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. He liked to think of himself as a soldier, skilled at surveillance without being seen himself. I saw Robert Clements hed been walking the dog with his dad, Ken, and just witnessed him shot dead in South View. Dorothy Ryan, Michaels mother, was a lunchtime supervisor at the primary school where Mrs Jackson worked. 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. Saturday marks 30 years since Michael Ryan killed 16 people in Hungerford. The result was police were often up to 40 minutes behind his movements. There was a terrible burning pain. The manager later reported that Ryan spent a lot of time at the club and that he was a very good shot, showing consistent accuracy over large distances. "I effectively put myself on duty and thought because of my local knowledge I could show the armed response team the back routes around the town. By now, the name of the gunman was circulating. Some reports were inaccurate, giving the wrong location. Having chased the spaniel away, Ryan returned. Their car smashed into the back of another car. Then she phoned the building firm where her husband Ivor was a bricklayer, and asked for a message to be passed on. While the physical injuries from that fateful day have long since healed, the emotional scars in Hungerford still run deep. 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. "When you work for the ambulance service, you do your best to help people," Mr Whiting says. ", Trevor Wainwright still lives in Hungerford. Policemen. "They couldnt cope. In less than an hour, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold had killed 12 of their classmates and 1 teacher, injuring 24. Short for his age, Ryan was often teased and bullied but never retaliated and consequently avoided other children. What happened to the Hatton Garden burglars? Sandra Hill, who'd moved away from the town, was visiting former school friends. I could smell cordite in the air. Two days later, Mr Playle died from his injuries. But it appears she never contradicted him in public. At around 4 pm, the Royal Air Force hospital in nearby Wroughton contacted the Princess Margaret Hospital to inform them that they could take the next two serious and six minor casualties. Ryan fired at them and Victor died instantly, whilst Myrtle died later in hospital. Its occupants, Linda Chapman and her daughter, Alison Chapman, whilst wounded, both survived. Getty Images offers exclusive rights-ready and premium royalty-free analog, HD, and 4K video of the highest quality. He believes Ryan would get an illicit sexual thrill during his woodland trips and obtain pleasure and a sense of accomplishment from following and watching people unseen. His favourite toy was Action Man, the commando-type plastic doll, kitted out with uniforms and weapons. On 19 August 1987, the 27-year-old loner was in licensed possession of two shotguns, three pistols and two semi-automatic rifles. Prof Craig Jackson, a psychologist who specialises in spree killers, thinks there was also a sexual motive. "I think she either refused to [have sex] or resisted," he said. The damage to Michael Ryan's house after he set fire to it. Ryan picked up the picnic groundsheet and ordered Susan to walk with him into the woods. They keep meaning to frame it and put it up on the wall. A fellow park visitor, Myra Rose, found the children wandering around and they told her their mother had been shot. I need to get better and I will walk again. Adding to the sound of gunfire in the area was the fact that the Thames Valley firearms squad were in training, about 40 miles away. ", Kathleen Wainwright later moved to Hungerford to be near her son. Yet another vehicle drove into the area and once again, Ryan shot at it, hitting the driver, shattering his jaw, bursting his tongue and missing his spinal cord by two millimetres. When he slowed down to see what was happening, Ryan shot him in the head with the AK-47 and he died instantly. "What he did was the ultimate taking back of control. On the sunny afternoon of August 19th, 1987, it was market day in Hungerford and Ryan went to Saverneck forest - a place he would often go to shoot his gun and sneak up on unsuspecting. She ducked below her counter just as a bullet pierced the safety glass above it and ricocheted through the small shop behind her. Ryan was 25 when his father died of cancer in 1985. "He was dead after all. The Hungerford Report led to the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988, which banned the ownership of semi-automatic centre-fire rifles and restricted the use of shotguns with a magazine capacity of more than two rounds. He is still haunted, he says, by the photograph of his father dead in his car. Ryan looked in through the kitchen window and pointed his gun at her. Scenes in Hungerford, Berkshire, following a gun siege in the town the day before, the event became known as the Hungerford massacre, pictured is the. It started with an assumed attempted sexual assault, but Ryan went on to kill many close acquaintances in his hometown. S02:E04 - Peter Sutcliffe - the Yorkshire Ripper. Another reporter followed their sister home from the hospital. He had what appeared to be a normal upbringing, although he was perhaps overindulged by his mother. However, they stipulated that Ryan install a suitable Chubb steel cabinet in which to safely lock his weapons. "He was a good man. Then he tore his heartfelt letter up. The mother-of-four, 38, from Kent . At about 02:00 she looked out of the window and saw the bodies from South View being collected and driven away. Ian Playle, the last victim to be fatally shot, had in fact been warned of the danger in South View by police. The Jacksons remember him as being a model-railway enthusiast and "a lovely man who would help you with anything". 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. A 27-year-old unemployed local labourer, Michael Robert Ryan, armed with several weapons including an AK-47 rifle and a Beretta pistol, shot and killed sixteen people including his mother, and wounded fifteen others, then fatally shot himself. Dr Yardley and Prof Jackson both believe that Ryan did not "snap" and carry out the killings. He can barely speak about his friend, George White. 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. Here he shot her 13 times, dropped the groundsheet and returned to parking area. I should have said but I didnt want to worry anyone. "They were looking for bullet holes and spent shell cases to collect. 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. "We were all told to lie down and not move. At age 16, he left John OGaunt School to attend a technical college, the Newbury College of Further Education, intending to learn to become a building contractor.Although he tried hard, it soon became apparent that Ryan showed no flair for this trade and soon dropped out of college. After the murders, though, visitors were less satisfied by remaining in the attractive main street. 