Two men jailed for shooting at 16-year-old boy with pump-action shotgun in Wellingborough

Mason Phiri, 24, and Alain Mbuku-Sengua, 21, both from Bedfordshire, were sentenced at Northampton Crown Court yesterday (April 3) after "terrifying" the teenager during the attack in 2016.

The youth believed if he hadn't ducked at the last second he would not have been alive to give evidence – although it was later found the cartridge used was a blank.

Det Sgt Keith Morson said: “I hope this brings closure for the victim who had done nothing to deserve becoming a victim of such savage violence.”

The court heard how in 2016, the pair drove from to Wellingborough to seek revenge against a man who had reportedly fractured Phiri's skull in a fight in a nightclub the year before.

But when they spotted the man's 16-year-old relative riding his bicycle in a residential neighbourhood, they changed their plans.

The teenager told the court how the car pulled up alongside him and a man wearing a balaclava got out, aimed a shotgun at him and fired.

Luckily, the victim ducked moments before the attack and was unharmed.

Her Honour Judge Adrienne Lucking said: “That teenager told the court he believed if he had not ducked he would have been killed.

“He was frightened to come to court and should be commended for his courage.”

Phiri and Mbuku-Sengua denied the attack and were found guilty by a jury of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence at a trial in 2017.

They were both sentenced to an extended sentence of 10 years.

Due to the dangerousness they present both will serve a minimum of seven years before they are eligible for parole.