British detectives searched for clues yesterday to the motive behind a taxi driver’s murderous rampage across a tranquil part of rural England, which left 12 people dead and 11 wounded before the gunman committed suicide.
More than 100 detectives were scrutinizing why Derrick Bird, 52, decided to go on a three-hour shooting spree on Wednesday in the northwestern county of Cumbria.
Some reports said Bird had argued with fellow cab drivers the night before the killings; others suggested a family dispute.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Cumbria police said the process of piecing together Bird’s movements and ascertaining a motive is “a difficult and slow process” and urged patience. The killing spree was Britain’s deadliest mass shooting since 1996, and it jolted a country where handguns are banned and multiple shootings rare.
Police initially said 25 people had been wounded, but Home Secretary Theresa May said yesterday that 11 were treated in hospitals. Eight remained hospitalized yesterday, with three upgraded to serious condition from critical.
Police identified one of the victims as Kevin Commons, a lawyer who did work for Bird’s family. The BBC and other media reported that Bird’s twin brother, David, was among the fatalities.
The first shootings were reported on Wednesday morning in the coastal town of Whitehaven.
Witnesses described seeing the gunman driving around shooting from the window of his car. Police said there were 30 separate crime scenes.
Bird’s body was found in woods near Boot, a hamlet popular with hikers and vacationers in the hilly, scenic Lake District.
Police said two weapons, a shotgun and a .22-caliber rifle fitted with a telescopic sight, were recovered from the scene. Officials confirmed Bird held licenses for both weapons.
Whitehaven resident and taxi driver Michael Murray was standing near the front of a cab stand when Bird first approached.
“I saw ‘Birdie’ pull up beside me and he was waving a shotgun out of the window,” Murray said. “I ducked to the floor before I could see if he was pointing at me … I always got on with Birdie, he had no grudges against me, I suppose that’s what saved me. He was a sound guy and a private guy.”
Queen Elizabeth II said she shared in “the grief and horror of the whole country.”
May said she and British Prime Minister David Cameron owould visit the area today.
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