Air rifle 'sniper' shot pregnant Northampton woman as she returned from a children's party

A husband and wife from Northampton are scared to leave their own house after an air-rifle toting sniper took pot shots at them yards away from their front door.
Cristina Meder was left with a nasty puncture wound after being shot near her home in Abington Avenue.Cristina Meder was left with a nasty puncture wound after being shot near her home in Abington Avenue.
Cristina Meder was left with a nasty puncture wound after being shot near her home in Abington Avenue.

Seven-months-pregnant Cristina Mesder, 27, of Abington Avenue, had to be taken to hospital following the incident on Saturday night, (September 30) which left her with a nasty pellet wound on her upper arm.

She and her husband Adrian,30, were returning from a children's party at around 7.30pm when they heard a loud "crack", seconds after leaving their car near the junction of Clarke Road. It was the sound of an air rifle pellet ricocheting off the pavement.

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"My wife was hit on the right shoulder," said Adrian, who was carrying his two-year-old son on his own shoulders at the time. The couple were approaching a rear entrance of their house overlooked by a block of flats.

Cristina Mesder.Cristina Mesder.
Cristina Mesder.

"If that had been a bit more to the right it would have hit my son," he added.

"My wife is due to give birth very soon, this has been very distressing."

After that, the couple went inside the house, called the police and waited for an ambulance to come.

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Just as Mr and Mrs Mesder entered their home they heard another crack, which they took to be another shot.

A spokesman for Northamptonshire Police confirmed the reports of an air rifle being fired in the area on Saturday night.

However, the force is not due to meet with Mr and Mrs Mesder until Wednesday (October 4).

Officers do not yet know where the shots came from or why the shooter picked on a young family entering their own home.

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Adrian, a warehouse worker, says the shooting has left the family scared to leave their house.

Cristina Mesder.Cristina Mesder.
Cristina Mesder.

"My wife asks me every time now to drop her off right outside the house. We won't be going in through the back way for a long time, we don't want to get hit again."

If you have any information about the air rifle shooting on Saturday night, call police on 101.