A man whose arrest following reports of gunfire outside York Mosque sparked concern among worshippers has been fined after a court accepted that he had been shooting at rabbits.
Ian Peart, 44, pleaded guilty at York Magistrates’ Court yesterday to possessing a loaded air weapon in a public place.
Magistrates accepted his explanation that he had been testing the rifle while carrying out pest-control work and that neither the mosque nor its occupants had been his intended target.
The prosecution confirmed there was no evidence of an anti-Muslim motive.
Peart was fined £317 and ordered to pay a further £199 in costs and surcharge. He was allowed to retain the rifle for his work.
Community concern
The case followed an incident outside York Mosque and Islamic Centre on Bull Lane in the early hours of July 30.
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At approximately 2.19am, a member of the mosque community noticed suspicious activity and heard what appeared to be gunfire. Police were contacted immediately.
Officers subsequently recovered an air rifle and arrested a 44-year-old local man after tracing a silver vehicle seen leaving the area.
Nobody was injured, but the circumstances initially raised concerns about the safety of the mosque and its congregation.
North Yorkshire Police deployed additional patrols around the building and arranged for officers to engage with mosque representatives.
At the time, police said the motive remained unclear and appealed for witnesses, CCTV footage and dashcam recordings to help establish what had happened.
The mosque temporarily closed as a precaution while the police investigation continued.
Mosque thanked worshipper who alerted police
In a statement issued following the incident, York Mosque president Mohamad Douba expressed relief that nobody had been harmed and thanked the community member whose actions brought the incident to the attention of police.
He also thanked officers for their response and urged the public to avoid speculation while the investigation was ongoing.
The mosque said the safety of its worshippers, students, staff and volunteers remained its priority.
The incident attracted particular attention because it occurred immediately outside a place of worship, leaving members of the Muslim community concerned about whether they had been deliberately targeted.
However, following further enquiries, North Yorkshire Police announced that investigators had found no evidence of an ideological or hate-related motive, or that York’s Muslim community had been specifically targeted.
