Cumbria shootings: latest

Police explore possibilities that Derrick Bird embarked on one of the biggest mass shootings in recent history due to a family feud

Derrick Bird - Death toll reaches thireteen in Cumbria killing spree - World News - Marie Claire
Derrick Bird - Death toll reaches thireteen in Cumbria killing spree - World News - Marie Claire
(Image credit: Rex Features)

Police explore possibilities that Derrick Bird embarked on one of the biggest mass shootings in recent history due to a family feud

Britain was left in shock yesterday, as cab driver Derrick Bird embarked on a killing spree throughout Cumbria, killing 12 before shooting himself.

Today, police are still attempting to piece together the events that led to 52-year-old Bird embarking on the biggest mass shooting since Dunblane in 1996, as 3 more of his victims fight for their lives in hospital.

With Bird's rampage proving so widespread, police have not ruled out the possibility that not all of the victims may have been found.

The violence started yesterday morning with Bird shooting dead his own twin brother, his family solicitor Kevin Commons and a fellow taxi driver.

The following three hours saw him traveling throughout the Lake District on a murderous rampage, shooting with a shotgun and a .22 rifle pointed from the window of his Citroen Picasso taxi.

Police have already identified 30 separate crime scenes. His further nine victims were seemingly picked at random, while a further 25 were injured.

As they search for a motive, police are reportedly exploring the theory that Bird was prompted by a dispute with his family regarding finances, and was pushed over the edge by a petty argument over fares with a fellow taxi driver.

A friend, Peter Leder, told CNN that the night before the rampage Bird had told him, 'You won't see me again.'

Police have confirmed that Bird held a fire arms licence for twenty

years.

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