Man jailed for shooting 2 people with an air rifle in East Malling

A violent offender who shot 2 people in East Malling with an air rifle and threatened them with a number of other weapons has been jailed.

Luke Crossman shouted obscene threats at his victims and shot them with air rifle pellets following a disagreement with an acquaintance.

At around 11pm on 15 October 2025, Crossman attended a property near New Road armed with a hammer and smashed the rear window of a car as well as a pane of glass in the front door of the house.

Crossman travelled to Kingfisher Road, where he was approached by a woman known to him, who tried to calm him down.

He held a wrench to her face while threatening to kill her and set fire to her home, before pulling a knife from his pocket.

Disturbance

The 22 year old continued behaving in an erratic manner, returning to his home address in Magpie Close and coming back to the scene with a homemade flame thrower, and then an air rifle.

He began firing pellets at two residents on the street that tried to intervene, both of whom sustained injuries as a result.

Kent Police was later called to the disturbance at 11.53pm.

Crossman fled the scene prior to officers’ arrival and uploaded a video of himself to Snapchat at 4am as he walked through the neighbourhood and continued to behave aggressively.

He was located and arrested several hours later and a brief search of a black Audi led to the recovery of an air rifle, believed to have been used in the incident.

Sentenced

He was subsequently charged with possession of an imitation firearm, two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, affray, making threats to kill, possession of a bladed article in a public place and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place.

Crossman pleaded guilty to the first four counts at Maidstone Crown Court on 24 September 2026 and was sentenced to 3 years’ imprisonment.

He was also issued a 6-year restraining order not to contact one of his victims.

The remaining offences were ordered to lay on file.

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Carter Scopes, said:

‘Our officers relentlessly pursued the violent offender through the night and located him nearly 10km away. The swift recovery of evidence consequently helped seal his fate. ‘He initially tried to deny the charges against him but eventually accepted some responsibility. ‘We commend the bravery of the victims in this case, who tried their utmost to contend with Crossman’s unpredictable violent outburst and keep each other safe. We hope the custodial sentence offers them some comfort.’