BOOT, England: A gunman killed at least 12 people in a deadly rampage through a popular tourist region in northwest England on Wednesday, before apparently turning the gun on himself, police said.
Eleven people were hospitalised, three in critical condition, after 52-year-old taxi driver Derrick Bird spent over three hours driving through the Lake District, reportedly shooting at people from his car window.
During the killing spree, police warned frightened local residents and tourists to stay indoors for their own protection. Bird's body was eventually found in woods, along with a gun, near the village of Boot.
Officers recovered two guns in total, a shotgun and a .22 rifle fitted with a telescopic sight.
Police were baffled as to why he launched the attacks, which shocked the rural community popular with hikers drawn to its spectacular mountain walks.
"We can... confirm that from our current indications 12 people have lost their lives, plus Derrick Bird (the gunman)," Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Hyde told reporters in the coastal town of Whitehaven.
"We are not able to understand at this stage the real motivation behind it or establish whether this was a premeditated or a random attack," he added, describing it as "probably the blackest day in our community's history".
People who knew Bird described him as a quiet man who lived alone and was nicknamed "Birdy".
"He was just a normal bloke," said Michelle Haigh, the landlady at The Hound Inn pub where he would regularly stop off for a drink. "This is not in character with the Derrick Bird we know."
Media reports suggested a row had broken out between Bird and fellow taxi drivers on Tuesday night, and that two of those drivers were among the dead.
More than 100 policemen were working to retrace the journey Bird made through a number of villages before he abandoned his car and continued on foot into a wooded area, where his body was found.
Eyewitnesses in the village of Seascale said Bird took "pot shots" at people as he drove through.
Among the victims there were Jane Robinson, who was in her 70s and died as she delivered catalogues door-to-door, and 64-year-old Michael Pike, who was shot as he rode his bicycle near the home he shared with his wife and son.
Seascale doctor Barrie Walker told of "blood flowing in the streets" as he attended to victims.
One resident of the nearby village of Egremont, Gary Toomey, recounted how he found a man bleeding on his doorstep.
"I saw a car screeching off and a man saying 'help me'. He was bleeding heavily from the side of his face," Toomey told local media.
"He said he dived out of the way of the shot, and the man in the car pointed the gun down and shot him again in the back from about six feet away as he lay on the floor."
Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "alarmed and shocked" by the shootings.
"When lives and communities are suddenly shattered in this way, our thoughts should be with all those caught up with these tragic events," he told parliament.
Queen Elizabeth II said in a statement that she was "deeply shocked" by the "appalling" events, offering her sympathy to the victims' families.
"I am sure I share in the grief and horror of the whole country," she said.
Britain has tight controls on gun ownership introduced after two previous mass shootings in recent years.
In 1987, 27-year-old Michael Ryan shot 14 people dead in the town of Hungerford in Berkshire, southern England.
And in 1996, 43-year-old Thomas Hamilton shot dead 16 children aged five and six plus their teacher in a primary school in Dunblane, central Scotland.
Registration is now mandatory for shotguns and firearms, which must be kept in secure storage. Nearly 600,000 people in Britain legally own a shotgun, and just over 100,000 a firearm.
Handguns were banned in 1997, and semi-automatic and pump-action rifles are also outlawed. - AFP/de
Eleven people were hospitalised, three in critical condition, after 52-year-old taxi driver Derrick Bird spent over three hours driving through the Lake District, reportedly shooting at people from his car window.
During the killing spree, police warned frightened local residents and tourists to stay indoors for their own protection. Bird's body was eventually found in woods, along with a gun, near the village of Boot.
Officers recovered two guns in total, a shotgun and a .22 rifle fitted with a telescopic sight.
Police were baffled as to why he launched the attacks, which shocked the rural community popular with hikers drawn to its spectacular mountain walks.
"We can... confirm that from our current indications 12 people have lost their lives, plus Derrick Bird (the gunman)," Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Hyde told reporters in the coastal town of Whitehaven.
"We are not able to understand at this stage the real motivation behind it or establish whether this was a premeditated or a random attack," he added, describing it as "probably the blackest day in our community's history".
People who knew Bird described him as a quiet man who lived alone and was nicknamed "Birdy".
"He was just a normal bloke," said Michelle Haigh, the landlady at The Hound Inn pub where he would regularly stop off for a drink. "This is not in character with the Derrick Bird we know."
Media reports suggested a row had broken out between Bird and fellow taxi drivers on Tuesday night, and that two of those drivers were among the dead.
More than 100 policemen were working to retrace the journey Bird made through a number of villages before he abandoned his car and continued on foot into a wooded area, where his body was found.
Eyewitnesses in the village of Seascale said Bird took "pot shots" at people as he drove through.
Among the victims there were Jane Robinson, who was in her 70s and died as she delivered catalogues door-to-door, and 64-year-old Michael Pike, who was shot as he rode his bicycle near the home he shared with his wife and son.
Seascale doctor Barrie Walker told of "blood flowing in the streets" as he attended to victims.
One resident of the nearby village of Egremont, Gary Toomey, recounted how he found a man bleeding on his doorstep.
"I saw a car screeching off and a man saying 'help me'. He was bleeding heavily from the side of his face," Toomey told local media.
"He said he dived out of the way of the shot, and the man in the car pointed the gun down and shot him again in the back from about six feet away as he lay on the floor."
Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "alarmed and shocked" by the shootings.
"When lives and communities are suddenly shattered in this way, our thoughts should be with all those caught up with these tragic events," he told parliament.
Queen Elizabeth II said in a statement that she was "deeply shocked" by the "appalling" events, offering her sympathy to the victims' families.
"I am sure I share in the grief and horror of the whole country," she said.
Britain has tight controls on gun ownership introduced after two previous mass shootings in recent years.
In 1987, 27-year-old Michael Ryan shot 14 people dead in the town of Hungerford in Berkshire, southern England.
And in 1996, 43-year-old Thomas Hamilton shot dead 16 children aged five and six plus their teacher in a primary school in Dunblane, central Scotland.
Registration is now mandatory for shotguns and firearms, which must be kept in secure storage. Nearly 600,000 people in Britain legally own a shotgun, and just over 100,000 a firearm.
Handguns were banned in 1997, and semi-automatic and pump-action rifles are also outlawed. - AFP/de
