British gun control failure-again.

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http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/06/02/report-feared-dead-shooting-northern-england/

LONDON -- A taxi driver described as quiet but friendly went on a shooting spree across a picturesque rural area of northwestern England on Wednesday, killing at least five people and wounding 25 before apparently turning the gun on himself.
Officers found a body believed to be that of 52-year-old suspect Derrick Bird in woodland near the Lake District village of Boot, Cumbria police said. A gun was found alongside the body.

"I regret to report that a number of people have been shot and that at least five people have died," Prime Minister David Cameron told lawmakers in the House of Commons. "I can confirm that a body of a gunman has been found by police."
Police 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 350 miles (560 kilometers) northwest of London. The BBC reported there had been shootings in 11 locations, not all of them fatal. Witnesses described seeing the gunman driving around shooting out the window of his car.

Barrie Walker, a doctor in Seascale who certified one of the deaths, told the BBC that victims had been shot 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 -- 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." Multiple 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. I would see him once a week out and about. He was known as 'Birdy,"' she said. "I can't believe he would do that -- he was a quiet little fellow."

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This is how crimessuch as thisare reported in Australia because of the anti gun hysteria.We gleen every detail even add crimes comitted in the US in a related coverage section.Itsatradgerty someone was not armed and able to stop this criminal earlier.

Haz.












Gunman Derrick Bird kills 12, wounds 25 then found dead after shooting spree in northern England

• From: NewsCore
• June 03, 2010 5:25AM

Police stand next tothe body of one of the gunman's victims.At least 12 people were killed/ AP Source: AP





Derrick Bird shot himself after his three-and-half-hour rampage / AP Source: AP

• Gunman's body found in woodland
• At least 12 people killed, 25 wounded
• Taxi rank dispute reportedly behind killings

POLICE have found the body of a taxi driver who killed at least 12 people and wounded 25 more in a three-and-a-half hour shooting spree in northern England.

Derrick Bird, 52, was found in woodland near Boot, Cumbria, by police. He had shot himself, sources said.

A local taxi driver claimed that Bird shot three cab drivers in Lake District town of Whitehaven- two fatally- after arguing with them the night before, The Sun reported.

He said: "All of the taxi drivers were friends. But I heard last night there was an argument on the taxi rank."

A friend of Bird's said that he had told him: "You won't see me again."

Bird had recently become a grandfather and lived alone. He was described as a "quiet man" who was a "very difficult man to drag a conversation out of".







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A police spokesman said: "Police have seized a gun from the scene and are now working to formally confirm the identity of the deceased and the number of people injured or dead."

Armed police were scrambled at 10.35am (7.30pm AEST) after reports of a man opening fire from his car on a busy street in Whitehaven.

Bird'smurder spree began whenhe drove up to the taxi rank in the centre Whitehaven, got out of his car and deliberately targeted his colleagues.

He shot at least one in the head at close quarters and then returned to his vehicle to make his escape.

It as at that point that he began firing indiscriminately through the smashed windscreen as he careered through the town.

Terrified pedestrians were forced to dash for cover as he sprayed the streets with bullets. Others holed themselves up in shops, pubs and houses.

There were reports of shootings at 11 different locations.



One of his victims was a farmer's son from Gosforth, whom he shot at point-blank range about an hour after the Whitehaven shootings.

Gary Purdham was trimming hedges with his uncle when Bird drove past, wound down his car window and shot him, said witnesses.

One local, who did not want to be named, said Mr Purdham was in his early 30s and had two young children.

Rod Davies, landlord of Gosforth Hall Inn, said: "The guy flipped for whatever reason. Whether it was pre-meditated, we don't know.

"We've heard he returned home and shot his mother. Then he has gone on a spree to Seascale."


A doctor who identified one of Bird's victims said: "I had never seen shotgun injuries like this, and people lying on pavements in a quiet village, blood flowing on streets.

"The public were incredibly shocked. The public had never seen anything like this before.

"I know the person I identified as lying dead. I know him very well. He is very well known around the village."

The doctor said that he also saw people, including a woman, with serious injuries in a Range Rover.

