Taxi driver goes on shooting spree in UK, kills 5

m.today

Whitehaven (UK), June 2: A taxi driver went on a shooting spree across a picturesque rural area of northwestern England on Wednesday, killing several people and wounding others before police discovered the suspect’s body in a wooded area.

 

British Prime Minister David Cameron says at least five people have been killed in the shooting spree.

Cameron made the statement to British lawmakers on Wednesday in the House of Commons.

Cameron said, "I regret to report that a number of people have been shot and at least five people have died."

However, police in Cumbria, about 350 miles (560 kilometres) northwest of London, have not released details on the how many people were killed in the incident.

The body of the alleged gunman, 52-year-old Derrick Bird, was found in woods near the Lake District village of Boot. A gun was found alongside the body.

Police say there have been "a number of fatalities" as well as several injuries after shots were fired Wednesday in the small town of Whitehaven and nearby Seascale and Egremont, about 350 miles (560 kilometres) northwest of London.

Britain’s Press Association news agency says at least four people were feared dead. An eyewitness in Whitehaven told Sky News that he had seen "a man with a shotgun in the car."

"The windscreen had been shattered and at that point I just panicked, went through the red light, turned right down Lowther Street and just got out of Whitehaven," he added.

Witnesses said a body, covered in a sheet, was lying in the street. The BBC reported there had been shootings in 11 locations.

Multiple shootings are rare in Britain, where gun ownership is tightly restricted and handguns are banned.

In 1987, gun enthusiast Michael Ryan killed 16 people in the English town of Hungerford.

In 1996, Thomas Hamilton killed 16 children and a teacher at a kindergarten in Dunblane, Scotland.