Anthony McCall, 39, is wanted by police after breaching his licence conditions. He was jailed for five years and four months in 2024 after admitting a series of firearms offences following an incident in which he discharged a pistol into his own mouth.
Incident in St Helens
Liverpool Crown Court heard how Merseyside Police received reports of a man suffering a gunshot wound to his mouth outside an address on Derbyshire Hill Road in St Helens shortly before midday on February 19. Officers later found McCall on nearby Ashtons Green Drive. He would not say when or how the incident had occurred or if others were involved.
He was taken to Aintree Hospital by ambulance with only a "small puncture wound to the area directly below his lower lip" and "multiple loose and dislodged teeth", the bullet having apparently lodged itself within his left cheek.
Weapon recovered
Homeowner Andrea Parr was later found cleaning up blood inside the property where the firearm had been discharged. Her daughter Ellie Smith had also been present at the time, and told the police that McCall had stayed there overnight before they and another man, named as Kaylyn, visited a café to have breakfast. She and the defendant had then returned to her house in a taxi. The witness recalled being in the kitchen when she "heard a loud bang" and turned around to see him injured and leaving the address.
The weapon was subsequently recovered from a garage at the rear of the premises. It was described as a black FN Browning self-loading pistol which dated back to 1922 but was "in fair condition", although a cartridge had become stuck within the chamber. A magazine containing six rounds of .32 calibre ammunition was found alongside the weapon.
Sentencing and appeal
McCall claimed he had discovered the gun hidden inside a cushion on a living room sofa. However, sentencing him, Judge David Aubrey KC rejected his account, describing it as "implausible". The judge said he was satisfied McCall had possessed the firearm for a criminal purpose and that it had been discharged accidentally, rather than in an attempt to take his own life.
McCall, who has links to Croxteth and St Helens, admitted possessing a prohibited firearm, possessing a firearm while prohibited for life, possessing ammunition without a certificate and possessing ammunition while prohibited for life. He had previously been jailed for robbery in 2009 and was banned from possessing firearms for life.
Police are now appealing for information on his whereabouts. Anyone who sees McCall or has information about where he is should call Merseyside Police on 101 or send a direct message to @MerPolCC on social media, quoting reference 26000765803. Information can also be passed anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
