12 confirmed murdered and 25 injured after Gunman runs amok in Whitehaven, Egremont and Seascale, Cu

Gee Brits, how that archaic concept of "armed response vehicles" working out? Yeah they are real effective as you can see. Police forces in the real world ditched that concept back in the 1800s ...

You have one every year, if not more frequently.

Yeah, the difference is we are actually capable of stopping these kinds of incidents within minutes of them occurring instead of hours (or days in the case of the Hungerford Massacre).

How horrible for all concerned.
The thing which I found most chilling were the many reports through the day about how well liked amd popular this guy was.
He was called a "really nice chap" by those who knew him,and chatted to friends happily last night in Tescos,whilst buying chicken for tea.

Then today he does this,which started with him killing someone from the taxi rank who was described as his "friend."

How chilling that someone so well liked can flip into a monster overnight.

Must have had some kind of psychotic break.
Just awful news.

Edit:

Any evidence that he was on SSRI drugs(anti depressants)?
Such people often are.

[edit on 2/6/2010 by Silcone Synapse]

Originally posted by EyesWideShut
It pisses me off that people are stripped of their God given right to protect themselves by the government.

You totally miss the point. If the government changed the law in Britain so that everyone could buy any gun they wanted then I guarantee than not one of those persons shot would have been carrying a gun and not one life would have been saved.

Britons simply don't have a gun culture. We don't carry guns because we don't want to carry guns and because most of us go about our daiy lives safe in the knowledge that we're much more likely to be struck by lightning than be shot at.

Edit: that said, in a freak occurence, 4 people were struck by lightning in Cumbria last week. It never rains .......


[edit on 2-6-2010 by Essan]

Some very interesting background on the shooter which may provide some explanation.

Derrick Bird was previously the victim of a vicious attack by a fare-dodging customer which left him suffering from anxiety, North News reports. He was left unconscious and with two broken teeth after challenging Daniel John Carr, then 19, who jumped out of his cab without paying together with two friends. Carr, then of Crossfield Road, Cleator Moor, admitted causing actual bodily harm in October 2007. Whitehaven magistrates ordered Carr to pay £250 compensation to Mr Bird and £175 costs.

When Bird regained consciousness after the incident, Mr Bird said he couldn’t remember what had happened but he discovered his teeth had been knocked out and he had a gash on the back of his head. In a statement, Mr Bird said following the incident he hadn’t wanted to work nights and “was still nervous and anxious’’.

Derrick Bird worked at the Sellafield nuclear processing plant before becoming a taxi driver, according to the agency North News.

A close relative of Linda Mills, Bird’s former partner, described Bird to North News as a troubled man who had tried to put pressure on his wife to have an abortion, and would charge members of his own family for rides in his taxi. The relative said: “I’ve known Derrick all of his life. He and his family all grew around here. They were a nice family, him his mum and dad and two brothers. ... He met Linda around 30 years ago. They both went to school together. She was a little younger than him.

“I never really thought much of him as a man. He didn’t have much character to him. He was quiet and moody. He was short anyway but in later life he got fat and lost his hair. I don’t think he had much in the way of self-esteem. “They separated when Jamie was just a few months old (Linda and Bird’s youngest son). When Linda fell pregnant with Jamie, he wanted her to have an abortion and she refused. It put a big strain on the relationship and they broke up soon after.


“Derrick and Linda didn’t speak at all after the split. Derrick saw the children and Jamie spent a lot of time with his dad. When he came to collect Jamie (now 16) he would just toot the horn and wait outside in the car. Despite everything he was a good dad and I know Jamie liked to spend time with him. “Derrick’s dad used to hunt for game and rabbits, and had some guns. ... I know that when he died, he left them in the family and I think there’s a good chance Derrick took possession of them.

“After they split up he was mainly single, but he did have a girlfriend for a time, I don’t believe he was seeing anyone recently. He used to go on holiday with friends quite a lot. “If you saw him in the street he would say hello to you but he was always down and moody. He was really tight with his money too. He would even charge his own family the taxi fare.” Derrick’s eldest son Graham, 28, got married two years ago, North News reports. Two weeks ago Graham’s wife gave to a baby boy.

www.timesonline.co.uk...

That incident where he was maliciously attacked may have severly damaged his brain as he was knocked unconscious. And he clearly suffered with anxiety after this, as we all would have.

Apart from that he seems to have had some stress in his life, but nothing out of the ordinary, and don't we all have stress in our lives?

Its also a matter of interest that he worked at Sellafield Nuclear Power Station. I wonder if working at Sellafield had any affect on him?


[edit on 2-6-2010 by Peruvianmonk]

Damb ,Im from Lancaster and have friends who have family there.

just seemed odd on the bbc1 6o'clock news they cutoff a eye witness off after he said he saw the susspect with a huge sniper rifle when other reports say shot gun.

any link between the victims??

Originally posted by ChrisF231
Gee Brits, how that archaic concept of "armed response vehicles" working out? Yeah they are real effective as you can see. Police forces in the real world ditched that concept back in the 1800s ...

Your missing the point, Cumbria is a rural area, Whitehaven has a population of around 22,000.

Cumbria as a county is the most sparsely populated county in England.

We have one of the lowest crime rates in the country, this is why Cumbria only has two armed response vehicles.

Cumbria was never prepared for something like this, the majority of our armed police are the Civil Nuclear Constabulary which patrols Sellafield (Just outside of Seascale).

I don't have any sources because i live here.

