It was his gun cupboard. Ambulances lined the main street. No-one blamed me. Ryan immediately turned to Alan Lepetit, a coalman who had helped install the Chubb steel cabinet for Ryans firearm collection. Her training with St John Ambulance had led her to believe she could not have been shot, as bullets typically leave a large exit wound. Mayor Tarry claimed it to be the day on which life in the town could begin once more. Ryan said he would not exit the building until he had news of his mothers condition.Some of the things Ryan shouted out the window to Brightwell were, Hungerford must be a bit of a mess; If only the police car hadnt turned up. Mildenhall survived the shooting.Kenneth Clements was walking along the footpath with his family, towards South View, when Ryan appeared and shot him once, killing him instantly. 33 years ago today, a sleepy Berkshire town was rocked by one of the most shocking mass shootings ever seen in the UK. Mrs Godfrey was killed at about 12:30 BST and Mrs Dean was shot at just five minutes later at the petrol station. She said: 'Oh no Ivor, not you.'". Trevor Wainwright, Hungerfords usual bobby on the beat, was on a day off. The event became known as the Hungerford massacre. Your dad's been shot. Michael Ryan: The Hungerford Massacre: Directed by Adam Luria. From the eerie quiet of Hungerford High Street after the murder of 16 people to the trail of blood leading up to the bedroom of an anonymous terraced house, Shepherd conjures up the uncanny. Terrified, crying and huddled against the wall, she begged him not to kill her. An only child, Michael Robert Ryan was born on 18 May 1960 in the Savernake hospital, Hungerford. He became a skilled shooter and member of two gun clubs. In contrast, Dorothy Ryans funeral service, held at St Marys Church in Calne, Wiltshire, was only attended by 40 mourners. The final shooting took place at about 13:45. We were good friends," he says. He uses it against the people he has grown up with and against the unarmed police that are called. But how did the town heal its wounds? Ryan was well-known for driving "like a bat out of hell" - the only time he had been in trouble with the police was for breaking the speed limit. Armed with an automatic rifle, a pistol and at least one. Sharp, acrid and smoky.". They flew the police helicopter past the window, but could not see in to the classroom. "I got into the house and slammed the door. The phone lines were inundated with people trying to call police - journalists were taking up many of the lines - and the police radio system, which only had three channels, was similarly overloaded. What happened to the Hatton Garden burglars? Police during the investigation in August 1987, Killer Michael Robert Ryan murdered several people while they were driving, The remains of Michael Ryan's house in South View, after he set fire to it. Linda was hit in the shoulder and Alison in the right thigh. I couldnt move my legs. The Hoddle Street massacre was committed by a former soldier who wore combat fatigues. It is thought he might not have heard the commotion. By the time Dean looked back at him, he had assumed a shooting position, with the rifle aimed directly at her. While the physical injuries from that fateful day have long since healed, the emotional scars in Hungerford still run deep. The couple and their two grown-up sons now live in a two-bedroom council house a few streets away. When he slowed down to see what was happening, Ryan shot him in the head with the AK-47 and he died instantly. Ryan fired at helicopters from this window. As he went along Priory Road, Ryan stopped at the home of Myrtle and Victor Gibbs, whose door was, as usual, locked. Then he shot himself. The result was police were often up to 40 minutes behind his movements. She seemed more concerned about her trousers than her wounds. After the murders, the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988 was passed following a report commissioned by then-Home Secretary Douglas Hurd. A single man, unemployed and living with his mother, with no evidence of a romantic or sexual relationship in his life, he perhaps had precious little to be happy about. I knew I had to help.". Ryan walked past a young boy, Dean Lavisher, without seeming to notice him, but fired at another boy riding past on his bicycle, Dean Cadle, thankfully missing him. Access was blocked for the fire engine called to deal with the fire Ryan had started in his own home and which had already spread to three neighbouring properties. He legally owned several semi-automatic weapons and told people he had been in the SAS - just one strand of a fantasy life woven by him and apparently perpetuated by his mother. "Ivor has very limited mobility, and his lungs are damaged from the bullet. They warned ground units to set up a roadblock around South View, to stop any drivers entering the area, although they had no idea what Ryan would do next. Crossing the street, shooting as he went, Ryan strode towards 60 Priory Road, the home of Victor and Myrtle Gibbs and blasted open the front door with his semi-automatic rifle. Watched by neighbours, he went into the house and muffled shots were heard. It's testament to her own strength of mind that she did. 15 - Ian Playle, Susan Godfrey was shot and killed in Savernake Forest. I thought I was