'There's going to be a rampage' - Final, chilling words of massacre gunman

Published on Wednesday 2 June 2010 23:17

THEY were his last known words before he set out on a killing spree. The gunman who took the lives of 12 innocent people, wounded at least 25, and then turned his gun on himself is reported to have issued a chilling warning to colleagues - "There's going to be a rampage."

• Mass murderer: But Bird was described as polite and popular. Picture: PA

The following day he put his threat into action and not only were fellow taxi drvers were on the hit list, he is also reported to have killed his twin brother David and a solicitor Kevin Commons.

Armed with a shotgun and a .22 rifle, Derrick Bird left a trail of death and bloodshed across a one of the most beautiful and tranquil areas of the country during a three-hour rampage.

Last night there were reports that a family row between Bird and his twin brother David had triggered the carnage. Unofficial sources claimed that there had been a dispute over the family will and that two of the victims were David Bird and solicitor Kevin Commons, who may have been advising the family.

Last night, many of the victims' bodies still lay where they had fallen as police struggled to cope with at least 30 different crime scenes across Cumbria.

• Map of key locations in the Cumbria shooting spree

Some of the dead were found on busy thoroughfares and pavements, others on bridges and in fields. The body of one elderly woman was found still clutching her shopping bags.

Bird had beckoned several of his victims towards his Citron Picasso, before shooting them in the head at point blank range.

Witnesses saw him pointing his weapons out of the driver's window of his cab as he sped down the west coast.

Eventually, Bird turned his shotgun on himself in a remote beauty spot, bringing to a bloody end the worst massacre in Britain since Dunblane 14 years ago.

Last night, eight victims remained in hospital, three critical and five in a serious condition.

The Queen last night said she was "deeply shocked" by the shootings and shared the country's "grief and horror".

Prime Minister David Cameron said the House of Commons was "alarmed and shocked" by the murders, which saw terrified residents lock themselves inside homes and businesses, and led to the first ever lockdown of the Sellafield nuclear facility.

Mr Cameron added that the government would do "everything it possible can" to help the people of Cumbria cope in the aftermath of the incident.

"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," he said.

The massacre began with reports of a fatal shooting in Whitehaven yesterday morning. But as the death toll began to rise, it was clear a gunman was on the rampage and a massive manhunt was launched, with hundreds of police searching for the 52-year-old divorced father of two as he made his way south through the rural county.

Cumbria Police was forced to draw on the resources of nearby forces and civil nuclear police from Sellafield.

• Profile: Derrick Bird – a quiet, popular, polite man who everyone liked

Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Hyde said the events had shocked the country to the core, describing it as a "truly exceptional and challenging incident". "Our condolences go out to families and friends of those affected by the horrific incidents that unfolded today," he said. "These are local people and local police who knew the people killed and injured today."

The injured were taken to hospitals across the north of England, as well as Scotland.

Bird was described by friends, neighbours and associates as a quiet but friendly man and it remains unclear what caused him to take so many lives. He recently became a grandfather after his 28-year-old son, Graham, had a boy with his partner.

Police have launched a "full and thorough" investigation into the tragedy, looking at Bird's history, access to firearms, and motives for the shootings.

However, Peter Leder, a friend who knew the taxi driver as "Birdy", met him on Tuesday evening and said he was not his usual "outgoing" self, and appeared to give warning of what lay ahead. "You won't see me again," he told Mr Leder.

One source told The Scotsman that Bird was the victim of a violent attack while driving his taxi around three years ago which had left him anxious.

Yesterday, others suggested the killing spree, which began in the harbour town of Whitehaven, may have been sparked by a row Bird had with other taxi drivers.

One driver, who did not want to be named, 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. Derrick Bird took off in his car and went home."

Glenda Pears, who runs L&G Taxis in Whitehaven, said both Bird and one of the Duke Street victims were self-employed drivers and friends.

John Kane, a local councillor, said: "I don't know if there's been a feud between Mr Bird and other taxi drivers. Mr Bird was a very quiet man. Something must have pushed him over the edge."

Bird's killing spree began at about 10:35am yesterday, when it is understood he targeted three taxi drivers in Whitehaven's Duke Street rank.

Two men – one of whom was named locally last night as Darren Rewcastle – were killed. Brian Edwards, a 67-year-old joiner who was working in Duke Street, said he heard four bangs, and turned round to see a driver lying on the pavement.

"A man carrying a rifle with a large telescopic sight on it ran past just feet away and fired again," he said.

From there on, any prearranged aspect ended, as Bird travelled from village to village, at one point changing cars after a crash, taking yet more lives and wounding many more.

The victims, seemingly chosen at random, included a farmer, a door-to-door salesman, a cyclist and a pub landlord, although details of the majority of the deaths had yet to become clear last night.

What is known is that Bird drove south through the villages of Egremont, where he killed one man and an elderly woman. In nearby Gosforth, he wound down his car window and shot Garry Purdham, a young farmer and rugby player who was trimming a hedge.

From there, he moved on, to the beach resort Seascale, where Jane Robinson, a 66-year-old who lived with her twin sister, was shot in the stomach. A landlord named locally as Harry Berger was also shot in the arm.

Dr Barrie Walker, a GP in Seascale for more than 30 years, was called to certify the death of one of the victims.

He said: "I'm amazed at the deliberateness of the shotgun injuries to peoples' faces, the deliberate callousness of targeting people in the street. This is just random killing which will affect the community hugely."

Bird's spree ended in the hamlet of Boot, where he abandoned his car and proceeded to take his own life in a remote woodland.

For the community of Cumbria, yesterday's tragedy came on the same day as mourners gathered to pay their respects to Chloe Walker, a schoolgirl killed last week in a coach crash.

Jamie Reed, the area's Labour MP, said that the shootings were a "shock to the system" of a close-knit community already coming to terms with loss.

"This kind of thing doesn't happen in our part of the world," said Jamie Reed, the area's Labour MP. "We have got one of the lowest, if not the lowest, crime rates in the country.

"This is a shock to the system. We are all living in a daze."

An episode of Coronation Street which showed a siege was cancelled after the killings.

Last night the Queen extended her sympathy to those affected and said her thoughts were with the communities devastated by the killings. The message, signed Elizabeth R, said: "I was deeply shocked by the appalling news from Cumbria.

"In asking you to pass my deepest and most heartfelt sympathy to the families of all those who were killed or injured, and to the injured themselves, I am sure I share in the grief and horror of the whole country."

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• Cumbria massacre: 'There is a build-up of pressure and a trigger'