Search for
Search for
Search for'I was faced with a sawn-off shotgun'
Saturday, May 17, 2008, 07:00
Sonny Toft, 33, answered the door of his home in Wells Avenue, west Hull, expecting the delivery of a takeaway on November 2 last year.
Instead, he came face to face with the barrels of a sawn-off shotgun in the hands of David Mark Rust. The gun was then fired and the shot hit the ceiling above his head.
Mr Toft said: “The past seven months have been a nightmare.
“I have lived in Hull all my life. I'm from Hessle Road, but I don't feel comfortable in Hull anymore.”
Mr Toft told the Mail he thought he was going to die as he crawled away from the door after the gun had been fired.
He said: “I had ordered a takeaway and there was a knock at the door.
“As I opened the door expecting the delivery, there was a shotgun in my face.
“I heard my name and then a bang. My instinct was just to fall to the floor.
“I was crawling down my hallway, thinking I had been hit. I was stunned.
“Even now I am still shocked about it because I can't believe someone came to my home and did that.”
As reported in yesterday's Mail, Mr Rust, 36, of Cadogan Avenue, west Hull, was found not guilty of attempted murder at Bradford Crown Court on Thursday.
He admitted shooting at Mr Toft, but said he deliberately missed him after being ordered to kill him by two men who threatened him and his family.
Mr Toft said he has given up his home and his job as he felt his life was at risk.
He is also unable to see his children, who live with their mother, as regularly, because he avoids visiting Hull.
“The way I was living I was comfortable and happy and this has just twisted it all up,” he said.
“I had just settled down, just decorated my home, was getting on my feet and then this happened.
“I think it is going to take a while before I get to the stage where I feel all right again.”
LIVING IN FEAR: Sonny Toft said he is afraid to spend time in Hull after opening his door to a gunman
Pair jailed for running 'sophisticated' cannabis factory
Be the first to comment