safe.". In a grove of trees headed by an ancient standing stone, near the cricket pitch used by the school in Hungerford where gunman Michael Ryan holed up, a body last night lay covered by a blanket. "It was just routine. Ryan spotted another shocked neighbour, Marjorie Jackson, peering through the window at the dead bodies and shot her as well. Thomas Hamilton murdered 17 people in Dunblane in 1996. The Hungerford Massacre was a spree shooting that took place in Hungerford, England, United Kingdom, on August 19, 1987. It was about 10 minutes since Mrs Jackson had asked her husband to return home and the two men had no idea of the danger into which they were heading. One man was injured. The Hungerford Massacre on August 19, 1987, saw 16 people killed in a. What she found was houses on fire, people lying dead in their gardens and smashed cars lining the street. The gunman was reloading his weapon and Mrs Wainwright thought he would shoot at her again. "I knew Id been hit. His wife and children were unhurt. It just seemed to happen quite a lot.". He threw his Kalashnikov out of the window, leaving him with only his 9mm Beretta and ammunition. "When you work for the ambulance service, you do your best to help people," Mr Whiting says. Whenever they asked me where it all happened I'd say it was down the A4. Prof Jackson says it was at this point Ryan changed his plans. "Writing the letter did me good, but I don't think it would have helped the people of Dunblane.". Having chased the spaniel away, Ryan returned. It was on August 19 1987 that loner and gun fanatic Michael Ryan went on a shooting rampage in Hungerford, a market town in Berkshire. The Hungerford Family Help Unit was hastily established in makeshift offices, co-ordinated by John Smith, to help a community suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Lisa Mildenhall, 14, was shot and wounded by Ryan, who had smiled at her whilst she crouched on the ground at her front door, and then shot her four times in the legs and stomach. Despite the police helicopter hovering above him and telling him to lay down his weapons, Ryan merely walked away. His father, Alfred Henry Ryan, a government building inspector, was known for being a perfectionist and was 55 when Ryan was born.His mother, Dorothy Ryan, was over 20 years younger than her husband and was 34 when she had her only son. The Victims - 19 August 1987: Susan Godfrey, 35 shot and died, Kakoub Dean shot at (missed, then firearm malfunctioned), Police Constable Roger Brereton shot and died, Hazel Haslett windscreen shot, injured by glass and survived, Kathleen Wainwright, 62 shot and survived, Man from 62 Priory Road shot and survived, Woman from 71 Priory Road shot and survived. People were sheltering in doorways and I pulled up and asked what was going on. But Ryan had moved. The other three ducked down on the floor but Ryan fired at Lisa. People were frantic to get to their families to see if they were safe and unharmed. Amongst others also later commended for their bravery were ambulance-women Hazel Haslett and Linda Bright, who had been shot at by Ryan but who had continued working selflessly late into the night to help other victims.It was reported in the tabloid newspapers that following the public announcement of Ryans death, the people of Hungerford reacted with relieved delight. He claimed he had been taken under the wing of a retired colonel who was going to buy him a house and a Ferrari. The John O'Gaunt School where shooter Michael Robert Ryan killed himself. The description of the shootings as a "tragedy" doesnt sit well with Mrs Jackson. AETNUK All Rights Reserved. The dust was flying up from the ground around my feet as the bullets hit. This seemed to fit the profile of Michael Ryan. Emerging from the house, dressed in a headband and sleeveless flak jacket, Ryan carried a bag filled with food and other supplies. Fifteen vehicles were taken away for forensic examination. Mrs Jackson, a bullet lodged in the base of her spine, crawled through the blood and glass on her linoleum and managed to lock Katie and Raffles, a Pekingese and a Tibetan spaniel, into a kitchen cupboard. The open-air service outside the town hall was attended by over 60 percent of the population of Hungerford and the principal sermon preached by Right Honourable Robert Runcie, Archbishop of Canterbury.Apart from the numerous local and international newspaper articles written about the Hungerford Massacre and Michael Ryan, there were also several books. People were said to have run into the streets chanting, The bastards dead, the bastards dead, whilst children cycled around on their bikes, yelling Good riddance, and people in pubs toasted his death. Instead she found Ryan, who shot her once. The Hungerford Massacre on August 19, 1987, saw 16 people killed in a rampage by gunman Michael Ryan. Because the road was blocked by PC Brereton and Mr White's car, he and his partner could not drive their ambulance up, so he went on foot. Then Ryan had shot and killed Abdul Khan, a hard-of-hearing 84-year-old who was gardening. Cash and cheques poured in from well-wishers, some even from children, and a Tragedy Fund was established, in collaboration with Lloyds TSB, Barclays and NatWest, the three banks in Hungerford. "I assumed it had been some sort of accident with glass