At least 12 people were fatally wounded today after a taxi driver went on the rampage with a shotgun in the Lake District before killing himself.
Derrick Bird (52), a divorced father-of-two, murdered two colleagues in the centre of the coastal town of Whitehaven this morning before driving across Cumbria shooting other victims, apparently at random.
Several hours later, following a major manhunt amid calls for residents to stay indoors, police found his body 30km away in woods near the hamlet of Boot.
Police said at least 25 people had been injured and denied reports that the gunman's mother was among the victims.
Detective Constable Stuart Hyde of Cumbria Police said two weapons had been recovered and 30 crime scenes were being attended. “This has shocked the people of Cumbria and the country to the core," he said.
"We are still at a very early stage in our investigation and we are not able to really understand the motivation behind it or establish whether this was a premeditated or random attack," Mr Hyde said. Police are focusing "on gathering as much evidence as possible to build up a clear picture of what happened this morning."
A major manhunt began after Bird opened fire at a taxi rank in Whitehaven at 10.35am, killing two colleagues and injuring one other. Eyewitnesses told of their terror as Bird drove through the village with the shotgun pointing out of the shattered windscreen of his taxi.
He then drove to Egremont where he fatally shot a man standing on a bridge and a woman in her 60s.
Further shootings were reported in the beach resort of Seascale, where two people were reported killed and several others injured. A farmer's son was believed to have been shot dead at point blank range in a
field near Gosforth, a small village near Seascale, of some 500 properties.
Police said every armed officer in the county had been involved in trying to trying to capture Bird. As they chased Bird through sleepy towns and villages across Cumbria, locals, walkers and tourists were told to shelter indoors.
The gunman eventually dumped his car and headed off on foot. He was last seen heading towards Boot, a hamlet in the heart of the Lake District. His body was later found in a wooded area.
Speaking during his first question time in the House of Commons as prime minister, David Cameron said he was "alarmed and shocked" by the shootings. "When lives and communities are suddenly shattered in this way, our thoughts should be with all those caught up in these tragic events, especially the families and friends of those killed or injured."
A Whitehaven taxi driver, who also 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. "I don't know what caused it, but something must have happened last night. Derrick Bird took off in his car and went home. I don't know what time of night it was."
Boot is a hamlet in the Eskdale valley, an area popular with hillwalkers. Sean King, landlord of the Boot Inn, told the BBC website that about 25 people, including several “shell-shocked” tourists, were “holed up” in his pub during the incident.
During the manhunt, the nearby Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant said all the site gates had been closed, with staff told to remain at their posts on the site. However, it said its operations were unaffected.
Additional reporting: PA/Reuters
