"'Some blokes gone mad with a gun', they said. Police in action during a Gun siege in Hungerford, Berkshire. Stop it, you stupid bugger!. Whilst people did recognise that she was a victim, Canon John Reynolds, who conducted the service, selected not to mention her son and only made a brief reference to the Hungerford massacre. Ryan had holed himself up in a second-floor classroom and was shooting through the window at both police and press helicopters. He looked at her. His real passions were cars and guns. The report also said the operation was hampered by press helicopters making so much noise it was difficult for police on the ground to hear or relay instructions. George Noon, 67, was standing in the garden of his sons house, 109 Priory Road, when Ryan shot him in the shoulder and the eye, but he survived. He explained who he was and his experience, and offered sympathy. "I thought: 'How the hell can I go and see her if they're all blaming me? Then the radio announced the names of some of the people whod been shot, but didn't say if they were dead or alive. 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. Moving up Fairview Road, Ryan found neighbour, Abdul Khan, 84, a retired restaurateur, mowing the lawn in his back garden. "Then he shot her again, twice, in the back, from about four inches away.". As Mr Playle rounded a bend in Priory Street, Ryan fired a single shot. Your dad's been shot. Along the way, Ryan shot and wounded a man, who was pulled to safety as Ryan moved closer in order to shoot him again. When he slowed down to see what was happening, Ryan shot him in the head with the AK-47 and he died instantly. "He was going to set fire to his mother's house and drive away, leaving the police to believe he'd died in the fire.". In a small village 60 miles west of London, at 12:30 in the afternoon, 27-year-old Michael Ryan shoots a mother dead. Ryan approached, looked at him and shot him three times. "It was a happy occasion and I think he felt resentful and victimised and wanted to seize control. There was a terrible burning pain. Trevor Wainwright says he is "haunted" by his father's death. It seemed that the guns gave Ryan the feeling of power and control that he had always lacked. So he continued to Inkpen and Mrs Roland-Clarke's garden. 14 - Myrtle Gibbs "It's funny, I've killed all those people but I don't have the guts to blow my own brains out.". Then she phoned the building firm where her husband Ivor was a bricklayer, and asked for a message to be passed on. "After what happened, lots of people split up," says Ivor Jackson. Its occupants, Linda Chapman and her daughter, Alison Chapman, whilst wounded, both survived. When he was 13 his mother bought him an air rifle. "You know, it's funny. He subscribed to magazines on survival skills and guns, including Soldiers of Fortune, and was a fan of violent films such as Rambo: First Blood (1982). This seemed to fit the profile of Michael Ryan. In 1987, Michael Ryan committed a killing spree that left sixteen dead and sixteen injured. She had been at work in Hungerford when the news about the shootings came on the radio. Michael Ryan The Hungerford massacre was a series of random shootings in Hungerford, Berkshire, on 19 August 1987, when Michael Robert Ryan, an unemployed part-time antique dealer and handyman, fatally shot 16 people, including his own mother, before committing suicide. The police had already received a report, from George, of an armed robbery in progress at the petrol station and were en route to her. He chased me all the way. The birds didn't sing again for five days.". Terrified, crying and huddled against the wall, she begged him not to kill her. Pic: Daily Mail / Hungerford Massacre 1987. At 6.52 pm, Brightwell heard a single muffled shot from the classroom. Prof Craig Jackson, a psychologist who specialises in spree killers, thinks there was also a sexual motive. Mark Howe murdered his mother Katrina Wardle in a brutal knife attack. It's difficult. The couple have been married for 60 years and celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary in January. She was still wearing it, soaked now with Lisa Mildenhall's blood, when she was finally allowed back home. If there is a shooting elsewhere in the world, he braces himself for his phone to ring. Either way, the mourning period for an entire town was still to be endured.The Reverend David Salt received countless communications of support and offers of help poured in to the Hungerford vicarage. This seemed to fit the profile of Michael Ryan. "My brother and sister-in-law were on the list.". ", Kathleen Wainwright later moved to Hungerford to be near her son. As he went along Priory Road, Ryan stopped at the home of Myrtle and Victor Gibbs, whose door was, as usual, locked. For more stories of the worst people on earth, visit our . 