The
Cumbria shootings was a killing spree that occurred on 2 June 2010 when a lone gunman, Derrick Bird, killed 12 people and injured 11 others before killing himself in
CumbriaCumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
The series of attacks began in mid-morning in
LamplughLamplugh is a scattered community and civil parish located in west Cumbria on the edge of the English Lake District. It is the starting point for a number of walks, and is on the Sea to Sea / C2C / Coast to Coast Cycle Route....
and moved to
FrizingtonFrizington is a village in Cumbria, England. Historically, it was a collection of farms and houses, but became a unified village as a result of the mining opportunities in the area. The village is known for its church, which was built in 1867-1868...
,
WhitehavenWhitehaven is a small town and port on the coast of Cumbria, England, which lies equidistant between the county's two largest settlements, Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, and is served by the Cumbrian Coast Line and the A595 road...
,
EgremontEgremont is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Copeland in Cumbria, England, south of Whitehaven and on the River Ehen. The town, which lies at the foot of Uldale Valley and Dent Fell, was historically within Cumberland and has a long industrial heritage including dyeing, weaving and...
,
GosforthGosforth is a village and civil parish in the Lake District, in the Borough of Copeland in Cumbria, England. It is situated on the A595 road between Whitehaven and Barrow-in-Furness. It has a population of 1,230....
and
SeascaleSeascale is a village and civil parish on the Irish Sea coast of Cumbria in north-west England.-History:The place-name indicates that it was inhabited by Norse settlers, probably before 1000 AD. It is derived from skali, meaning in Norse a wooden hut or shelter...
, sparking a major manhunt by the
Cumbria ConstabularyCumbria Constabulary is the territorial police force in England covering Cumbria. It is currently the fifth-largest force in England and Wales in terms of geographic area but one of the smallest in terms of officer numbers. Given the force area's size and population of just under 500,000, it is...
.
Bird, a 52-year-old local taxi driver, was later found dead in a forested area, having abandoned his vehicle in the village of Boot. Two weapons that appeared to have been used in the shootings were recovered. There were 30 different
crime sceneA crime scene is a location where an illegal act took place, and comprises the area from which most of the physical evidence is retrieved by trained law enforcement personnel, crime scene investigators or in rare circumstances, forensic scientists....
s investigated, and police confirmed it was the worst incident of mass shooting in Britain since the
Dunblane massacreThe Dunblane massacre was a multiple murder-suicide which occurred at Dunblane Primary School in the Scottish town of Dunblane on 13 March 1996. Sixteen children and one adult were killed by Thomas Hamilton before he committed suicide.-Timeline of events:...
of 1996, in which 18 people died.
The Queen paid tribute to the victims and
the Prince of WalesPrince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
later visited Whitehaven in the wake of the tragedy. The Prime Minister
David CameronDavid William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
and Home Secretary
Theresa MayTheresa Mary May is a British Conservative politician who is Home Secretary in the Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition government. She was elected to Parliament in 1997 as the Member of Parliament for Maidenhead, and served as the Chairman of the Conservative Party, 2003–04...
also visited West Cumbria. A memorial fund has been set up to aid victims and affected communities.
Timeline
| Targeted killings |
| 1. David Bird, 52, killed at Lamplugh, twin brother of the gunman. |
| 2. Kevin Commons, 60, killed at Frizington, gunman's family solicitor. |
| 3. Darren Rewcastle, 43, killed at Whitehaven, fellow taxi driver known to the gunman. |
| Random killings |
| 4. Susan Hughes, 57, killed at Egremont. |
| 5. Kenneth Fishburn, 71, killed at Egremont. |
| 6. Jennifer Jackson, 68, killed at Wilton, wife of James Jackson. |
| 7. James Jackson, 67, killed at Wilton, husband of Jennifer Jackson. |
| 8. Isaac Dixon, 65, killed at Carleton. |
| 9. Garry Purdham Garry John Purdham was an English professional rugby league player and farmer. He was killed in the 2010 Cumbria shootings.-Career:...
, 31, killed at Gosforth, brother of England rugby league captain Rob PurdhamRob Purdham is a retired English professional rugby league footballer. An England international representative loose forward, he previously played for Whitehaven and Harlequins. Purdham can also operate as a stand-off, as a centre or in the second row. He has even played international football at...
. |
| 10. Jamie Clark, 23, killed at Seascale. |
| 11. Michael Pike, 64, killed at Seascale. |
| 12. Jane Robinson, 66, killed at Seascale. |
| Perpetrator |
| 13. Derrick Bird, 52, suicide at Boot. |
Targeted shootings
The incident began when Bird, a self-employed taxi driver from
RowrahRowrah is a village in Cumbria and spans the civil parishes of Arlecdon and Frizington and Lamplugh. The majority of Rowrah is within Arlecdon and Frizington...
