12 people dead, 25 injured in england after shooting rampage

[Amby 490]

Twelve people have been killed by a gunman who went on the rampage across Cumbria in north-west England.

Taxi driver Derrick Bird shot dead a colleague in the town of Whitehaven before driving through the countryside apparently targeting people at random.

Twenty-five others were injured, three critically and five seriously. Police said they had 30 separate crime scenes.

Mr Bird's body was found in a wooded area in Boot in the Lake District and two weapons have been recovered.

Three of the victims were named locally as Darren Rewcastle, Garry Purdham and Michael Pike.

Mr Rewcastle was a taxi driver. Mr Purdham was a farmer's son and is believed to have had two young children.

Stuart Hyde, Cumbria Police's Deputy Chief Constable, said: "We are still at a very early stage in our investigation and we are not able to really understand the motivation behind it - or establish whether this was a premeditated or random attack.

"Current indications are that 12 people have died, plus Derrick Bird. And a number of people are also receiving treatment in hospital.

"We are working hard to support the families of those involved and our focus is now on gathering as much evidence as possible to build up a clear picture of what happened this morning."

Anyone concerned about the whereabouts of relatives should contact Cumbria Police's Casualty Bureau hotline.

After the first shooting, witnesses said Mr Bird drove through Whitehaven with a gun hanging out of his car window, then headed south through Gosforth and Seascale before turning inland.

As well as Whitehaven, fatalities have been confirmed in Egremont, Seascale and Gosforth.

The mass shooting is England's worst since 1987, when gun fanatic Michael Ryan killed 16 people in Hungerford, Berkshire.

As he began his first Prime Minister's Questions today, David Cameron said the House of Commons would be "alarmed and shocked by the events unfolding in Cumbria".

He said: "When lives and communities are suddenly shattered in this way, our thoughts should be with all those caught up in these tragic events, especially the families and friends of those killed or injured."

After the killings, detectives said 52-year-old Mr Bird drove to the central Lakes in a Citroen Picasso, then abandoned it in the Boot area.

Before his body was discovered, people living nearby were urged to stay indoors for their own protection.

Helicopters and armed officers from other police forces were brought in to help apprehend the gunman.

Mr Hyde added: "We have a number of crime scenes across the county, which are being staffed by police officers, and I would ask people to show a little bit of restraint and respect in regard to those scenes as we try and piece together exactly what has gone on."

A major incident has been declared at West Cumberland Hospital, in Whitehaven, where the NHS said all routine operations had been cancelled.

The Accident and Emergency department at the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle is also on full incident stand-by, the hospital trust said.

West Cumbria University Hospitals Trust deputy chief executive Kevin Clarkson, speaking from West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven, said: "The hospital's trust is part of the community it serves and our staff share in the grief.

"The following is an update on those who are most seriously injured. Three casualties are in a critical condition, five are in a serious condition."

The Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant in west Cumbria closed its gates as a safety precaution and afternoon shift workers were being told to stay away, though the site has since reopened.

The Whitehaven victim, believed to be a colleague of Mr Bird, was killed at 1035 BST.

A local taxi firm boss, Glenda Pears, said: "We just don't know what's happened.

"The lad that's been killed was friends with him. They used to stand together having a craic on the rank.

"He was friends with everybody and used to stand and joke on Duke Street."

Sue Matthews, a telephonist at A2B Taxis in Whitehaven, said the Mr Bird was self-employed and lived alone. She described him as a "quiet fellow".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/10219655.stm

WOW!

[ValerieA 350]

Oh God, those poor people. Those poor families. What an absolute tragedy.

[Peikko 1,575]

I was listening to this when I woke up this morning - It wasn't giving a body count at this time. Really terrible, a horrible tragedy for everyone concerned.

[KaiserD 12]

This is like reading a story, big gun crime so rare at home it just doesn't feel like it could be true. Poor families

[Peikko 1,575]

Weird double post!

Edited June 2, 2010 by Madame Cleo

[Nagishkaw 510]

0MGosh how terrible !

[mawilson 2,133]

Three of the victims were named locally as Darren Rewcastle, Garry Purdham and Michael Pike.

[Gemmie 142]

The worst shooting since 1987...

I don't think you can say the same for America.

[Peikko 1,575]

No one ever made the claim, least of all me that ANY measure taken would completely irradiate the possibility of random acts of senseless violence (or at least as senseless as they ever are). What gun control measures have done, is to reduce the probability of these and every other accidental shooting happening (the last time something similar occurred was in 1997), there are very, very, very few incidents of accidental shootings period - and certainly not stories every other day of a kid killing/injuring himself/friend or relative as there are over here. There will not be a call for any more gun control or any other measures - some people realize that not everything is preventable.

[Gemmie 142]

I don't think the attacks were random either, because didn't one of the reports say he killed his mum... and also the farmer AND his son? Sounds like he shot everyone he had a problem with?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Rampage shootings make the national news in the UK - because in a small country they are infrequent enough to be shocking (this is the first incident of this nature that I've heard of since Dunblane in '95).

Sadly, this is not the case in the US.

Edited June 2, 2010 by Its a MADHOUSE

[Peikko 1,575]

No kidding! I heard a witness account on the radio where this guy said he and his son were in a shop and heard the loud cracks of gun fire, they came out and he saw the guy at the taxi rank shot in the face, he said he shielded his son from being able to see. Must have been horrific.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

No kidding! I heard a witness account on the radio where this guy said he and his son were in a shop and heard the loud cracks of gun fire, they came out and he saw the guy at the taxi rank shot in the face, he said he shielded his son from being able to see. Must have been horrific.

Indeed. It's just not something you associate with Cumbria.

[Peikko 1,575]

Not hardly - when I heard it on the news, I couldn't quite get my head around it at all. Unbelievable, and yet true. Horrible, tragic and he committed suicide to boot. Must have been some serious malfunction that set this off, some unresolved issue of many, many years standing. Very sad.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

People like that are slow-burners, pressure builds until something sends them over the edge.

Often you find that they're angry at the world for their own failures and blame other people for the state of their own lives.