wez138 - 6-2-2010 at 11:06 AM
HomeNewsTop Stories
Cumbria gunman: Five dead after taxi driver goes on shooting rampage
2/06/2010
At least five people died today after a taxi driver went on the rampage with a shotgun then killed himself.
Divorced father-of-two Derrick Bird, 52, murdered a colleague in the middle of Whitehaven and drove through the Lake District blasting at other
victims, apparently at random.
This afternoon, following a frantic manhunt amid calls for residents to stay indoors, police found his body 20 miles away in woods near the hamlet of
Boot, Cumbria.
Reports suggested there were up to 11 shootings but police have yet to confirm the death toll.
Witnesses told of their terror as Bird drove through Whitehaven with the shotgun hanging out of the window of his taxi.
Police said that following the shooting in Whitehaven, the gunman fled south along the coast, going through Gosforth and Seascale before turning
inland and ending up in Boot.
Rod Davies, landlord of Gosforth Hall Inn, said he understood the gunman returned to his home in Rowrah and shot his own mother.
Mr Davies, who has lived in Gosforth since 2002, 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, where he's believed to have caused two fatalities.
"He then left Seascale and went through Gosforth where he's believed to have killed a local farmer - shot him at point-blank range.
"He's then headed to the valley where Boot is."
Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Hyde said: "I can confirm that we've found a body in a wooded area near Boot which we believe to be Mr Bird, together
with a firearm.
Advertisement - article continues below »
"A formal identification will be made later"
West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven declared a major incident, while the accident and emergency department at the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle
was on standby.
Boot Inn landlord Sean King said that fellow publican Harry Berger, who runs the Woolpack, was shot in the arm in Seascale and was recovering in
hospital.
A member of staff at the Woolpack Inn said a girl had received minor buckshot wounds.
Glenda Pears, boss of L&G Taxis, said Bird and a victim found in Duke Street, Whitehaven, were self-employed drivers and friends.
She said one of her drivers witnessed the aftermath of the shooting at a rival taxi rank in Whitehaven.
She 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."
One witness said the gunman drove up alongside him at traffic lights by Whitehaven police station in Duke Street.
Alan Hannah, 68, of Great Broughton, told the Whitehaven News: "As I turned past the police station, I saw all these officers running out and realised
something major was 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."
Cumbria police set up a casualty bureau line on 0845 3300 247.
DaveMoral - 6-2-2010 at 07:56 PM
I hate to say this, but honestly my first thought was "God I hope this wasn't a Muslim dude."
Sucks when people snap, for whatever reason.