and that Lisa had been cut," she says. He can barely speak about his friend, George White. Some more minor details of that fateful day in 1987 vary in the different accounts but all agree that it will remain in memory as one of the worst gun crimes in British history.Sir Charles Pollard, Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police from 1991 2001, commented, The realisation that this could happen in fun-loving England, where we dont have guns and the police arent armed it changed policing and it changed society forever.. As Mr Playle rounded a bend in Priory Street, Ryan fired a single shot. Four houses, including Ryan's home at the far right, were later demolished. Dorothy Ryan, Michaels mother, was a lunchtime supervisor at the primary school where Mrs Jackson worked. Slaughter on a warm summer's day: The Hungerford Massacre. Preparing to leave for her grandmothers 95th birthday, Godfrey was packing away the picnic when a grim looking Ryan approached, dressed all in black and pointing a 9mm Beretta pistol at her. The young policeman wondered whether he should see if he could do anything to help. Critics said the . Shotguns had to be registered and were required to be kept in secure storage. Ryan shot Lepetit twice in the arm and once in the back as he fled. She parked behind Whites car and opening the door and looking in, said, Oh Ivor and then hurried up the road. The help will come from within the community'. Close to tears, she toured the streets, met with the relatives and visited victims in hospital. "After what happened, lots of people split up," says Ivor Jackson. "In fact, I first thought it was another lad who lived there. After some time, young Hannah unbuckled their seatbelts, so they could go in search of their mother. The sense of disbelief and shock still reverberate across the nation, 25 years later, Looking back at the two most shocking gun massacres in British history. Read about our approach to external linking. Ryan, who was heavily armed, forced 33-year-old Susan Godfrey, who was on a picnic with her children, to put them in her car and Having created a fort for himself in the Gibbs home, Ryan fired at neighbouring houses, injuring a man at number 62 and a woman at number 67 Priory Road.Ian Playle, a 34-year-old clerk to the Justices at Newbury Magistrates Court, had brought his wife, Elizabeth, and their two young children, Richard and Sarah, to Hungerford on a shopping trip. In less than an hour, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold had killed 12 of their classmates and 1 teacher, injuring 24. It's not known whether Ryan spent a long time watching Sue Godfrey, a 35-year-old nurse who had stopped with her two young children for a picnic lunch. The Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, who was on holiday in Cornwall at the time, was notified of the events and kept informed via a special phone line from Downing Street. ]]> 14 - Myrtle Gibbs But she wasn't. Later, police told her they believed her life had been saved by the fact she'd kept her curtains drawn as she pottered about, doing her housework in her nightgown. Then he and his brother Peter went into their home, released the dogs from the cupboard, and started to clean the blood and glass from their kitchen. She remembers Michael as quiet and polite. Moving closer, he noticed the rear window of the police car had been shot out. Prof Jackson also considers Ryan was heavily influenced by a mass shooting occurring 10 days earlier in Melbourne, Australia, that was reported on television in the UK. He left his shotguns in his broken-down car, grabbed a pistol and two automatic rifles and almost immediately shot dead Roland and Sheila Mason, who were in their garden at the back of 6 South View. He then carries on killing with his legally purchased and licensed Kalashnikov capable of killing at 300 yards. Sandra Hill, who'd moved away from the town, was visiting former school friends. The Whitings' son Matthew, who was 11 at the time, was with his childminder in the playground and saw Mr Butler being shot. She knew her husband was dead. If this was his plan, it fell to pieces when his car would not restart. Hungerford is a big shooting area, farmers and gun clubs and that sort of thing. A former school friend remembers a teenage Ryan boasting of spying on and stalking people there. "It hit at the heart of my professionalism, of everything I'd ever done for the town. He put some petrol in his car and some in a canister. "Theres no two ways about it. "I rushed back to check on Jane and on the way I saw smoke coming up from South View [a nearby street]. Trevor Wainwright says he is "haunted" by his father's death. Leaving school he embarked on a series of casual labouring jobs and was often unemployed. Ryan approached, looked at him and shot him three times. She was a respected and popular member of the community and used to work as a dinner lady at the Hungerford Primary School before becoming a part-time waitress at the Elcot Park Hotel, where she worked for 12 years, until her death.Ryan grew up in South View, Hungerford and relatives remembered him as a quiet, mostly sullen and quite self-centred boy. She told him someone was shooting across the back gardens of their road. [CDATA[// >

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