A 16-YEAR-OLD Carnoustie boy was yesterday convicted of shooting a girl with an air rifle during an incident in the town which prompted Sheriff Norrie Stein to express grave concern.

At the end of his trial before Sheriff Stein at Arbroath, Christopher James Montieth, who was 15 at the time of the attack, was found guilty of assaulting the 15-year-old to her injury on July 12 by discharging an air rifle pellet at her which struck her on the body.

The court was told the shot was fired from just inside the garden of Montieth’s home on the corner of Queen Street and Maule Street.

The girl said she and three friends were walking in Queen Street at about 6.30 pm when she was aware of “someone firing a shot” at them and missing. After looking around they carried on, but she was then struck in the lower back by a second shot.

Noticing a youth running from a nearby garden into a house, she said she and her friends went to the door. Eventually it was answered and a conversation took place between one of her friends and the youths in the house.

She told the court the pellet had broken the skin and the injury had been sore for a few days before healing without medical intervention.

The court heard from two of the three youths who were with Montieth that evening that they had been firing the air rifle at empty cans, birds and “random targets” in the garden and that shots were also fired into the street and over houses.

One said he had gone into the house to look for more pellets when the others ran in and Montieth said he had hit a girl.

The second youth who gave evidence said that he and Montieth had been in the garden near the gate and had been talking about shooting at someone when the group of girls came into view.

He said he fired a pellet in their direction but missed, and then handed the rifle to Montieth, who took aim and hit one of the girls.

Asked by depute-fiscal Hazel Anderson if he thought Montieth’s actions were deliberate, the youth said, “I don’t know if he meant to hit that particular girl, but he aimed at the group.

Under cross-examination by defence solicitor John Clancy, the second youth was asked why he and Montieth had gone out of the garden into the street to see if the girls were approaching, to which he replied, “Because we had the intention of shooting someone.”

Mrs Anderson said the second youth was “blistering in his honesty, somewhat alarmingly so, as he was prepared to admit firing at the girls, albeit over their heads.”

She said his evidence that he then passed the rifle to Montieth and was present as he fired and hit the girl indicated, “a common plan seemed to have been hatched to do this for their amusement.”

After closing submissions Sheriff Stein said, “Taking all the evidence together there is no real doubt as to the identity of the person who was responsible for shooting this girl.” He told Montieth, “I don’t have any real doubt about the matter at all and I am afraid I am going to find you guilty.”

The sheriff went on, “I really found it almost impossible to believe my ears when I heard the evidence about what was going on that evening. It was very worrying indeed.”

He ordered that the air rifle used in the assault should be forfeited and, on hearing that the weapon was presently at Montieth’s grandmother’s house, instructed Mr Clancy to make immediate arrangements for it to be handed in to Carnoustie police office.

Deferring sentence on Montieth until April 14 for social inquiry and community service reports, whilst not ruling out the possibility of a custodial sentence, Sheriff Stein released the teenager on bail.

Before he allowed Montieth to leave the dock, however, the sheriff asked him—as he had done with the other two youths who gave evidence—what the proceedings had taught him about firearms.

Montieth replied, “To stay well clear of them and have nothing to do with them ever again.”