Police today found the body of a gunman who shot dead at least 12 people after going on a bloody rampage in the Lake District.
Derrick Bird, a divorced father-of-two, was discovered in woodland near Boot, Cumbria, by police. The 52-year-old had shot himself.
Witnesses today described horrific scenes as the cab driver shot his victims in the head at point blank range and gunned down others at random through the shattered windscreen of his car.
It is understood he deliberately targeted three of his colleagues after arguing with them last night.
Police stand near the covered body of a person shot dead by a gunman in Whitehaven, Cumbria, today
Cordoned off: Police had warned people to stay inside after the shootings this morning. A body can be seen to the right of the picture in front of the police car
Derrick Bird, 52, was found in woodland near Boot, Cumbria, by police. He had shot himself
Bird began his murderous spree early this morning after driving to the taxi rank at the centre of the picturesque town of Whitehaven.
He is understood to have got out of his car to deliberately target the other cabbies, shooting at least one in the head at close quarters. The grandfather 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.
Bird then tore through the area in his Citroen Picasso. As he drove, he continued firing. There were fatalities in Egremont, Seascale and near Gosforth.
In the last location, Bird shot a young farmer, named locally as Gary Purdham, in a field where he was working with his uncle.
He is described as a father-of-two in his 30s.
The killer eventually abandoned his car in woodland near Boot before turning the gun on himself. The bloodbath took less than four hours and left four towns devastated. At least five people are dead and 25 injured.
Local landlord Rod Davies said: 'The guy flipped for whatever reason. Whether it was pre-meditated, we don't know.'
A Whitehaven cab driver said he understood a total of three taxi drivers had been shot, two fatally.
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The man, who did not want to be named, claimed an argument broke out between Bird and the other three men last night at the Duke Street taxi rank.
He said: 'All of the taxi drivers were friends. But I heard last night there was an argument on the taxi rank.
'I don't know what caused it, but something must have happened last night. Bird took off in his car and went home. I don't know what time of night it was.'
This evening, people were struggling to come to terms with what had happened.
A favourite haunt of holidaymakers, the Lake District is one of the most beautiful parts of the country with one of the smallest police forces.
Victim: Father-of-two Gary Purdham was shot dead in a field at Gosforth Hill as he worked with his uncle
A neighbour of the man believed to have been shot dead in Egremont said he was a 'quiet man', who would walk into the town several times every day.
Tracy Maudling said: 'For him to lose his life like that is terrible. He'd been retired for maybe the last five years or something and he just enjoyed doing his garden.
'It's just horrible. We all go up the street every day, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.'
A neighbour of the farmer killed near Gosforth said she had thought the shots were her son shooting crows.
It was some time before she released what had actually happened.
Today David Cameron pledged to do everything possible to help communities 'shattered' by the killing spree.
Updating the Commons at the start of Prime Minister's Questions, he said: 'The Chief Constable of Cumbria is working closely with other forces and other emergency services to ensure a coordinated response to these rapidly moving events.
'The Government will do everything it possibly can to help the local community and those affected and to keep the House informed.'
Bird himself, a divorcee known as Birdy, had appeared to be a quiet man to those who knew him. There was no hint that he could carry out such deadly actions.
A local post-mistress, who has known the suspect for many years, described him as a 'quiet man' who was a 'very difficult man to drag a conversation out of'.
Muriel Gilpin, 60, postmistress of Arlecdon Post Office, told Mail Online: 'Everybody knows everybody here. That is why everybody is in shock.
'He comes into the post office for milk sometimes. He's a cab driver. Derrick became a grandfather over a fortnight ago. I think he lives by himself.
Source : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1283392/Lake-District-shooting-Cabbie-Derrick-Bird-hunted.html
Derrick Bird, a divorced father-of-two, was discovered in woodland near Boot, Cumbria, by police. The 52-year-old had shot himself.
Witnesses today described horrific scenes as the cab driver shot his victims in the head at point blank range and gunned down others at random through the shattered windscreen of his car.
It is understood he deliberately targeted three of his colleagues after arguing with them last night.
Police stand near the covered body of a person shot dead by a gunman in Whitehaven, Cumbria, today
Cordoned off: Police had warned people to stay inside after the shootings this morning. A body can be seen to the right of the picture in front of the police car
Derrick Bird, 52, was found in woodland near Boot, Cumbria, by police. He had shot himself
Bird began his murderous spree early this morning after driving to the taxi rank at the centre of the picturesque town of Whitehaven.
He is understood to have got out of his car to deliberately target the other cabbies, shooting at least one in the head at close quarters. The grandfather 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.
Bird then tore through the area in his Citroen Picasso. As he drove, he continued firing. There were fatalities in Egremont, Seascale and near Gosforth.
In the last location, Bird shot a young farmer, named locally as Gary Purdham, in a field where he was working with his uncle.
He is described as a father-of-two in his 30s.
The killer eventually abandoned his car in woodland near Boot before turning the gun on himself. The bloodbath took less than four hours and left four towns devastated. At least five people are dead and 25 injured.
Local landlord Rod Davies said: 'The guy flipped for whatever reason. Whether it was pre-meditated, we don't know.'
A Whitehaven cab driver said he understood a total of three taxi drivers had been shot, two fatally.
More...
He had just become a grandfather... So what turned Derrick Bird from local taxi driver to mass murderer?
Lake District shootings: Killings bring back horrific memories of Hungerford and Dunblane
Murder investigation after man, woman and baby 'shot dead'
The man, who did not want to be named, claimed an argument broke out between Bird and the other three men last night at the Duke Street taxi rank.
He said: 'All of the taxi drivers were friends. But I heard last night there was an argument on the taxi rank.
'I don't know what caused it, but something must have happened last night. Bird took off in his car and went home. I don't know what time of night it was.'
This evening, people were struggling to come to terms with what had happened.
A favourite haunt of holidaymakers, the Lake District is one of the most beautiful parts of the country with one of the smallest police forces.
Victim: Father-of-two Gary Purdham was shot dead in a field at Gosforth Hill as he worked with his uncle
A neighbour of the man believed to have been shot dead in Egremont said he was a 'quiet man', who would walk into the town several times every day.
Tracy Maudling said: 'For him to lose his life like that is terrible. He'd been retired for maybe the last five years or something and he just enjoyed doing his garden.
'It's just horrible. We all go up the street every day, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.'
A neighbour of the farmer killed near Gosforth said she had thought the shots were her son shooting crows.
It was some time before she released what had actually happened.
Today David Cameron pledged to do everything possible to help communities 'shattered' by the killing spree.
Updating the Commons at the start of Prime Minister's Questions, he said: 'The Chief Constable of Cumbria is working closely with other forces and other emergency services to ensure a coordinated response to these rapidly moving events.
'The Government will do everything it possibly can to help the local community and those affected and to keep the House informed.'
Bird himself, a divorcee known as Birdy, had appeared to be a quiet man to those who knew him. There was no hint that he could carry out such deadly actions.
A local post-mistress, who has known the suspect for many years, described him as a 'quiet man' who was a 'very difficult man to drag a conversation out of'.
Muriel Gilpin, 60, postmistress of Arlecdon Post Office, told Mail Online: 'Everybody knows everybody here. That is why everybody is in shock.
'He comes into the post office for milk sometimes. He's a cab driver. Derrick became a grandfather over a fortnight ago. I think he lives by himself.
Source : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1283392/Lake-District-shooting-Cabbie-Derrick-Bird-hunted.html
