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Whitehaven killings: history of shootings in the UK

By Ed Fraser

Updated on 02 June 2010

The Whitehaven shootings in Cumbria recall a series of grim shootings in Britain which include the Hungerford massacre and Dunblane primary school killings.

Thomas Hamilton, Dunblane gunman (Reuters)

Spree killings such as those witnessed in Cumbria will send a shockwave through the local community and the country as a whole.

On August 19 1987:  loner and gun fanatic Michael Ryan went on a shooting rampage in Hungerford.

Ryan who was armed with an automatic rifle, a pistol and at least one hand grenade he shot 16 people dead, including his mother, before killing himself.

His victims included a police officer who tried to tackle him. At least another 15 people were also injured. 

His first victim was a woman who was picnicking with her two children in Savernake Forest, 10 miles from the Berkshire town. 

Less than 10 minutes later, firefighters were called to a house in Hungerford where they found the body of Ryan's mother.

Ryan, dressed in combat gear, then made his way, shooting at people as he went on foot, to the town's main shopping area where he indiscriminately shot and killed 12 people.

He then managed to evade a massive manhunt by armed police and helicopters until he was tracked down to the empty John O'Gaunt Community Technology College where he barricaded himself in.

More on the West Cumbria shootings from Channel 4 News
- Profile: Whitehaven gunman Derrick Bird
- Timeline: Cumbria shootings
- Whitehaven shootings: gunman friends with victim

Negotiators made contact with Ryan after he had fired at circling helicopters.   At one point Ryan waved an unpinned grenade at police through a window. 

He is reported to have told negotiators: "Hungerford must be a bit of a mess. I wish I had stayed in bed."

The body of the 27-year-old, who had shot himself, was later found inside.

Ryan was described by the press as a gun fanatic who had an "unhealthy" relationship with his mother.

The incident led to tighter restrictions on gun ownership with the introduction of the Firearms (Amendment) Act of 1988 but critics said the legislation did not go far enough.

March 13 1996: former Scout leader Thomas Hamilton entered the gym hall at Dunblane Primary School and opened fire on a class of five and six year olds.  

He shot dead 16 children and their school teacher.

In a shooting spree which lasted less than three minutes, Hamilton, who was armed with two pistols and two revolvers, fired a total of 109 rounds.

A public inquiry into the Dunblane massacre found that Hamilton, a former shopkeeper, had been investigated by police following complaints about his behaviour towards young boys.

The incident was the subject of an extensive inquiry and report by Lord Cullen  and eventually led to further tightening of gun controls following a campaign by the victims families with a ban on owning handguns.

Dunblane's horrendous reality
It was around 10 in the morning on 13 March 1996 that the first reports began coming through of a man with a gun at a school in Dunblane. It sounded unreal, writes Ed Fraser for Channel 4 News.

Then confirmation that a man with a gun had run amok in a school. Details were still unclear but it was a gut wrenching moment. A little later as reporters arrived on the scene at Dunblane Primary School the full horrendous reality slowly began to emerge.

Thomas Hamilton, a former scout leader fired up on bitterness and resentment at his local community, had walked calmly into a school gym hall and begun shooting Primary One school age infants - five- and six-year-olds

The victims names remain etched in the mind for those who covered the events of that awful day. The moment of hearing felt like a punch to the stomach. Experienced police officers who arrived on the scene described scenes of utter carnage and devastation; scenes from hell they could never excise from their minds.

The schools headmaster had few words for such a random and inexplicable event in such a quiet sleepy village: "Evil visited us today; and we don't know why. I guess we never will."

Newspaper headlines said it all: Slaughter of the innocents. A video shot by police inside the gym hall after the killings will never be made public. Trauma counselling followed for those who witnessed the aftermath of that day and families of the victims.

Even now it is still a profoundly affecting event.

A picture quickly began to emerge of a friendless loner who felt as if the local community had spurned him. Hamilton using handguns he owned and had trained with at his local gun club had decided to take his revenge on Dunblane's young and most innocent. Boys and girls and their teacher Gwen Mayor were murdered inside the gym hall. Many received multiple gun wounds.

Innocent, blameless victims unable to escape inside that confined hall on a school day. Hamilton then took the killers cowardly way out. A pre-planned massacre and a self induced exit.

A major inquiry by Lord Cullen followed and a campaign by the families of the victims for a tightening of the law surrounding handguns. They succeeded. But here we are again. This time a shotgun the apparent killer's weapon of choice or of convenience.

Follow Ed Fraser on Twitter @frasereC4.

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