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. She said: 'Oh no Ivor, not you.'". "I didnt know the Masons at No. Her children, who were 85 yards away from where her body was found, were later reunited with their father. The case of Michael Ryan, who went on a killing spree in the small town of Hungerford, resulting in the murder of 16 people, including his own mother. He needed numerous operations and still suffers, both physically and mentally. Alan Lepetit, Mrs Whiting's brother, was a neighbour of Ryan's, living in South View. "As soon as there's been a shooting, some journalist will call. I need to get better and I will walk again. Ryan fired at helicopters from this window. "He was dead after all. Ryan was lying slumped in the corner, near a window, apparently dead.The rest of the unit entered the room and checked that he was not wired with explosives as a booby trap. Here he found Susan Godfrey, 33, an attractive, auburn-haired mother, with her children, Hannah, 4, and James, 2. 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. Whilst chatting to a work colleague, the subject of Michael Ryan and the 1987 Hungerford massacre came up. The police officers at the scene did not apprehend him at this point, as they were unarmed. Their inability to defend themselves against their bullies means that shame, guilt, anger, hate and the need for revenge builds inside them. Say the name Hungerford and most people will associate the town with the events of Wednesday, 19 August, 1987. Although many neighbours described Mr Ryan as a pleasant man, there were rumours he was especially strict with his son. Alfred Ryan, Michael's father, had become a parent in his mid-50s and was about 20 years older than Dorothy. 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. Paying no attention to the police or the press, Ryan seemed oblivious to anything other than his hell-bent mission to kill everyone in his path. One of the boys she was with went to fetch his mother, Sylvia Pascoe, a qualified first-aider who lived at No 14. "He was trapped and didn't have a viable way out of his situation.". The event became known as the Hungerford massacre. That was possibly even worse than hearing it the first time.". 20th August 1987. On 19 August 1987, gunman Michael Ryan went on the rampage in the small town of Hungerford. It's testament to her own strength of mind that she did. All I could think of was the dogs. He survived the attack. "The station was locked, so I let myself in with a key. At age 11, he moved from the local primary school opposite his home, to the John OGaunt Secondary School, where he underachieved academically and would often play truant. "I got into the house and slammed the door. He was shot three times in the groin and the leg with the AK-47 rifle and died where he fell. It started with an assumed attempted sexual assault, but Ryan went on to kill many close acquaintances in his hometown. Ryan hadnt stopped there, though. "I went to help and she said Michael Ryan had shot her. An elderly neighbour, Dorothy Smith, 77 years old and deaf in one ear, had come out into the street to see what all the noise was about. On 19 August 1987, the 27-year-old loner was in licensed possession of two shotguns, three pistols and two semi-automatic rifles. We were good friends," he says. He walked up to where she lay in the road and, with the gun only four inches from her, shot her twice in the back, killing her. George White was driving Ivor Jackson back from work. Find Hungerford Michael Ryan stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. The mother-of-four, 38, from Kent . She had been to check on the building, which was just the other side of the street from her South View home, and was returning to her house for lunch when a springer spaniel ran past. George sped off on his motorcycle. The local police station had only two working phone lines that day and the police helicopter was being repaired, delaying its deployment. It was one of the worst mass shootings in British history. It seemed that whilst he was in the midst of a murderous rampage, he still felt the need to protect children. He died instantly from chest wounds. The wheelchair-bound Myrtle was totally vulnerable and Victor threw himself across her to protect her from the crazed gunman. "Members of the public were in the station with the police. