ted & famliy ok in Cumbria

.....just spoken to ted he is very shook up he was working with his dad near the shootings.....

Residents tell of gunman horror



Police stand next to a body covered by a blanket after a shooting in Whitehaven
Witnesses have told of their terror as Derrick Bird drove through Whitehaven with the shotgun hanging out of the window of his taxi.

Rod Davies, landlord of Gosforth Hall Inn, said: "The guy flipped for whatever reason. Whether it was pre-meditated, we don't know.

"We've heard he returned home and shot his mother. Then he has gone on a spree to Seascale, where he's believed to have caused two fatalities.

"He then left Seascale and went through Gosforth where he's believed to have killed a local farmer - shot him at point-blank range."

Boot Inn landlord Sean King said that fellow publican Harry Berger, who runs the Woolpack, was shot in the arm in Seascale and was recovering in hospital.

A member of staff at the Woolpack Inn said a girl had received minor buckshot wounds.

A Whitehaven cab driver said he understood a total of three taxi drivers had been shot, two fatally.

The man, who did not want to be named, claimed an argument broke out between Bird and the other three men at the Duke Street taxi rank.

Later Cumbria Police confirmed that Bird's mother was alive.

The force issued a statement saying: "We can confirm that Mrs Bird (mother of Derrick Bird) has not been shot, she is alive and is being supported by her family."

12 people killed in shooting spree



Taxi driver Derrick Bird, on holiday in Tenerife
A taxi driver has gone on a shotgun rampage, killing 12 people and wounding at least 25 before turning his weapon on himself.

Divorced father-of-two Derrick Bird, 52, shot several colleagues in Whitehaven in Cumbria, then drove his cab through the countryside of the Lake District blasting other victims apparently at random.

Following a frantic manhunt, police found his body 20 miles away in woods near the hamlet of Boot three-and-a-half hours later.

Cumbria Police said there were 30 separate crime scenes.

Witnesses spoke of their terror as Bird drove through Whitehaven with the shotgun hanging out of the window of his taxi.

Police said that, after leaving the town, the gunman travelled south along the coast, shooting people in Gosforth, Seascale and Egremont before turning inland and ending up in Boot. Officers later recovered two weapons.

Rod Davies, landlord of Gosforth Hall Inn, said the close-knit Cumbrian communities were shaken by the tragedies.

"There's a lot of very strong feeling of absolute shock. There's a lot of fear - a lot of people are expecting to hear names of people they know," he said.

Bird was said to be close to a fellow taxi driver he killed in Duke Street, Whitehaven, as he started his rampage at about 10.30am.

Glenda Pears, boss of L&G Taxis, said: "We just don't know what's happened. The lad that's been killed was friends with him. They used to stand together having a craic on the rank."

Sick and twisted.
Glad to hear Ted and the family are safe.
God be with the families caught in this devastation.

I'm glad Ted and his family are ok!

What words are there?!

Events like this are sickening to the core!

Words just seem worthless for what its worth, our hearts and thoughts are with all those effected by this tragic event