The absolute depths that some people will sink to - in this case turning a tradgedy into a cheap pot shot at British culture - never ceases to amaze me.

Just read the latest update on BBC News.

The taxi driver that he turned on first, Darren Rewcastle.

Is indeed the Darren that often comes into my shop, this is so messed up, i only saw him less than 24 hours ago, seemed happy and fine no mention of any arguments or annoyances.

Now im just keeping my eyes peeled for the rest of the names.

Sad day, nothing like this in England since 1996.

news.bbc.co.uk...

What a terrible tragedy

My condolences go out to all those effected by this senseless act.

Originally posted by neformore
The absolute depths that some people will sink to - in this case turning a tradgedy into a cheap pot shot at British culture - never ceases to amaze me.

Care to back that one up?... who is taking cheap pot shots at British culture?!? I get that the UK was never a big gun culture , but to strip the people of having the OPTION to protect themselves , I believe is Wrong.

reply to post by neformore


Yeah,you really cannot blame "British culture" for this-You get whack jobs in all countries these days.

I actually think our violence based entertainment media may have more to do with people going postal,but I suppose people did things like this long before we had TV and video games,so maybe I am wrong.

Originally posted by Peruvianmonk
Some very interesting background on the shooter which may provide some explanation.

Thats a very different character than the descriptions I was hearing on the news earlier.
Your links suggest to me that there was a very high chance he was as I suspect,on SSRI type drugs,for the depression/anxiety.

I guess the fact that he worked in the nuclear industry was the reason they locked down the reactor site today.

Horrid stuff.

reply to post by neformore


Its ok man let him speak.

I know i for one stick my nose in other countries affairs all over this board so we can expect the same back. It may not be appropriate but we are about free speech on this board.

Edit:

I know you are not trying to silence him/her.

[edit on 2-6-2010 by Peruvianmonk]

Originally posted by ashwhy
just seemed odd on the bbc1 6o'clock news they cutoff a eye witness off after he said he saw the susspect with a huge sniper rifle when other reports say shot gun.

Yes, that's reported in the BBC website

news.bbc.co.uk...

Sounds like a .303 - typically used by gamekeepers. But not a gun you could readily kill with unless you had experience with it (mind, I suppose same could be said for a shotgun? Which I've never fired)

Originally posted by Concept X
The taxi driver that he turned on first, Darren Rewcastle.

Is indeed the Darren that often comes into my shop, this is so messed up, i only saw him less than 24 hours ago, seemed happy and fine no mention of any arguments or annoyances.

Sorry to hear that mate. Really brings it home

reply to post by blupblup



You're right in the fact that the thread was going just fine, even with the referrence to gun laws on the very first page. But you're wrong about what changed the direction of the thread, which was this post.......

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Didn't come over here from the USA did he? This type of thing usually happens over there...

The person that you're talking about was directly responding to that post.

reply to post by Essan


Well he was found with two weapons at the scence of his death, according to the Cumbrian Deputy Super Intendent. Mabye he had both a shotgun and a rifle.

Originally posted by Peruvianmonk
reply to post by Essan

 

Well he was found with two weapons at the scence of his death, according to the Cumbrian Deputy Super Intendent. Mabye he had both a shotgun and a rifle.

Yeah, just been watching Channel 4 News and they said he had a *something* rifle with telescopic sight and a shotgun.

They did say what kind of rifle but i missed it, watching the videos of dead bodies just covered by towels is so weird man, especially when i have stood at all those locations.

So selfish that he killed himself, now there will never be full answers.

Originally posted by Peruvianmonk
reply to post by Essan

 

Well he was found with two weapons at the scence of his death, according to the Cumbrian Deputy Super Intendent. Mabye he had both a shotgun and a rifle.

Aye. Be interesting to see where he got them from. Though I'm sure many people in Cumbria have both. Did he own them legally or steal them?

Edit: I can't think of a reason why a taxi driver would legally own either, unless he regularly went game shooting?

[edit on 2-6-2010 by Essan]

Originally posted by mythatsabigprobe
This may be a little off topic, but doesn't this situation demonstrate the foolishness of disarming the law abiding public? A criminal has a gun and entire regions are being told to hide in their homes?

so well stated... but we see this same type of ignorance here as well... the anti gunner folks never think of that possibility.. it is always about the gun, and not the criminals that will always have guns...

reply to post by ChrisF231


What like Columbine?

Deny Ignorance or propagate ignorance?

You have no clue whatsoever as to the sort of environment Cumbria is.

The vast majority of Brits don't want arms because we know we will become just as anesthetizd gun crime and murders as other countries.

Despite still not being aware of all the facts we still have people stating that it is our punative and draconian gun laws that allowed this to happen.

Some people will stop at nothing to try and further their own agenda's and justify their own beliefs regardless of facts!

From the prices taxi drivers charge I thought they could get away with murder

On topic,I heard on radio 4 this afternoon on the drive home from work that a local man saw him in his Taxi and he had a snipers rifle-The chap said it looked massive like ones used to kill people a mile away in a war(50 cal)

The taxi shot off(no pun intended)and he noticed a woman lying on the ground who was still alive and breathing but bleeding heavily.This chap said the had a sniper rifle with a massive scope and he couldnt understand why this killer must have walked up to his target and fired point blank(spent cartridge close to her body)

He might be wrong but I cant understand why he would mistake a shotgun for a sniper rifle and if it was a shotgun then it had a borderland scope on it!lol