Cumbria Shootings
In the early hours of Wednesday, 2 June 2010, Derrick Bird left his home in Rowrah, Cumbria, drove his Citroën Xsara Picasso to his twin brother David's home in Lamplugh, and shot him eleven times in the head and body with a .22 calibre rifle, killing him. Bird then drove to Frizington, arriving at the home of his family's solicitor, Kevin Commons. Bird prevented Commons from driving away by firing twice with a double-barrelled shotgun – which he had earlier sawn off (the barrel and a saw being later found at his home) hitting him once in the shoulder. Commons staggered out of his car and onto the entrance to his farmyard, where Bird killed him with two rifle shots to the head. Bird then moved on towards Whitehaven. A witness called the Cumbria Constabulary to report the Commons shooting, although her call was delayed by several minutes after she asked neighbours what she should do. She also erroneously described Bird as being armed with an air rifle despite being able to hear the gunshots.
After killing Commons, Bird went to a friend's residence to retrieve a shotgun he had loaned, although he was answered by the friend's wife, who didn't have access to it. Afterwards, at 10:33, Bird drove to a taxi rank on Duke Street, Whitehaven. There, he called over Darren Rewcastle, another taxi driver who was previously known to Bird; Bird had conflicts with Rewcastle over his behaviour, his practice of poaching fares, and an incident wherein Rewcastle damaged the tyres on Bird's taxi and openly boasted about it. When Rewcastle approached Bird's taxi, he was shot twice at point-blank range with the rifle, hitting him in the lower face, chest, and abdomen. Rewcastle died of his injuries, becoming the only person to die in Whitehaven during the attacks.
Soon after killing Rewcastle, Bird drove alongside another taxi driver, Donald Reid, and shot him in the back, wounding him. Bird then made a loop back to the taxi rank and fired twice at Reid as he waited for emergency personnel, missing him. Next, Bird drove away from the taxi rank and stopped alongside another taxi driver named Paul Wilson as he walked down Scotch Street, and called him over to his vehicle as he did with Rewcastle; when Wilson answered his call, Bird shot him in the right side of his face with the sawn-off shotgun, severely wounding him. As a result of the shootings, unarmed officers at the local police station were informed and began following Bird's taxi as it drove onto Coach Road. There, Bird fired his shotgun at a passing taxi, injuring the male driver, Terry Kennedy, and the female passenger, Emma Percival. Bird was then able to flee the officers after he aimed his shotgun at two of them, forcing them to take cover. However, he did not fire; he instead took advantage of the officers' distraction to escape.
A massive manhunt for Bird was launched by the Cumbria Constabulary, which was assisted by Civil Nuclear Constabulary officers. Bird proceeded to drive through several local towns, firing apparently at random, and calling a majority of the victims over to his taxi before shooting them. Near Egremont, Bird tried to shoot Jacqueline Williamson as she walked her dog, but she managed to escape without injury. Upon arriving in Egremont, he stopped alongside Susan Hughes as she walked home from shopping, and shot her in the chest and abdomen with the shotgun. He then got out of his taxi and got into a struggle with Hughes before fatally shooting her in the back of the head with his rifle. Then, after driving a short distance to Bridge End, Bird fired the shotgun at Kenneth Fishburn as he walked in the opposite direction; Fishburn suffered fatal wounds to the head and chest.
This was followed by the shooting of Leslie Hunter, who was called over to Bird's taxi before being shot in the face at close range with the shotgun, then a second time in the back after he turned away to protect himself. Hunter survived his injuries. Bird then went south towards Thornhill, where he fired his shotgun at Ashley Glaister, a teenage girl; however, he missed her. He then passed Carleton and travelled on to the village of Wilton. There, he tried to visit Jason Carey, a member of a diving club Bird also belonged to, but Bird left when Carey's wife came to the door. Soon afterward, Bird shot Jennifer Jackson once in the chest with his shotgun and twice in the head with his rifle, killing her.
Bird then drove past Town Head Farm, but turned back towards it and fired his shotgun, fatally hitting Jackson's husband James in the head and wounding a woman named Christine Hunter-Hall in the back. He then drove back to Carleton and killed Isaac Dixon, a mole-catcher, who was fatally shot twice at close range as he was talking to a farmer in a field. A former semi-professional rugby player, Garry Purdham, was soon shot and killed while working in a field outside the Red Admiral Hotel at Boonwood, near Gosforth.
Bird then drove towards Seascale. Along the way, he began driving slowly and waved other motorists to pass him. He shot a motorist named James "Jamie" Clark, who suffered a fatal wound to the head, although it was not clear at first whether he died from the gunshot or the subsequent car crash. Bird then encountered another motorist named Harry Berger at a narrow, one-way passage underneath a railway bridge. When Berger allowed Bird to enter first, Bird fired at him as he passed by, shooting him twice and causing severe injury to his right arm. Three armed response vehicles attempting to pursue Bird were later blocked out of the tunnel by Berger's vehicle; it had to be pushed away to let them pass. Meanwhile, Bird had driven on to Drigg Road, where he fired twice at Michael Pike, a retired man who was cycling in front of him; the first shot missed, but the second hit Pike in the head and killed him. Seconds later, while on the same street, Bird fatally shot Jane Robinson in the neck and head at point-blank range after apparently calling her over.
After the killing of Robinson, who was the final fatality in the shootings, witnesses described Bird as driving increasingly erratically down the street. At 11:33, Police Constables Phillip Lewis and Andrew Laverack spotted Bird as his car passed by their vehicle. They attempted to pursue him, but were delayed in roadworks and lost sight of him a minute later. Soon afterward Bird drove into Eskdale valley, where he wounded Jackie Lewis in the neck with his rifle as she was out walking. At this point, his route had become clearer to police during their search for him. Next, Bird stopped alongside Fiona Moretta, who leaned into his passenger window, believing he was going to ask her for directions. Instead, he injured her in the chest with the rifle, then continued onward towards the village of Boot.
Arriving in Boot, Bird briefly stopped at a business premises called Sim's Travel and fired his rifle at nearby people, but missed. Continuing further into the village, he continued firing at random people and missing. Bird eventually fired his rifle at two men, hitting and severely wounding Nathan Jones in the face. This was shortly followed by a couple who had stopped their car to take a photo; Samantha Chrystie suffered severe wounds to the face from a rifle bullet. Chrystie's partner, Craig Ross, fled upon Bird's instruction and was then fired at, but escaped uninjured.
Shortly after firing at two cyclists, Bird crashed his taxi into several vehicles and a stone wall, damaging a tyre. Briefly continuing onward, he abandoned his car at a beauty spot near Boot, named Doctor Bridge, when the damaged tyre deflated. A nearby family of four, who were unaware of the shootings, offered assistance to Bird, but were quickly turned down and advised to leave. Bird removed the rifle from his taxi and walked over a bridge leading into Oak How Woods. He was last seen alive at 12:30; shortly afterward, police confirmed that there had been fatalities and that they were searching for a suspect. Police later announced they were searching for the driver of a dark-grey Citroën Xsara Picasso driven by the suspect, who was identified as Bird.
At around 12:36, armed police officers and dog handlers arrived at the scene of Bird's abandoned taxi and began a search in and around the wooded area. At 14:00, Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Hyde announced that Bird's body had been found in a wooded area, along with a rifle.
