Cumbria Shootings

[Michael]

I was surprised to not see this discussed here. [url=]http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/10229105.stm[/url]

Doesn't look good for the already strict gun laws in the UK.

[Hobgoblinpie]

Funnily enough I was thinking about how gun laws are going to get so much stricter (and my chance of owning one ever decreasing).

 

It's a sad event, but it's really unclear as to motivation (which we might never know, given that he killed himself).

[Michael]

It was a dispute over a will apparently, going by the fact that he shot his brother and the family lawyer this looks likely.

[Hobgoblinpie]

It was a dispute over a will apparently, going by the fact that he shot his brother and the family lawyer this looks likely.

 

I haven't read the news since earlier when they were saying that they didn't know the motivation, so thanks for pointing it out. I do remember reading the thing about his brother and the lawyer and thinking it was a bit suspicious.

 

I found it weird how on the radio they gave out some innocuous facts, like how he hadn't cleaned up before going out on his shooting spree.

[Flodder450]

I heard about it on the news

 

he killed like 12 people amd wounded at least 25

 

very sad indeed

[Howlin0001]

Wow I'm surprised more people were injured/killed.

[Danqazmlp]

The disturbing thing is that apart from a very few, the majority of his victims were random people he came across on the streets. One news report interviewed a 15 year old girl he had shot at and missed because she ducked and said she felt the breeze go past her hair.

[The Dark Lord]

This was the first major shooting in what? 12 years?

 

I honestly fail to see how this could be used as an excuse to pass stricter gun laws; it wouldn't help much. This is an isolated incident, and there will be more isolated incidents. Hell, they don't even have to use a gun. They could use cricket bats and kitchen knives. Should those be banned as well? They kill people.

 

I don't understand British gun laws, but whatever.

[Hobgoblinpie]

There's a loophole in the gun license renewal system where it can be updated by post (e.g. in Cumbria) in certain areas, and not require a police visit (which is to assess the individual) or a checkup by a Doctor/GP. He had the gun license for 20 years, so he would have needed at least 4 checks in that time, whereas he had one initial one. I'm not saying that his breakdown would have been apparent or obvious, but it's still a loophole none the less.

 

From what I've read, this was a gradual thing building up to the shootings, rather than just one burst of rage.

[Lateralus]

The fact that this "doesn't look good" for UK gun laws never even crossed my mind. Keep them away from people.

[Danqazmlp]

We have some of the strictest gun laws in the world so I don't think they need anything major, just some small tinkering such as what hobgoblin said.

[mcneilp]

Very sad indeed.

If i recall correctly, this is the 3rd mass shooting in 20 something years in the Uk, with the Hungerford and Dunblane shootings being the other 2. I don't really think the gun laws here need to be changed all too much. I did read a fair few people complaining about the way the police handled the matter but i can't see what else the police could've done, the guy was gunning people at random.