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. 11 - Eric Vardy 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. Find Hungerford Michael Ryan stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. "And then I remembered the name. Instead she found Ryan, who shot her once. 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. Former mummy blogger Clemmie Hooper is facing a midwifery misconduct hearing - three years after she confessed to trolling other influencers on a gossip forum. Hungerford. 10 - Douglas Wainwright 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. When that didn't bring him the respect he was looking for, he grabbed his guns and set out to kill as many people as he could. Angela Wrightson: A chaotic life and brutal death. 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. It was during this time that he lost his caretaker job. 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The Hungerford massacre occurred in Hungerford, Berkshire, England, on August 19, 1987. On 8 October 1987, a memorial and rededication service was held for the town of Hungerford. Just after midday, on 19 August 1987, the 27-year-old unemployed Ryan entered a secluded area of Savernake Forest. "Ill never forget what I saw that day, what happened to him, but I can't tell you. After some time, young Hannah unbuckled their seatbelts, so they could go in search of their mother. 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. All over Berkshire, the funerals that followed the massacre were deeply poignant. On 19 August 1987, gunman Michael Ryan went on the rampage in the small town of Hungerford. February 27, 2023 equitable estoppel california No Comments . Jackson played dead and survived the shooting.He heard what happened next, as Dorothy Ryan, returning home from some shopping, arrived at the scene in her car. As Mr White turned his Toyota Crown into South View, he was shot in the head and died instantly. Dorothy then saw her son with a gun in his hand and called to him, saying, Stop Michael. Ambulance driver Hazel Haslett arrived minutes later. Then the nurse came back. She had started the day wearing yellow trousers, borrowed from her sister. He also knew the day would end in the loss of his own life, so in effect he was choosing when to die.". "Perhaps he killed her in panic when she attempted to run away.". Also, he had never before bought so much petrol at one time, making Dean suspicious, so she kept an eye on him.Whilst Dean served another customer, Ian George, Ryan went to the boot of his car and brought out a semi-automatic rifle. His face, she says, was expressionless. Ryan killed himself at 6.52pm in John O'Gaunt Community Technology College. "She'd just say she'd fallen over or something. The press helicopters were in the way of police trying to track Ryan and this allowed him to get away again. "As soon as there's been a shooting, some journalist will call. Write by: . It was the same school he had attended more than a decade before. "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.". Police in action during a Gun siege in Hungerford, Berkshire. Ryan then abandoned his M1 carbine in the Memorial Gardens. 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. It was calculated that during the most intense period of Ryans rampage, he had killed an average of one person per minute. During the next 90 minutes, Brightwell and Ryan held a long and detailed conversation, during which Ryan seemed quite lucid, calm and easy to talk to. Even now Mr Jackson has not been back to South View. Large crowds attended the funerals of Ryan's victims, Trevor Jackson had first heard of the shootings when a colleague asked: "What's happened to your parents?". They flew the police helicopter past the window, but could not see in to the classroom. Seeing two of his neighbours, Roland and Sheila Mason, in their back garden, he shot Roland six times and Sheila once, in the head. 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. Then the radio announced the names of some of the people whod been shot, but didn't say if they were dead or alive. Were just waiting until life gets back to normal. Mayor Tarry claimed it to be the day on which life in the town could begin once more. Francis Butler was shot while walking his dog in the Memorial Gardens; Marcus Barney Barnard, was shot while driving to his home; Douglas Wainwright, died as he drove with his wife to visit their son; Erie Vardy, was shot while driving his van. "'Some blokes gone mad with a gun', they said. Michael Ryan : The Hungerford Massacre 152,574 views May 19, 2022 7.5K Dislike Share Save this is MONSTERS 539K subscribers Michael Ryan was a quiet loner when he was a kid, so he began. Besotted with the military, Ryan bought army jackets, survival gear and masks. "My brother and sister-in-law were on the list.". "There was a picture of my dad, dead in a car with a blanket over him. 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. George White and PC Roger Brereton were in their cars when they were shot. He told his wife to stay indoors with the little girl she was babysitting and headed off to Hungerford town centre, first to a newsagent to buy some maps and then to the police station. The bullet entered her groin, smashed the top of her hip, part of her pelvis and the sciatic nerve, before exiting via her back. Here he found Susan Godfrey, 33, an attractive, auburn-haired mother, with her children, Hannah, 4, and James, 2. Many were attended by people who had never known the deceased in life, but wished to show support for their families and the bereaved Hungerford community in general. As they drove up Tarrants Hill, their windscreen was shattered by a spray of bullets and Vardy was hit twice, under the chin and in the torso. People were frantic to get to their families to see if they were safe and unharmed. 33 years ago today, a sleepy Berkshire town was rocked by one of the most shocking mass shootings ever seen in the UK. I was due to go and visit her, but I thought I couldn't. There was a police guard on the front door so he had sneaked through the garden and into the house through the back door. When Ryan was old enough, he purchased a shotgun and began to collect other weapons, which he proudly displayed in a glass cabinet in his bedroom. What happened in the woods is the clue to why the shootings happened, Prof Jackson believes. Not able to stand by and idly watch people suffer, he had repeatedly risked his life to help a number of victims, giving first aid where he could and solace to those having lost loved ones. Ryan had murdered 16 people and seriously injured 15 more, but his whereabouts were unknown. Now, he added a new dimension. 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