A police officer says she feared she was going to die when a teenager pointed a replica gun at her head and pulled the trigger.
PC Kerri Trickey has told how she thought “this is it” when she was pistol-whipped by a 14-year-old girl.
Blood poured from her eye, which later needed to be glued back shut, as the youth pulled the trigger of a BB gun.
PC Trickey confessed she was “terrified” and has “thought of nothing else since” the assault, which happened on the Isle of Wight.
A member of the public who witnessed the attack managed to restrain the teenager and the officer was taken to hospital for treatment.
The girl has since been sentenced at Isle of Wight Youth Court after pleading guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and possession of an imitation firearm.
PC Trickey’s victim impact statement was read to the court by prosecutor Liz Miller, in which the officer asked: “How does someone that age have such little regard for hurting someone?”
“The pain lasted over a week. I had to have the cut above my left eye glued together.
“In terms of the incident, I was in total shock. Although the injury has now healed, I had blood pouring from my eye.”
PC Trickey said the harrowing incident was the first in her seven years of service in which she has had a gun pulled on her.
“When I was assaulted, it was really terrifying. There was so much blood and I couldn’t understand where it was all coming from. I was terrified I could’ve been shot,” the officer added.
“That was on my mind when I saw the gun she pointed at me. I remember thinking, ‘This is it.’ I was really terrified.
“I really believed I was going to be shot. I’ve thought of nothing else since.
“I am constantly reflecting on when she pulled the gun out and how I felt to see that.
“When I saw her that day, I felt such tremendous pressure to act as I genuinely believed she was going to hurt a member of the public and I knew it was my job to stop her doing that.
“I’ve been in the police seven years and never had someone pull a gun on me.
“This is not something I ever believed I would have to deal with.
“How does someone that age have such little regard for hurting someone?”
A teaching assistant who saw the gun being used against a pupil also believed it to be real.
The assistant told how she watched as the teenager pointed it at a schoolboy and again pulled the trigger, adding that the terrifying scene “will always stay with her”.
“My initial feelings were of shock and fear. I was stunned,” she said in her statement.
“To have a child bring the gun into school is shocking; whether it was real or not.
“When I saw her raise the gun and point it at the boy, I was so fearful when I heard the click of the trigger.
“I wondered what could’ve happened to me if I’d challenged the girl more forcefully or tried to restrain her.
“It will always stay with me. It looked like a real gun, enough for me to act as though it was a real gun.”
After the case Chief Inspector Rob Brind said: “This was understandably a concerning incident for the victims, who initially thought the weapon being carried was a viable firearm.
“We also want to thank the member of the public that intervened to help detain the suspect after one of our officers was assaulted.
“Assaults on police will not be tolerated. Police officers and staff perform a difficult and often dangerous role, but we do not view assaults as simply being part of the job.”
The girl admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and three counts of possession of an imitation firearm, namely a Sig Sauer P226 BB gun, with intent to cause fear of violence against one male and two females, under the Firearms Act.
She was sentenced to an 18-month detention and training order.