A 30-year-old Newtownabbey man has pleaded guilty to a series of charges including firearm possession and causing grievous bodily harm in connection with an incident in County Antrim last year.

Kyle Knell, of Tynan Abbey, entered guilty pleas at Belfast Crown Court on Thursday to two counts of causing grievous bodily harm, possession of ammunition in suspicious circumstances, false imprisonment, and trespassing a dwelling while carrying a Glock 17 pistol. He also admitted a new charge of possessing the handgun in suspicious circumstances.

All offences took place on 6 January 2025 at a property in County Antrim. The court heard that during the incident, Knell broke into two houses and two people suffered gunshot wounds. He also prevented a teenage boy from answering the door to police.

Three further charges – wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, and common assault – were left on the books by the prosecution.

Defence counsel Barry Gibson KC said the legal teams had resolved the matter and that a psychiatric report had been commissioned for the defendant. He indicated the report would be shared with prosecutors.

Judge Philip Gilpin scheduled a plea and sentence hearing for 3 September 2026 and remanded Knell in custody.

Knell had been on bail but it was revoked last week after he informed the PSNI that he was in possession of drugs, breaching his release conditions. The court was told this was his fourth breach of bail. During a previous hearing, the prosecution described the January incident as occurring during what appeared to be a significant drug-induced episode of paranoia and delusions. They also noted that a week prior, Knell had to be talked down from a security wall at Belfast High Court while in a similar state.

Knell's defence has said that while on bail he never endangered anyone else and that when he encountered drug issues he contacted police directly.

The judge denied a subsequent bail application, stating Knell did not seem capable of adhering to conditions.