Lewis Williams shooting: Accused 'only trying to scare' victim

A teenager who fatally shot a man in the street said he wanted to scare his victim not kill him, a court heard.

Lewis Williams, 20, died after suffering injuries to his face and neck in the drive-by attack in Mexborough, South Yorkshire, on 11 January.

The 17-year-old defendant told Sheffield Crown Court he thought the homemade shotgun would make a bang but no pellets would be fired.

Three men and two teenagers have all denied Mr Williams' murder.

Rival gangs in the town were involved in a number of escalating incidents, including assaults and attacks on property, the court was told.

The jury heard that on the day of the shooting the defendants were driving around when they spotted three people from rival group Pittsmoor Shotta Boys, which Mr Williams was associated with.

CCTV footage seen by the jury showed the gun being fired from the front passenger seat window and Mr Williams falling to the ground.

In mobile phone video taken from inside the car, one of the passengers was heard to shout "Shoot him", to which the defendant responded "I've shot him."

The teenager told the court he was not aiming at anyone and fired the weapon to scare off the gang by "showing he could defend himself".

The defendant said he had acquired a "slam gun" made of two metal pipes welded together which could fire shotgun cartridges.

A cartridge was trapped in the barrel but the teenager said he had been told by the gun's maker that the shot had been removed and "it would only make a bang".

The car was abandoned and set on fire after the attack and the weapon was dumped.

Cross examining, prosecutor Stephen Wood said he did "not accept for one second" the defence that the gun would not fire.

Instead, he said, the attack was to do something about the rival gang "in a language they would understand".

The trial continues.

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