She managed to drag herself into her house and survived. Ryan picked up the picnic groundsheet and ordered Susan to walk with him into the woods. 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. It's difficult. But how did the town heal its wounds? Critics said the . "He certainly had no 'manifesto' or message to the world.". "I just thought: 'They dont want outsiders. "It hasn't got any easier. Press intrusion is something the Jacksons continue to feel very strongly about. 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 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 PC Wainwright, wearing his off-duty clothes of shorts and a Fred Perry polo shirt, was called into his superior's office, he thought he was going to be told to put his uniform on. Moving closer, he noticed the rear window of the police car had been shot out. "He used to wear camouflage gear, that sort of thing. He was making his way to a part-time gardening job in the nearby village of Inkpen. When he was 13 his mother bought him an air rifle. Michael Ryan was a quiet loner when he was a kid, so he began pretending to be a military trained survivalist as an adult. Robert, his frightened son, escaped by jumping over a fence into the neighbouring school, whilst the rest of the family literally ran for their lives. Michael Ryan: The Hungerford Massacre: Directed by Adam Luria. Kahn died later of his wounds. "Theres no two ways about it. At about 02:00 she looked out of the window and saw the bodies from South View being collected and driven away. The names of the 16 people who were killed are listed on a stone set into the wall of the town's war memorial garden, with no mention of how they died. Angrily, Ryan climbed out of the car and shot five bullets into the boot. Having murdered Mrs Godfrey, Ryan headed back to Hungerford in his Vauxhall Astra GTE, stopping at Froxfield filling station. "She'd just say she'd fallen over or something. Ryans school friend remembers his mother would buy the boy whatever he wanted, but his father "couldnt be played" and "wore the trousers" in the house. The wheelchair-bound Myrtle was totally vulnerable and Victor threw himself across her to protect her from the crazed gunman. 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. The British Home Secretary, Douglas Hurd, travelled to Hungerford on Sunday, 23 August 1987. 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. The birds didn't sing again for five days.". The woman did not believe them at first but agreed to help them find her. "I got into the house and slammed the door. Either way, he turned away. Ryan then went to Froxtield petrol station, where he was watched by Mrs Kakoub Dean, wife of the owner, as he filled up his metallic silver Vauxhall Astra GTE, as well as a five-litre can. It was a good day to spend in the garden - hot and sunny. Chief Inspector Lambert had sent Sergeant Paul Brightwell and his team of eight officers from the Tactical Firearms Unit to investigate the school, unaware that this was indeed the exact location of the killer. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of Terms and Conditions. Short for his age, Ryan was often teased and bullied but never retaliated and consequently avoided other children. He looked at her. His face, she says, was expressionless. He then asked the time and was silent for a while. Ambulances lined the main street. Meanwhile, police were busy getting some people to safety and preventing others from going where they thought Ryan might move to next. Alfred Ryan, Michael's father, had become a parent in his mid-50s and was about 20 years older than Dorothy. Driver, Linda Bright, immediately put the ambulance into reverse and retreated. This had been Ryans first victim. 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. Former mummy blogger Clemmie Hooper is facing a midwifery misconduct hearing - three years after she confessed to trolling other influencers on a gossip forum. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visited the village on Thursday, August 20, 1987, the day after the shooting, to pay her condolences. Inside, PC Roger Brereton, a traffic officer who had volunteered to investigate, was slumped against the steering wheel, clearly dead. As he drove the three-and-a-half miles a news report came on the radio about a suspected armed robbery at a petrol station in Froxfield. With her window open and radio on in her Renault 5, she became Ryans 13th murder victim, dying from a single shot. Two days later, Mr Playle died from his injuries. 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. document.write(new Date().getFullYear()) Now, he added a new dimension. Its occupants, Linda Chapman and her daughter, Alison Chapman, whilst wounded, both survived. He even persuaded the police to grant him a licence to own more powerful firearms. Susan Godfrey was shot dead in Savernake Forest. Instead, Sgt Ryan said: "I dont know how to tell you this. 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I couldn't walk. That summer afternoon Ryan, a 27-year-old unemployed labourer, killed 16 people . On that day, 27-year-old Michael Ryan shot dead sixteen people, including an unarmed police officer and his own mother. It was confirmed that Michael Robert Ryan had fatally shot himself at 6.52 pm on Wednesday, 19 August 1987, with a single gunshot to the head. Mrs Pascoe, safe with her neighbours in a community centre, was playing cards with the children to distract them from the horror outside. S02:E05 - Thomas Watt Hamilton: Dunblane Massacre. In less than an hour, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold had killed 12 of their classmates and 1 teacher, injuring 24. He also knew the day would end in the loss of his own life, so in effect he was choosing when to die.". People were sheltering in doorways and I pulled up and asked what was going on. Prof Craig Jackson believes Ryan had a sexual motive. "And I hear the arguments of the gun lobby, who want to preserve the right to bear arms, and I think: 'You should come here and see what guns did to Hungerford. The Hungerford Massacre on August 19, 1987, saw 16 people killed in a. Slaughter on a warm summer's day: The Hungerford massacre, 47 minutes of horror: The Columbine massacre, Rampage killers : shooters without remorse, America's 8 deadliest mass shootings since Columbine, Crime + Investigation Play - What to watch in March 2023. Later that day, his parents were driving up from their home in Kent to visit him. He's dead. 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. 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. Stop it, you stupid bugger!. "It was a massacre," she says. There he announced that he had commissioned a report on the massacre from the Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police, Colin Smith. 15 - Ian Playle, Susan Godfrey was shot and killed in Savernake Forest. He also had several different firearms: a Beretta 9 mm semi-automatic pistol; an M1 carbine semi-automatic assault rifle; and a Kalashnikov AK-47 rifle loaded with armour-piercing bullets. His real passions were cars and guns. Whether or not these were completely accurate accounts, they certainly encapsulated the emotion of relief foremost in peoples minds immediately after the massacre that the carnage was finally over. Thirty years later, the events of that day are rarely discussed by those affected. She was inordinately lucky not to have been shot by him. Mrs Whiting remembers: "He was very upset for weeks afterwards. Similarly the Whitings, for years, simply drew their curtains and refused to answer the door. Because Ryan burned down his home, any evidence of planning was destroyed. Ryan, an unemployed handyman, also injured 15 people in the horrific attack before turning the gun on himself. But we've stuck by each other.". Shortly after midday, Michael Ryan had approached Susan Godfrey, who was picnicking in nearby Savernake Forest. Pic: Daily Mail / Hungerford Massacre 1987. At 17:25, Ryan threw a semi-automatic rifle from the classroom window. 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. "I just started to run. The Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988 was passed in the wake of the massacre. On 8 October 1987, a memorial and rededication service was held for the town of Hungerford. It banned the ownership of semi-automatic firearms and pump-action weapons and made registration mandatory for shotgun owners. The Hungerford Massacre was a spree shooting that took place in Hungerford, England, United Kingdom, on August 19, 1987. When Michael Ryan went on a killing spree in Hungerford in 1987, the news - like last week's shootings in Cumbria - shocked the country. He adds that an overindulgent mother could also have led to Ryan never taking responsibility for his actions - a personality trait common to many spree killers. [CDATA[// >