Mushtaq Khokhar told her: “Yours is a sad case. You are someone who suffers from a personality disorder, but having said that, because of your drug and alcohol addiction, it has been exacerbated.

“Your behaviour on the CCTV shows the unpredictable nature of you.

“It was a loaded firearm. It looks like a real gun and I’m sure those who saw when you pointed it at them would have thought the same.

“I have considered your case carefully and I’m afraid I can’t take the risk on a community sentence.”

He jailed her for 24 months.