VIDEO: Terrifying moment a Northampton drug dealer fires a gun in busy town centre
Weapon used in shooting over cocaine debt found stashed in Far Cotton garden
This is the terrifying moment a Northampton drug dealer fired gunshots in a busy town centre leading to him being jailed for more than eight years.
Kyron Smye, 22, shot from a converted 9mm handgun near a supermarket just as shops were closing on a busy Tuesday afternoon in May 2018.
Three men fled for their lives as Smye opened fire using potentially lethal blanks packed with steel shards in a bid to "scare" his targets over a cocaine debt.
Police found the weapon stashed in a garden in Penrhyn Road, Far Cotton, after Smye palmed it off to fellow gang member Niall Kelly.
The pair were trapped during a raid on Kelly's house as part of Northamptonshire Police's large-scale 'Operation Poetry' to tackle county lines drug-dealing.
As the Chronicle & Echo reported earlier this week, Smye, of Omega House in the town, was given a 6½-year jail term for admitting possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence at Northampton Crown Court. He was also sentenced to an additional two years for unrelated drug supply offences.
A judged also jailed Kelly for four years and eight months after admitting possession of a firearm.
Smye's barrister told the court Smye "deliberately" fired to scare the men, rather than "aiming it and in fact missing".
Blank rounds in the converted handgun were fitted with potentially lethal shards of steel.
Smye was identified using CCTV footage in an area of Weymouth to the rear of the Asda supermarket. A witness described hearing two shots and seeing a man holding a gun.
Forensic experts later confirmed a 9mm bullet casing found at the scene had come from the weapon found in Northampton
Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Derbyshire, of Dorset's Major Crime Investigations Team, said: “Thankfully nobody was injured but this incident understandably caused concern for the local community.
“I am glad that as a result of our extensive investigation, involving many areas of the Force, we were able to identify Smye and his accomplice Kelly so they could face justice for their offending.”