Cumbria shootings

2010 Cumbria shootings
Cumbria
Location	Cumbria, England, UK
Date	2 June 2010 (2010-06-02) ca. 10:35 – 14:00
Attack type	Mass murder, spree shooting, murder-suicide
Weapons	Suspected Shotgun plus one other weapon
Deaths	At least 13 (including the perpetrator)
Injured	25

The 2010 Cumbria shootings occurred on 2 June when an armed spree killer shot a number of people in the county of Cumbria in north west England. A series of attacks occurred, beginning in mid-morning in Whitehaven, and moving to Egremont, Seascale and Gosforth, sparking a large manhunt by Cumbria Constabulary. The suspected gunman, a local taxi driver named as 52-year-old Derrick Bird, was later found dead in a wooded area, having abandoned his vehicle in the village of Boot. Two weapons that appear to have been used have been recovered. At least thirteen people, including Bird, are known to have been killed and 25 injured, 3 of them critically. There are thirty different crime scenes being considered.

Timeline

At 10:35 am (BST) on 2 June 2010, there was a shooting incident close to the taxi rank in Whitehaven. A lone gunman is believed to have killed a number of people and left many injured. Shortly after 12:30 pm police confirmed that there had been a number of fatalities in the incident and that they were still searching for a suspect.

Residents in the towns of Whitehaven, Egremont and Seascale, and the village of Boot, were urged to stay indoors after shots were heard. The gates of nearby Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant were closed as a precaution, the first lockdown in its history.

A major incident was declared by North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust at West Cumberland Hospital, Whitehaven, with the accident and emergency department at the Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle, on full incident stand-by. A doctor, certifying the death of at least one of the victims, said he had "never seen shotgun wounds like this".

At 14:00, Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Hyde announced that a body believed to be that of Bird was found in a wooded area, along with a firearm. Police confirmed shortly afterwards that members of the public who were previously taking shelter during the incident could now carry on their normal activities.

At 15:00, Prime Minister David Cameron, taking his first session of Prime Minister's Questions, announced that "at least five" people had died, including the gunman. Police confirmed that at least 25 people were injured in the attack, and later detailed that twelve people, as well as Bird, had died in the incident. Later that evening, a police press conference in Whitehaven announced that 12 people had been killed, that 25 further 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.

Suspect

Police were searching for the driver of a dark grey Citroën Xsara Picasso, driven by the suspect identified as 52-year-old Derrick Bird, a taxi driver from Rowrah. The police stated that the shootings took place along a 15 miles (24 km) stretch of the Cumbrian coastline. Bird reportedly abandoned his car in the village of Boot and continued to evade the police on foot. Helicopters from neighbouring police forces were used in the manhunt, along with assets from the RAF.

See also

• Hungerford massacre
• Dunblane massacre