Shit.

[paraxeni]

 A man, Derrick Bird, has gone on a killing spree in Cumbria, killed 12 people and shot 25 others.

I feel ill, shocked and sad.  Not only because I've spent a lot of time in that area (frequent holiday destination as a kid) but because my community has a similar make-up - semi-rural, high unemployment, poverty and depression, and a lot of shotgun

Comments

[madwitch]

12? Shit. It was "more than 5" when I left work, bloody hell.

[paraxeni]

I know, I originally saw "shot a cyclist dead" and then popped onto reddit for a while, and there it was. It's a tragic state of affairs when someone feels that's the only choice they have left, for whatever reason.

I remember Hungerford, I remember Dunblane, and it's always some quiet guy from a rural area who just snaps, and starts firing almost at random, they all seem to follow the same narrative, it's almost spooky.

[glitterybabe]

It certainly brings back Dunblane for me, being only 50 miles away so i know sort of how you feel.

[paraxeni]

I remember I'd skived off college the day of Dunblane, and was at my friend's house. We honestly thought it was a joke when we saw it, because at 17 we couldn't envisage someone actually doing that.

I can only hope that certain tabloid publications don't do to today's community of victims what they did to those in Dunblane, using it as a disgusting excuse for sensationalist muckraking.

[madwitch]

Reading what people have to say about him, it's bewildering. But like you said, it's the same narrative.