Crime Details and Court Order in Stolen HBP Case

We have some new pieces of information tonight related to today’s news about the stolen Half-Blood Prince books.
First, author J.K. Rowling was granted a court injunction against the two men who were accused of trying to sell copies of Half-Blood Prince to a reporter today. The Scotsman notes that she is trying to stop leaks about the book’s contents,and says:

” Ms Rowling was granted a High Court injunction against the two men aged 19 and 37 after they were accused of attempting to sell printed copies of Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince.

Legal firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain issued a statement on her behalf which said: “This order was made following our client’s discovery this morning that a copy of the forthcoming Harry Potter Book, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, had been obtained by unauthorised persons who had subsequently offered the book to newspaper journalists.”

Both men were arrested, charged, and have been released on bail.

The Times also now has this article which gives some new details from the reporter from the tabloid The Sun who met with the men in question to buy copies of the stolen book. The paper says that (a) “shot was fired over his head as he tried to make off with a copy of the novel without handing over a £50,000 “fee” for the stolen goods. “

In a manner which Rita Skeeter would no doubt be proud, the reporter from The Sun describes his adventure:

“I looked down the barrel of a gun – and thought I was about to die for the sake of Harry Potter,” he writes in The Sun today. “For two horrific minutes I pleaded with the gunman not to shoot. Then he fired over my shoulder and into the air. I headed straight for my car and drove off, still shaking, leaving the two men with Harry Potter’s secrets.”