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visits Hungerford the day after the attack, Mrs Thatcher meets police and people affected by the incident, This aerial shot shows people fleeing the attack, A Floral tribute outside Hungerford Town Hall, A shocked policeman cradling a young girl after her father was brutally murdered, Graham Brunsden was one of many who risked their lives trying to help the victims, Vicar in church with people praying in Hungerford, Janet Mason whose parents, pensioners Roland and Sheila Mason, were among those killed, along with her husband, two children and brother Chris, Marlyne Vardy at the funeral of husband Eric, Police attend a press conference the day after the incident, Dorothy and Alfred Ryan, parents of murderer Michael Ryan. Prof Jackson says it was at this point Ryan changed his plans. His victims included his own mother and police officer Roger Brereton - who was later posthumously awarded the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct. He's dead. Seventy-eight bullet holes were found. Ryan was 25 when his father died of cancer in 1985. "She'd just say she'd fallen over or something. Ryan killed himself at 6.52pm in John O'Gaunt Community Technology College. She was fully clothed but riddled with bullets. There was also a made-up girlfriend - a delusion which went far enough for Mrs Ryan to invite people to the wedding. Semi-automatic rifles Ryan used during his rampage. Find out how you can get the latest news from BerkshireLive delivered straight to your inbox. Godfreys children watched as he climbed into his car, which was parked next to theirs, and drive away without a word to them. Hazel Haslett escaped with minor injuries. "I turned to move away and he shot me. "I don't think he fully intended to commit a killing spree that day. He was John Storms, 49, a washing machine engineer who had been called out to Hungerford Park Farm on business. "There were no big wounds at the back of Lisa's legs. Changing his mind, he retrieved it and carried on walking, away from town. "In fact, I first thought it was another lad who lived there. Ryan had been targeting people he happened across in streets and gardens. Shortly after Ms Haslett escaped South View, her colleague Derek Whiting arrived in a second ambulance, completely unaware that a gunman was at large. "My daughter arranged it. He ordered her to put her children in the car, which she did immediately, strapping them in and telling them to wait there for her, that she would be back soon. I could see her hip bone.". By the time Dean looked back at him, he had assumed a shooting position, with the rifle aimed directly at her. Bob Barclay, a local builder and nearby resident, risking his own life, bravely ran out and dragged Storms from his car, managing to half crouch and half run with Storms into the safety of his garden. He arrived back in South View in time to set fire to his home, shoot his dog, chase another dog, and take three guns from his car before killing Mr and Mrs Mason at 12:47. Michael Ryan was just so, so insignificant. Ryan looked at her with extremely vacant eyes and a strange grin, before moving off eastwards along a footpath leading to Hungerford Common. He was still labouring under the impression that there might have been a shooting accident. Mrs Godfrey was killed at about 12:30 BST and Mrs Dean was shot at just five minutes later at the petrol station. As they drove down Priory Road, Ryan shot at their car and Playle died from a single bullet wound to the neck from the Beretta. Ryan's mother consistently pandered to her husband and son so Michael saw her as someone who was there to do things for him and essentially serve him - so he felt a sense of entitlement to treat her however he wanted.". Lepetit had heard about shooting in his neighbourhood and was hurrying home to check on his family. "Ivor has very limited mobility, and his lungs are damaged from the bullet. He liked to think of himself as a soldier, skilled at surveillance without being seen himself. Armed with three guns, he had already murdered six people and seriously injured seven more. The young policeman wondered whether he should see if he could do anything to help. ]]> The town had long been a tourist destination. He got me in my lower back. Abdul Rahman Khan, was shot in his garden; George White, was shot in South View while driving Ivor Jackson home from work. By now, the name of the gunman was circulating. Ryan, an unemployed handyman, also injured 15 people in the horrific attack before turning the gun on himself. I should have said but I didnt want to worry anyone. Meanwhile, a police officer had noticed Godfreys empty car with open doors and had gone to investigate. Classmates remember he was quiet, seemed shy, "kept himself to himself" and was keen on the military. And strictly speaking, it was not his responsibility; Froxfield, though just outside Hungerford, was in Wiltshire rather than Berkshire and beyond the jurisdiction of Thames Valley Police. I later realised that was because the bullets were still in her. But we've stuck by each other.". He had lost lots of blood, had bullets in his head and chest, his lung had been shot through and his arm was barely attached to his body. Plot summary Add synopsis Genres Documentary The Hungerford Report The British Home Secretary, Douglas