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Moray man scared Elgin Tesco shoppers with BB gun they believed to be real





A man from Elgin who scared shoppers in a car park of a major supermarket by brandishing a BB gun has been handed a two-year supervision order.

On October 29, 2023, police officers were called to an address in Elgin for a separate matter during the morning.

The Tesco supermarket in Elgin.
The Tesco supermarket in Elgin.

At the property they encountered Jhon Beaton. They found him to be in possession of an airsoft BB gun and advised him that he should not take it out of the house.

However, on the same day just before 10pm, the 20-year-old travelled to the Tesco supermarket on Blackfriars’ Road in the town.

Elgin Sheriff Court heard that in the carpark to the store Beaton encouraged a shopper to wind down the window to their vehicle.

When they did so, he presented the BB gun “without warning” and stated to the two witnesses within the vehicle “look what I’ve got”.

He walked away but did inform them that the gun, which they believed to be real, was a BB gun.

The witness, who was still frightened, contacted the police who subsequently cautioned and charged Beaton.

In the police van he told officers that he “did not mean to scare anyone”.

He then told them that the gun wasn’t real but when advised that the witnesses believed it was he responded “yeah I know as it’s really dark”.

Sheriff Olga Pasportnikov placed Beaton under two years supervision with a review in two months.


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