Gun panic teenager escapes punishment

Sheriff warns accused ‘Just don’t be so stupid again’

A teenager who sparked an armed cop panic after taking a toy gun to class has escaped punishment.

Michael Muir, 18, strapped the imitation pistol to his leg before turning up for lectures.

He told police he had bought it as part of a fancy dress costume.

The student was spared a rap following a trial at Paisley Sheriff Court.

Sheriff Susan Sinclair refused to hammer him for terrifying pals.

She said: “I think that this is genuinely a one- off incident that was very stupid – but wasn’t intended to cause anyone any harm or upset.

“I’m not going to convict you, I’m going to grant you an absolute discharge.

“It won’t count as a conviction on your record, which shouldn’t affect you getting a job in the future. “Just don’t be so stupid again.” Muir had taken the toy into West College Scotland.

He claimed it was part of a video game character Halloween outfit.

The court heard he carried the pistol in a holster last October 5.

Prosecutors insisted he was trying to scare classmates just days after a shooting spree at a Las Vegas music festival.

Firearms officer Aiden Riley told the trial he had been tasked with making the gun safe when he realised it was a fake.

He said: “It was a toy gun. I knew that from examining it.

“While it was within the holster, you wouldn’t know. “There’s no weight to it. “For all intents and purposes, it does resemble a Colt 911 pistol, which is a genuine firearm.

“If someone pointed it at me from a distance, it would be hard to tell it was an imitation.”

Muir maintained he had no knowledge of the killing spree and was using the gun to dress-up as a character from shoot-em-up computer game Army Of Two.

He insisted he had taken it in to “seek approval” from friends and lecturers.

The teen said: “I wasn’t aware of the shooting – I don’t keep up with the news.”

Defence lawyer Ki r s t y McGeehan asked for her client to be spared, but admitted he was “guilty of being extremely stupid”.

Stephen Paddock, 64, opened fire on a crowd of concertgoers at the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas last October 1.

He killed 58 people and left 851 injured after firing more than 1,000 rounds from a room overlooking a festival in just 10 minutes.

The shooter was found dead in his suite on the 32nd floor of the nearby Mandalay Bay hotel.

Muir, of Linwood, was allowed to leave the dock after the verdict was announced.