He said: "The people in the car were locals as well. It is going to be difficult for lots of people in the village. The lady I identified was very well known throughout west Cumbria."

Another doctor said witnesses were "traumatised" by the sight of the bodies, many of which had firearm wounds to the face.

One woman, who lives in Egremont, said she had seen a body lying on a road bridge in the town.

The woman, who did not want to be named, said: "One of them is lying down on the bridge.

"We suspect it's a man but the body is covered up now."

Where the shootings took place


View Cumbria shootings in a larger map

Another witness, Alan Hannah, told how he heard a loud bang before seeing the gunman pull up outside Whitehaven police station this morning.

Mr Hannah described how he fled the town after seeing the man leaning out of his car window.

The 68-year-old, from Great Broughton, Cumbria, said: "I saw people standing around the taxi rank looking stunned.

"As I turned past the police station I saw all these officers running out and realised something was major going on so I moved over to the right-hand lane.

"Then a car pulled up on the left, stopping at the lights. I saw a man with a large shotgun and his windscreen was smashed.

"I drove through the red light to get into Lowther Street and get out of the way. I got home safely but was very shaken."

Brian Edwards, a 67-year-old joiner came face-to-face with the gunman in Whitehaven.

He said: "I heard a bang and thought at first it might be the cannon that they fire at the docks - but it was too early,

"There were four shots and I looked round to see the taxi driver lying on the pavement.

"Seconds before he had been standing in a doorway having a cigarette just ten feet away from us - he was just blasted in the head by the gunman at point-blank range.

"He was in a terrible state and I didn't think he could still be alive.

"Then a man carrying a rifle with a large telescopic sight on it ran past just feet away and fired again."

Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to do everything possible to help communities "shattered" by the killing spree in Cumbria.

He told the Commons: "The Government will do everything it possibly can to help the local community and those affected and to keep the House informed.

"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."

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So how is that victim rich environment thing working out for you?

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/shooting+leaves+dead+injured/3101765/story.html

Yata hey

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Grapeshot wrote:

So how is that victim rich environment thing working out for you?

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/shooting+leaves+dead+injured/3101765/story.html

Yata hey

Click to expand...

"He had warned them: "There's going to be a rampage tomorrow," before returning to the cab rank in Whitehaven the following day where he shot three taxi drivers, two of them fatally."

Click to expand...

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Remindes me of what John Howard, Australia's Prime Minister who banned guns did before and after the Port Arther massacar. Click on the link and read it for yourselves.

.http://www.itwillpass.com/nwo_port_arthur_massacre.shtml

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It might have been a different out come if they had firearms to defend themselves. I shake my head when I go to the UK and see guys wearing camo from head to toe and carry these expensive back packs but hunt with a BB guns. Or chase each other with airsoft guns. For gosh sakes their politicians reduced the common citizen to a kid with toys. Even for those they have to have a permit. They left them with nothing that can be used for their legitimate defense, aside from a broom stick. On the other hand crime and murders still happen even though they took away the legit guns away.



What is more sickening, is the fact that the cops took so long to reach the gunman. [size=]

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LCD wrote:

It might have been a different out come if they had firearms to defend themselves. I shake my head when I go to the UK and see guys wearing camo from head to toe and carry these expensive back packs but hunt with a BB guns. Or chase each other with airsoft guns. For gosh sakes their politicians reduced the common citizen to a kid with toys. Even for those they have to have a permit. They left them with nothing that can be used for their legitimate defense, aside from a broom stick. On the other hand crime and murders still happen even though they took away the legit guns away.



What is more sickening, is the fact that the cops took so long to reach the gunman. [size=]

Click to expand...

It is one of the great lies told to subjects.

Trust us. We know what is best for you.

Work hard, keep your nose clean and everything will work out.

We'll protect you from the bad people.

Sad things is that doesn't even make good fairy tale - unhappy endings please no one.

Yata hey

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LCD wrote

"What is more sickening, is the fact that the cops took so long to reach the gunman."

Click to expand...

.

Maybe they were riding bicycles. puff-puff, wheeze?

Haz.