, first shot dead his twin brother, David Bird, in
LamplughLamplugh is a scattered community and civil parish located in west Cumbria on the edge of the English Lake District. It is the starting point for a number of walks, and is on the Sea to Sea / C2C / Coast to Coast Cycle Route....
, then shot dead the family solicitor, Kevin Commons, in
FrizingtonFrizington is a village in Cumbria, England. Historically, it was a collection of farms and houses, but became a unified village as a result of the mining opportunities in the area. The village is known for its church, which was built in 1867-1868...
. At 10.20
BSTWestern European Summer Time is a summer daylight saving time scheme, 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in the following places:* the Canary Islands* Portugal * Ireland...
the police were telephoned. Bird then moved on toward
WhitehavenWhitehaven is a small town and port on the coast of Cumbria, England, which lies equidistant between the county's two largest settlements, Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, and is served by the Cumbrian Coast Line and the A595 road...
.
At 10:33, there was a shooting incident close to the taxi rank in Whitehaven. It emerged that the suspect, later identified as Bird, had shot dead a taxi driver who was known to him, and that he had shot several others.
Random shootings
Soon after this, residents in the towns of
WhitehavenWhitehaven is a small town and port on the coast of Cumbria, England, which lies equidistant between the county's two largest settlements, Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, and is served by the Cumbrian Coast Line and the A595 road...
,
EgremontEgremont is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Copeland in Cumbria, England, south of Whitehaven and on the River Ehen. The town, which lies at the foot of Uldale Valley and Dent Fell, was historically within Cumberland and has a long industrial heritage including dyeing, weaving and...
and
SeascaleSeascale is a village and civil parish on the Irish Sea coast of Cumbria in north-west England.-History:The place-name indicates that it was inhabited by Norse settlers, probably before 1000 AD. It is derived from skali, meaning in Norse a wooden hut or shelter...
were urged to stay indoors after the shots were heard and there were further shooting incidents. He drove through several local towns firing apparently at random. In Egremont, Bird killed a further two people on the streets. A couple were both shot dead in the village of
WiltonWilton is a hamlet in the Copeland District, in the county of Cumbria, England. It is near the small town of Egremont.- References :*...
and a mole-catcher in a field in Carleton was also killed. A former semi-professional rugby league player,
Garry PurdhamGarry John Purdham was an English professional rugby league player and farmer. He was killed in the 2010 Cumbria shootings.-Career:...
, was shot dead outside the Red Admiral Hotel at Boonwood, near
GosforthGosforth is a village and civil parish in the Lake District, in the Borough of Copeland in Cumbria, England. It is situated on the A595 road between Whitehaven and Barrow-in-Furness. It has a population of 1,230....
. Bird also killed three people in Seascale: two pedestrians and a man driving a car. The motorist died, although it was not clear at first whether he died from gunshot wounds or the resultant car crash.
Search for the suspect
Bird was last seen alive at 12.30; shortly after 12:30 police confirmed that there had been a number of fatalities and that they were searching for a suspect.
Police announced they were searching for the driver of a dark grey
Citroën Xsara PicassoThe Citroën Xsara Picasso is a compact MPV released by Citroën in 1999. At the time of its release, two trim levels were available, LX and SX, with a choice of three engines two 1.6 and 1.8 litre petrols, and a 2.0 Litre HDI engine, all shared with the smaller Citroën Xsara. The Executive trim...
, driven by the suspect identified as Bird. Bird reportedly abandoned his car in the village of Boot and continued to evade the police on foot.
At 14:00, Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Hyde announced that a body, believed to be that of Bird, had been found in a wooded area, along with a rifle. Police confirmed shortly afterwards that members of the public who had previously taken shelter during the incident could now resume their normal activities.
During the manhunt, the gates of the nearby
SellafieldSellafield is a nuclear reprocessing site, close to the village of Seascale on the coast of the Irish Sea in Cumbria, England. The site is served by Sellafield railway station. Sellafield is an off-shoot from the original nuclear reactor site at Windscale which is currently undergoing...
nuclear reprocessingNuclear reprocessing technology was developed to chemically separate and recover fissionable plutonium from irradiated nuclear fuel. Reprocessing serves multiple purposes, whose relative importance has changed over time. Originally reprocessing was used solely to extract plutonium for producing...
plant were closed as a precaution, and the afternoon shift was told not to come to work. This was the first lock-down in the history of the plant.
Aftermath
At 15:00, Prime Minister
David CameronDavid William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
, taking his first session of
Prime Minister's QuestionsPrime minister's questions is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom that takes place every Wednesday during which the prime minister spends half an hour answering questions from members of parliament...
, announced that "at least five" people had died, including the gunman. Later that evening, a police press conference in Whitehaven announced that 12 people had been killed, that a further 11 people were injured, and that the suspect had killed himself. They also confirmed that two weapons had been used by the suspect in the attacks and that thirty different crime scenes were being investigated.
