retromlc Posted June 3, 2010 Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 According to The Telegraph the guns were inherited from his father. His mother was dying in hospital and he and his twin were arguing over the will. He got into an argument with his buddies at the taxi rank the day before and was already indicating dire behaviour. A friend disarmed him that night. (! why didn't he phone the police?). He went to the hospital to report his deteriorating mental state. They turned him away. Next day he shot his twin brother and the solicitor, then went to the taxi rank and shot two buddies and then just went on the rampage. There seems to have been ample opportunities to preven this tragedy. He knew he was losing it and wasn't helped by anyone. If only... Bloody heartbreaking. If what you say is true,thenthis is an even worse tradity as it could have been prevented at several points,i'm just shocked and feel for everyone affected in the local areas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted June 3, 2010 Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 A few members have asked for posts they made last evening to be removed, this has been done. Obviously posts that quoted these posts have also been removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosd Posted June 3, 2010 Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 Radio 5 Live "should gun laws be changed" debate now....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andythechicken Posted June 3, 2010 Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 Radio 4 this morning said that he had a .22 Rifle with telescopic sight and a shotgun. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vandyke Posted June 3, 2010 Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 RIP to all, A very sad day Sky news say he was a SGC holder for 20 years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted June 3, 2010 Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 According to The Telegraph the guns were inherited from his father. His mother was dying in hospital and he and his twin were arguing over the will. He got into an argument with his buddies at the taxi rank the day before and was already indicating dire behaviour. A friend disarmed him that night. (! why didn't he phone the police?). He went to the hospital to report his deteriorating mental state. They turned him away. Next day he shot his twin brother and the solicitor, then went to the taxi rank and shot two buddies and then just went on the rampage. There seems to have been ample opportunities to preven this tragedy. He knew he was losing it and wasn't helped by anyone. If only... Bloody heartbreaking. As someone else has said, if this is true then someone needs a good ####ing! The guy did his best to get himself looked at but nothing was done by the sound of things? That makes it so much more painful in my mind as it's almost like he knew he was snapping and tried to be stopped but nobody did. If only he had the sence to walk into the police station and say "I'm a firearms holder and I think I'm losing the plot". That would have sorted it. I've heard of several blokes that have had a knock at the door when they've been going through messy divorces etc. The guns go off in bags with the police for a while until things settle down a bit. At the time it must be a bit irritating to the gun owner but in the long run it's a great idea and all goes back to normal in the long term. I feel that it's a very sensible law which probably does a great deal to avoid things like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robmiller Posted June 3, 2010 Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 Well am a Cumbrian lad and have just caught up on the full extent of this. I used to go to school at St Bees about 2 miles out of whitehaven and played rugby with the young farmer who was shot and his brother. This is an absolutely horrendous incident and i fear there may be significant backlash for us guys. My thoughts go out to all families who were in the area at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullet1747 Posted June 3, 2010 Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 Evan if they banned fire arms people will still kill they just find other tools , don't tar us sporting people with the same brush RIP cumbria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groach1234 Posted June 3, 2010 Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 Confirmed a SGC and FAC holder shotgun and rifle it is a very sad day for all the families who have suffered so dearly and even worse if it could have been prevented. Lets just hope that it is not take out on us in licensing reform and restriction. George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hendersons Posted June 3, 2010 Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 I'm currently listening to radio 5 it's proving quite interesting and very balanced. They have had the countryside alliance and a shrink on so far. Have a listen if you are able to nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazooka Joe Posted June 3, 2010 Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 Sky News are the main ones fueling this alarmist debate, just had a guy on saying he had a "James Bond Sniper Rifle" they lap that sort of info up. It's a sad day for all the people involved, condolences to them, & there families, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry d Posted June 3, 2010 Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 According to The Telegraph the guns were inherited from his father. His mother was dying in hospital and he and his twin were arguing over the will. He got into an argument with his buddies at the taxi rank the day before and was already indicating dire behaviour. A friend disarmed him that night. (! why didn't he phone the police?). He went to the hospital to report his deteriorating mental state. They turned him away. Next day he shot his twin brother and the solicitor, then went to the taxi rank and shot two buddies and then just went on the rampage. There seems to have been ample opportunities to preven this tragedy. He knew he was losing it and wasn't helped by anyone. If only... Bloody heartbreaking. I totally agree, very sad. Telegraph report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hairydavey Posted June 3, 2010 Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 Christ. Words are just not enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bionicle Posted June 3, 2010 Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 Just said on the news that he had held a FAC for 20 years and a rifle and a pistol was used? Thought it was a shotgun? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hairydavey Posted June 3, 2010 Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 Think the BBC said it was a Shotgun, and some other source quoted the other weapon as a .22 rifle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted June 3, 2010 Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 there were witness reports that police were telling people at the time he had a rifle capable of killing at 3 miles so presumably a centrefire .22. Absolutely tragic but a catalogue of issues seem to be coming out, hopefully these will be where they learn the lessons from rather than any knee jerk reactions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazooka Joe Posted June 3, 2010 Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 It has been reported that Bird had initially armed himself with two guns on Tuesday night, but was disarmed by a friend. Bird is then believed to have sought medical help at a local hospital for his fragile mental state, only to be turned away. Looks like this could have being prevented before it happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highlander Posted June 3, 2010 Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 If only, stable doors and all that...it's always the same AFTER the event! There's sometimes an out and out lack of care attitude to blame and sometimes things that you simply cannot foresee. People like this guy who by all accounts was an OK sort of joe suddenly flip, it's tragic but something no one could predict. On the other hand if someone had earlier taken his guns away from him (maybe just news speculation so we should all wait for the **** to die down) perhaps they should have reported him. A difficult call if it's a mate, maybe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shot shot Posted June 3, 2010 Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 "Gun control and ownership laws in the UK" http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/10220974.stm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humperdingle Posted June 3, 2010 Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 It's been confirmed that the guns used were indeed licensed and belonged to Mr Bird. (House of Commons today) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breastman Posted June 3, 2010 Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 Both the .22 rifle and shotgun used were licensed. :( Now the battle begins. Lets not have a repeat of the pistol ban and ALL of us, whether you own/use .22's and shotguns pull together Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djrwood Posted June 3, 2010 Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 I agree with whats been said so far. Absolutly tragic for all involved including derick bird himself. Don't get me wrong, obviously i think its sickening that someone could go on such a rampage and kill innocent people. I in no way condone what he did. However we need to see what it was that drove him to this. I've haerd that he was a FAC holder for over twenty years, and the reports that are coming out generally paint him as a good bloke. Could of been anyone we all know on here in the shooting community as it appears a normal bloke has been pushed over the edge and lost the plot completely. We really all need to pull together and defend shooting on the whole as i think its going to come under scrutiny now. This could possibly have been stopped earliar, but it is easy to come out with 'What if's?' after a tradegy. At the end of the day this bloke lost it, and it just so happened he had access to a riffle and shotgun. He could have quite easily done the same with knives or any other weapons. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted June 3, 2010 Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 Some posts have been deleted and this thread has been reopened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted June 3, 2010 Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 Some posts debating the current licensing laws, have been moved to the topic in General Shooting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret Master Posted June 3, 2010 Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 That Barrie Moss is infuriating me with his knowledgeless tirade against gun owners and our reasons for owning them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts