A TEENAGER who sparked a major firearms incident after pointing an air rifle at police marksmen in Shetland has been sentenced to three years behind bars.
Samuel Barlow, 16, has been in custody for more than four months following the incident in September last year.
He previously admitted to four charges of assault and one of threatening and abusive behaviour when he appeared at Lerwick Sheriff Court in December.
Sheriff Philip Mann has now sent Barlow to prison for actions which had prompted "great public concern and anxiety".
Sheriff Mann said it was a highly unusual case for any court to deal with.
Although it had been a "very difficult decision" owing to Barlow's young age and the mental health difficulties he has faced while growing up, in order to protect the public he saw no alternative to custody.
"It's not with any great sense of joy that I sentence you to prison," Sheriff Mann said. "I have had to think long and hard about it."
His parents Paul and Ruth were in tears in court and refused to comment afterwards.
Barlow had first been seen walking with a rifle near the Scord quarry, on the outskirts of Scalloway.
He had taken to the hills before resurfacing in the Westerloch area of Lerwick later in the day. He walked through several gardens, threatened local people and aimed his rifle at police officers as they sought to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the standoff.
The court heard he was a vulnerable teenager who had suffered a mental breakdown.
The court heard that Barlow had tried to provide help to the girl, who was herself troubled. She had told him she was going to take her own life. Barlow blamed himself for this and left his home in Wester Skeld, setting off a chain of events culminating in a standoff with armed police. The court heard Barlow, with police marksmen being called to the incident, he was lucky to be alive.
Sheriff Mann praised police for their "professionalism and restraint" especially as they did not know if the gun was real at the time.
Barlow, who appeared from custody, is eligible for release after serving half of his sentence.
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