12 die in UK shoot-up
Source: Agencies |
June 3, 2010, Thursday
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A CABBIE described as quiet but friendly went on a shooting spree across a picturesque rural area of northwestern England yesterday, killing at least 12 people and wounding 25 others before apparently turning the gun on himself.
The rampage, in a region famed for its tranquil beauty, shocked a country where handguns are banned and multiple shootings rare.
It was Britain's deadliest mass shooting since 1996.
Officers found a body believed to be that of suspect Derrick Bird, 52, in woods near the Lake District village of Boot, Cumbria police said. A gun was beside the corpse.
Police Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Hyde said the rampage "has shocked the people of Cumbria and around the country to the core."
Officers said that as well as the deaths, 25 people were wounded in shootings in the small town of Whitehaven and nearby Seascale and Egremont, about 560 kilometers northwest of London.
The BBC reported there had been shootings in 11 sites, not all of them fatal.
Witnesses described seeing the gunman driving around shooting out the window of his car.
His victims included a woman on a bicycle, a farmer in his field and at least two fellow taxi drivers.
Barrie Walker, a doctor in Seascale who certified one of the deaths, told the BBC that victims had been blasted in the face, apparently with a shotgun.
Witness Alan Hannah told the Whitehaven News that he saw a man with a shotgun in a car near a taxi stand in Whitehaven.
Photos showed a body, covered in a sheet, lying in a street in the town.
Local lawmaker Jamie Reed said people in the area - popular with hikers and vacationers alike - were in shock.
"This kind of thing doesn't happen in our part of the world," he told the BBC.
"We have got one of the lowest, if not the lowest, crime rates in the country."
Deadly shootings are rare in Britain, where gun ownership is tightly restricted and handguns are banned.
In 1987, gun enthusiast Michael Ryan killed 16 people in the English town of Hungerford.
In 1996, Thomas Hamilton killed 16 children and a teacher at a kindergarten in Dunblane, Scotland.
Glenda Pears, who runs L&G Taxis in Whitehaven, said one of the victims was another taxi driver who was a friend of Bird's.
"They used to stand together having a laugh on the rank," she said. "He was friends with everybody and used to stand and joke on Duke Street."
Sue Matthews, who works at A2B Taxis in Whitehaven, said Bird was self-employed, quiet and lived alone.
"I would say he was fairly popular," she said. "I would see him once a week out and about. He was known as 'Birdy.'
"I can't believe he would do that - he was a quiet little fellow."
The rampage, in a region famed for its tranquil beauty, shocked a country where handguns are banned and multiple shootings rare.
It was Britain's deadliest mass shooting since 1996.
Officers found a body believed to be that of suspect Derrick Bird, 52, in woods near the Lake District village of Boot, Cumbria police said. A gun was beside the corpse.
Police Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Hyde said the rampage "has shocked the people of Cumbria and around the country to the core."
Officers said that as well as the deaths, 25 people were wounded in shootings in the small town of Whitehaven and nearby Seascale and Egremont, about 560 kilometers northwest of London.
The BBC reported there had been shootings in 11 sites, not all of them fatal.
Witnesses described seeing the gunman driving around shooting out the window of his car.
His victims included a woman on a bicycle, a farmer in his field and at least two fellow taxi drivers.
Barrie Walker, a doctor in Seascale who certified one of the deaths, told the BBC that victims had been blasted in the face, apparently with a shotgun.
Witness Alan Hannah told the Whitehaven News that he saw a man with a shotgun in a car near a taxi stand in Whitehaven.
Photos showed a body, covered in a sheet, lying in a street in the town.
Local lawmaker Jamie Reed said people in the area - popular with hikers and vacationers alike - were in shock.
"This kind of thing doesn't happen in our part of the world," he told the BBC.
"We have got one of the lowest, if not the lowest, crime rates in the country."
Deadly shootings are rare in Britain, where gun ownership is tightly restricted and handguns are banned.
In 1987, gun enthusiast Michael Ryan killed 16 people in the English town of Hungerford.
In 1996, Thomas Hamilton killed 16 children and a teacher at a kindergarten in Dunblane, Scotland.
Glenda Pears, who runs L&G Taxis in Whitehaven, said one of the victims was another taxi driver who was a friend of Bird's.
"They used to stand together having a laugh on the rank," she said. "He was friends with everybody and used to stand and joke on Duke Street."
Sue Matthews, who works at A2B Taxis in Whitehaven, said Bird was self-employed, quiet and lived alone.
"I would say he was fairly popular," she said. "I would see him once a week out and about. He was known as 'Birdy.'
"I can't believe he would do that - he was a quiet little fellow."
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