 More than 20 arrests were made over Brendon Lawrence's death |
Three women whose lives have been devastated by gun crime have spoken of their experiences. Janice Collins, Christine Bradshaw and Andrea Draycott know all too well the effect of gun crime in Nottingham.
Ms Collins and Ms Bradshaw each had a son shot dead in the city. Ms Draycott lost her husband to a bullet.
As the row over the county chief constable's comments over policing and gun crime continue, the three women met to share their tragic experiences.
Marvyn Bradshaw, 22, was shot dead outside a pub in Top Valley in an apparent case of mistaken identity in August 2003.
 The tragedies have formed a bond between the women |
Michael O'Brien was sentenced to life for his murder at a trial in August 2004 - and the judge said he showed "no remorse" for the killing.
Ms Bradshaw, his mother, said: "There's no part of my life that hasn't been affected by Marvyn's death.
"You don't sleep - when you do sleep you have nightmares.
"Marvin was my baby, just a lovely person.
"There might be half a dozen of his friends waiting on the doorstep but he would never go out without giving me a kiss."
Ms Collins has seen more than 20 arrests over the death of her son, Brendon Lawrence, but no-one has been charged with his murder.
The teenager was shot on the street in St Ann's in 2002, twice in the left leg and once in the chest as he stepped out of a car.
"I think the bullet was meant for somebody else," Ms Collins told East Midlands Today.
"I think Brendon was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"You try and put yourself in the position Brendon was in that night - would he have felt that bullet, would it have hurt, what would he have been thinking when he was shot?
"It still goes round and round and round."
'Evil death'
David Draycott, 40, was gunned down outside his home on Sutton-in-Ashfield in Nottinghamshire.
Detectives said they believed hitmen were responsible for his death, which may have been over unpaid debts.
His widow, Andrea Draycott, said: "I just managed to say as he was going into the ambulance 'David I love you and I won't be long'. That was the last time I saw him conscious.
"If he had died normally then you can at least say this is why he died, but he didn't die normally.
"He died an evil, violent death and I want to know why."
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What would he have been thinking when he was shot?