Over the next few hours, Bird's shooting of his brother and solicitor was revealed. The police stated that the shootings took place along a 15-mile (24 km) stretch of the Cumbrian coastline. Helicopters from neighbouring police forces were used in the manhunt, while those from the
RAF Search and Rescue ForceThe RAF Search and Rescue Force is the Royal Air Force organisation which provides around-the-clock aeronautical search and rescue cover in the United Kingdom, Cyprus and the Falkland Islands.-History:...
and the
Yorkshire Air AmbulanceYorkshire Air Ambulance is a dedicated helicopter emergency service for the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It was introduced on 1 April 2000, and currently operates two aircraft. The helicopters provide a swift response time and access to isolated locations, such as beaches,...
responded to casualties. A major incident was declared by North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust at
West Cumberland HospitalWest Cumberland Hospital is a hospital in Hensingham, a suburb of Whitehaven in Cumbria.Under the management of the North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust, together with the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle, they serve 34,000 residents in north Cumbria....
, Whitehaven, with the accident and emergency department at the
Cumberland InfirmaryCumberland Infirmary is a hospital in Carlisle, Cumbria England.Under the management of the North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust, together with the West Cumberland Hospital in Hensingham, Whitehaven, they serve 34,000 residents in north Cumbria....
, Carlisle, on full incident stand-by.
Bird had been a licensed firearms holder and the incident sparked debate about further gun control in the United Kingdom; the previous Dunblane and
HungerfordThe Hungerford massacre occurred in Hungerford, Berkshire, England, on 19 August 1987. The gunman, 27-year-old Michael Robert Ryan, armed with two semi-automatic rifles and a handgun, shot and killed sixteen people including his mother, and wounded fifteen others, then fatally shot himself...
shootings had led to increased firearms controls.
Perpetrator
Derrick Bird was a son of Joseph (1916–1998) and Mary Bird. He had a twin brother, David (1957–2010) and an older brother. He lived alone in
RowrahRowrah is a village in Cumbria and spans the civil parishes of Arlecdon and Frizington and Lamplugh. The majority of Rowrah is within Arlecdon and Frizington...
, and had two sons with a woman from whom he separated in the mid 1990s. He became a grandfather in May 2010, and was variously described as a popular and quiet man who worked as a self-employed taxi driver in Whitehaven. There are unconfirmed reports that he had previously sought help from a local hospital due to his fragile mental state. Bird had held a shotgun certificate since 1974 and had renewed it a number of times, most recently in 2005, and had held a firearms certificate for a rifle from 2007 onwards. He was being investigated by HM Revenue and Customs. The body of Bird was formally identified at
Furness General HospitalFurness General Hospital is a hospital located in the Hawcoat area of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England.-Description and departments:...
in
Barrow-in-FurnessBarrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
, and he was cremated at a private service on 18 June 2010.
Possible motives
There has been speculation that Bird may have had a grudge against people associated with the Sellafield nuclear power plant that he worked for as a
joinerA joiner differs from a carpenter in that joiners cut and fit joints in wood that do not use nails. Joiners usually work in a workshop since the formation of various joints generally requires non-portable machinery. A carpenter normally works on site...
, resigning in 1990 due to an allegation of theft of wood from the plant. He was subsequently convicted, and given a 12 month
suspended sentenceA suspended sentence is a legal term for a judge's delaying of a defendant's serving of a sentence after they have been found guilty, in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation...
. Three of the dead were former employees although there is no evidence that any were involved with his resignation.
A fellow taxi driver, who described himself as one of Bird's best friends, and was shot in the hand, has claimed that Bird had a relationship with a Thai girl he met on holiday in
PattayaPattaya is a city in Thailand, located on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about 165 km southeast of Bangkok located within but not part of Amphoe Bang Lamung in the province of Chonburi....
,
ThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. It has been further claimed by another friend of Bird that he had sent
£The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
1,000 to the girl, who subsequently ended their relationship via a text message; he added that Bird had been "made a fool out of".
It has also been speculated that Bird had been involved with a family dispute over his father's
willA will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
. The speculation was heightened when it was revealed that Bird had targeted both his twin, David, and the family's solicitor, Kevin Commons, in his attacks, killing both.
Police investigating the killings have also found that Bird was the subject of an ongoing tax investigation by HM Revenue and Customs for tax evasion. This suggests that he could have been pressurised by the threat of possible future prosecution and punishment at the time of the killings, suggesting a possible cause of his actions. According to Mark Cooper, a fellow taxi driver who had known him for 15 years, Bird had accumulated £60,000 in a secret bank account and was worried he would be sent to prison for hiding the cash from HM Revenue & Customs.
Official responses and visits
Prime Minister, David Cameron was joined by several other MPs in expressing the House of Commons members' shock and horror at the events during Prime Minister's Questions.