Hurd, travelled to Hungerford on Sunday, 23 August 1987. Ryan shot Lepetit twice in the arm and once in the back as he fled. Trevor Wainwright, Hungerfords usual bobby on the beat, was on a day off. The act banned semi-automatic and pump-action rifles; weapons which fire explosive ammunition; short shotguns with magazines; and elevated pump-action and self-loading rifles. "At the hospital, where my mum was, everyone who'd been shot had been put into the same ward. Why are you doing this?. Linda Chapman and her teenage daughter Alison - Mr Whiting's sister and niece - were hit. A police negotiator managed to engage him in conversation. Ryans next victim was Francis Butler, a 26-year-old accounts clerk, out walking his dog in the Hungerford Memorial Gardens. Seeing two of his neighbours, Roland and Sheila Mason, in their back garden, he shot Roland six times and Sheila once, in the head. The help will come from within the community'. He then shot her in the back with a Beretta pistol. The result was police were often up to 40 minutes behind his movements. Seven minutes after saying this, at 18:52, he shot himself in the head. Dorothy Ryan, Michaels mother, was a lunchtime supervisor at the primary school where Mrs Jackson worked. Back at the police station, PC Wainwright was told his mother had been taken to hospital in Swindon. "I think she either refused to [have sex] or resisted," he said. But Ryan had moved. Ryan then walked into Priory Road, where he found Sandra Hill, 22, driving her red Renault 5, with the window down and the music blaring. 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 sprayed their car with 11 bullets, Ivor Jackson was shot three times in the chest and once in the head and White was shot too, dying as their car smashed into the police car Ryan had shot at earlier. Police were still hunting for the gunman in their midst. I knew I had to be the strong one of the family, I knew Ivor wouldn't cope.". Although situated 15 miles from Hungerford, it was the nearest hospital with an Accident and Emergency department equipped to deal with the numerous casualties with high-velocity gunshot wounds. He took it seriously.". His wife, who had a bullet in her spine, was not expected to walk again. The final shooting took place at about 13:45. "I think he used to do it quite often, but then with him he used to say lots of things. He also had a more sinister motivation for visiting the woodland. They keep meaning to frame it and put it up on the wall. "I just thought: 'They dont want outsiders. "I said he could, and he said: 'When that man shot that man, all of the birds flew out of the trees and shat themselves'. 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 he approached a playground near Bulpit Lane he shot and killed dog walker Francis Butler. Fifteen vehicles were taken away for forensic examination. Slaughter on a warm summer's day: The Hungerford Massacre. Their younger son Trevor, who had been 18 in 1987, is being treated for PTSD while his older brother Peter, who was in the same year as Ryan at school, refuses to talk about that day. That summer afternoon Ryan, a 27-year-old unemployed labourer, killed 16 people . This powerful mix of emotions is often later expressed in an inappropriately violent response. Ryan picked up the picnic groundsheet and ordered Susan to walk with him into the woods. Mrs Whiting remembers: "He was very upset for weeks afterwards. The horrific Hungerford Massacre was finally over. I was due to go and visit her, but I thought I couldn't. His favourite toy was Action Man, the commando-type plastic doll, kitted out with uniforms and weapons. Then he shot at Mrs Dean and sped back to South View where he set fire to his home and shot dead his dog, Blackie. Moving closer, he noticed the rear window of the police car had been shot out. 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. Victims were taken to the Princess Margaret Hospital in Swindon. Her Majesty the Queens private secretary sent a letter of condolence from Buckingham Palace to Mayor Tarry and enclosed a personal contribution from the Queen. That summer afternoon Ryan, a 27-year-old unemployed labourer, killed 16 people . News crews at John O'Gaunt School in Hungerford, Berkshire, where Michael Robert Ryan committed suicide following the Hungerford Massacre. 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. He became a skilled shooter and member of two gun clubs. Mrs Jackson can remember Mrs Ryan telling her about a mysterious "friend" Michael had made. The fact was that they were prevented from entering the danger zone, for fear of being shot themselves. "I just broke down in tears," Mr Wainwright says. With blood running down his face, he could only watch through half-closed eyes as Dorothy Ryan, Michaels mother, arrived home from the Wednesday market. //-->