Jairus Earl, 15, took his own life at his family’s Dorset holiday home while experiencing stress and anxiety over his upcoming GCSE exams
A coroner is calling on the Home Office to close a loophole in the law regarding shotguns kept at a licence holder’s second home following the tragic death of a public schoolboy.
Jairus Earl, 15, killed himself with his dad’s shotgun at their Dorset holiday home in the midst of feeling stressed and anxious over his GCSE exams. Philip Earl had taken his guns from the family home in London for the break in the countryside for clay pigeon shooting. The Dorset coroner, Rachael Griffin, has now written a prevention of future deaths report over concerns that licence holders are not required to inform the authorities when taking shotguns from one property to another.
This is far less stringent than the regulations surrounding firearms where possession of every gun must satisfy ‘individual good reason’. The inquest heard during the Easter half term break a distressed Jairus went missing from the family’s cottage near Sherborne.
When police officers visited the property on March 28, 2024 they were unaware that shotguns were being kept inside. Mrs Griffin said that had they known the shotguns may have been removed from the property which could have prevented the tragedy.
On April 14, as the family prepared to return to London where Jairus was to take his exams, he went into his father’s office. He shot himself with one of the guns while Mr Earl, 56, was outside packing the car.
In her report Mrs Griffin said: “I have concerns in relation to gaps in the regulation of shotgun licences especially when a licence holder has more than one property where the guns may be used or stored. There seems to be a great deal of difference in the regulation of firearms and the regulation of shotguns, however both can equally cause death. There is no obligation on a licence holder of a shotgun to notify the approving force they are moving to or visiting another property.
“I therefore have concerns there is a lack of a system of sharing and flagging information between police forces and the location of shotguns, which could lead to future deaths. Accordingly, emergency services may attend an address where shotguns are held without knowledge of that fact due to the lack of a marker being placed on the address.
“This causes a risk to all those attending unmarked addresses as they would potentially be ill prepared for what they could face which could lead to future deaths.”
She has now written to the Home Office and Health Department who have 56 days to respond to her concerns.
Anyone struggling with their mental health and suicidal thoughts can call the Samaritans for free on 116 123, email them at [email protected], or visit samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.