A legal anomaly?

[chickenfeet]

On Boxing Day, a fifteen year old girl was killed while shopping. She was hit by a single stray bullet after a gun fight broke out between two youths in a busy part of downtown. Police have arrested the two alleged gunmen and charged them with fire arms related offences. No-one has been charged with murder because they haven't identified who fired the fatal shot. Surely there is something wrong with the law here? Both gunmen are equally culpable and should face murder charges. If a person or persons open(s) up unlawfully with a fire arm in a crowded place, purposing the death of Person A or B, they are surely equally culpable if person X, Y or Z is killed, regardless of which gunman fired the fatal shot.

Comments

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

I think Scots law would still clasify this as murder, either under common cause, or because firing guns in a public place towards shows a sufficient degree of wicked wrecklessness to establish the mens rea necessary for murder charges to be brought. Of course, their might have been some intervening legilslation in the 20 years (WHAT???) since I graduated.

The government recently floated their intention of introducing a new bill to narrow the definition of murder still further.