Whitehaven, England – A friend of one of the shooting spree’s victims broke down in tears as she knelt alone to lay flowers at the spot where he died.
Quietly, a teenager nearby came over and put an arm around her.
Such tiny gestures showed the small-town solidarity that residents of the quiet English harbour town of Whitehaven said on Thursday would get them through unspeakable grief, a day after a taxi driver went on a rampage, killing 12 people.
“Whatever happens … because we are so tight-knit, we will bounce back and get through it all,” said Gary Bound, 37, who was taking his son to a hairdresser’s a few metres away when the first shot rang out.
“Everyone is still in shock, I don’t think it has fully sunk in yet what has gone on … you don’t expect things like this to happen in such a small town.”
Life resumed in parts of the town, with shoppers wandering the narrow streets and young children playing in the sunshine. Police reopened roads which had been closed for hours.
But on one of the main streets, which runs from the rolling hills on the edge of the town down to the waterfront, crowds of press and an ever growing pile of flowers were a stark reminder of the events which had unfolded there just 24 hours earlier.
Derrick Bird, 52, walked the streets of the town and nearby villages, shooting family members, friends and strangers before apparently turning the gun on himself. In addition to the 12 killed, 11 others were injured.
A sign on the door of a beauty parlour beside the taxi rank where Bird opened fire on colleagues read: “Closed until further notice”. Through the window, towels and make-up brushes abandoned during the chaos could be seen strewn on the floor.
Where shops had opened, shopkeepers stood in their doorways chatting to their neighbours as they watched the media circus that had overtaken the street.
“It is surreal, like something out of a film,” said one.
Almost everyone in the community spoke of having links to one of the victims or their families. They came throughout the day to leave flowers at the shooting sites, scattered across picturesque country towns and villages.
Many expressed disbelief that something so unimaginable could have happened on their doorstep, as well as confusion about the motives of Bird – who police believe appears to have chosen most of his victims at random.
“My friend’s mum and dad were both killed in a tiny little village,” said 32-year-old electrician Darren Williamson.
“They just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, it is that simple. If they had decided to stay in for half an hour and go out later they would have been fine.”
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