On the evening of 2 June, the Queen said she was "deeply shocked" by the shootings and shared the nation's "grief and horror".
The Home Secretary,
Theresa MayTheresa Mary May is a British Conservative politician who is Home Secretary in the Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition government. She was elected to Parliament in 1997 as the Member of Parliament for Maidenhead, and served as the Chairman of the Conservative Party, 2003–04...
MP expressed her regret at the deaths and paid tribute to the response of the emergency services. The Cabinet met to discuss the shootings and May later made a statement on the Cumbria incident to the House of Commons on 3 June 2010. Cameron and May visited the affected region on 4 June 2010 to meet victims, officials and local people.
Jamie ReedJamieson Ronald "Jamie" Reed is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Copeland in Cumbria since 2005, replacing Copeland's long-serving former MP Jack Cunningham.-Early life:...
, the local Member of Parliament for
CopelandCopeland is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
, called the incident the "blackest day in our community's history".
Prince CharlesPrince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
visited Whitehaven on 11 June 2010 to meet members of the community affected by the tragedy.
Media
BBC OneBBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
altered their programming to broadcast two BBC News Specials about the shootings, at 14:15 and 19:30 on the same day. The ITV continuing drama,
Coronation StreetCoronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
was cancelled on 2, 3 and 4 June as it contained a storyline involving a death in the
Lake DistrictThe Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
and a violent storyline featuring a gun siege in a factory. The episodes were rescheduled to run the following week due to the Cumbria massacre. An episode of the
Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
panel game
You Have Been WatchingYou Have Been Watching is a British comedy panel game presented by Charlie Brooker, produced by Zeppotron for Channel 4 and filmed at BBC Television Centre and Riverside Studios in London. It first aired on Tuesday 7 July 2009, for a weekly eight-episode run...
, which was due to be broadcast on 3 June 2010, was postponed because it was a crime special. In addition, pop singer
Lady GagaStefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
came under criticism after performing a murder scene at her concert in Manchester – as part of her Monster Ball Tour – just hours after the
massacreA massacre is an event with a heavy death toll.Massacre may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Massacre , a DC Comics villain*Massacre , a 1932 drama film starring Richard Barthelmess*Massacre, a 1956 Western starring Dane Clark...
. Comedian
Frankie BoyleFrancis Martin Patrick "Frankie" Boyle is a British comedian and writer, well known for his pessimistic, often controversial sense of humour...
also attracted criticism for referring to the Cumbria tragedy on the day after the massacre.
The TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
journalist
Giles CorenGiles Coren is a British food critic, television presenter and novelist. He is known for expressing controversial opinions, and for his television appearances with the comedian Sue Perkins.-Personal:...
suggested Derrick Bird should read a copy of his book on anger management. He later apologised. Both Coren's initial remark and subsequent apology were made on his Twitter
feedA web feed is a data format used for providing users with frequently updated content. Content distributors syndicate a web feed, thereby allowing users to subscribe to it. Making a collection of web feeds accessible in one spot is known as aggregation, which is performed by an aggregator...
.
Memorials
On 9 June 2010, a week after the incident, memorial services were held in the West Cumbria towns affected by the shootings followed by a minute's silence at midday. The minute's silence for the Cumbria victims was also marked prior to David Cameron's second Prime Minister's Questions in Parliament. The funerals of the majority of Bird's victims were held at various churches in West Cumbria.
Memorial fund
A memorial fund has been established by the Cumbria Community Foundation to aid victims and communities affected by the West Cumbria shootings.
See also
- Similar shootings in the United Kingdom
- 2010 Northumbria Police manhunt
-Birtley shootings:Moat was released from Durham prison on 1 July, and allegedly arrived in the early hours of 3 July 2010 at a house in Birtley where Stobbart and her new partner – 29-year-old karate instructor, Chris Brown – were visiting. Brown had moved to the area from Windsor,...
(2010)
- Dunblane massacre
The Dunblane massacre was a multiple murder-suicide which occurred at Dunblane Primary School in the Scottish town of Dunblane on 13 March 1996. Sixteen children and one adult were killed by Thomas Hamilton before he committed suicide.-Timeline of events:...
(1996)
- Hungerford massacre
The Hungerford massacre occurred in Hungerford, Berkshire, England, on 19 August 1987. The gunman, 27-year-old Michael Robert Ryan, armed with two semi-automatic rifles and a handgun, shot and killed sixteen people including his mother, and wounded fifteen others, then fatally shot himself...
(1987)
- Monkseaton shootings
The Monkseaton shootings occurred on 30 April 1989 in Monkseaton, North Tyneside when Robert Sartin killed one man and left fourteen other people injured during a twenty-minute shooting spree....
(1989)
- List of massacres in the United Kingdom
- List of rampage killers