Hungerford massacre

The Hungerford massacre was a series of random shootings in Hungerford, Berkshire, United Kingdom, on 19 August 1987, when Michael Robert Ryan, an unemployed antique dealer and handyman, fatally shot 16 people, before taking his own life. The shootings, committed using a handgun and two semi-automatic rifles, occurred at several locations, including a school he had once attended. A police officer died in the incident, and many people were injured. 15 other people were also shot but survived. No firm motive for the killings has ever been established, although one psychologist has theorised Ryan's motive for the massacre had been a form of "anger and contempt for the ordinary life" around him, which he himself was not a tangible part of.A report was commissioned by Home Secretary Douglas Hurd. The Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988 was passed in the wake of the massacre, which bans the ownership of semi-automatic centre-fire rifles and restricts the use of shotguns with a capacity of more than three cartridges. The shootings remain one of the deadliest firearms incidents in British history.PerpetratorMichael Robert Ryan was an unemployed labourer and antiques dealer. He was born at Savernake Hospital in Marlborough, Wiltshire, located near Hungerford, Berkshire, on 18 May 1960. His father, Alfred Henry Ryan, was 55 years old when Michael was born. Alfred died in Swindon in May 1985 at the age of 80. At the time of the shooting, Ryan lived with his mother, Dorothy, a dinner lady at the local primary school. He had no siblings. There was extensive press comment on this, suggesting the relationship was "unhealthy" and that Ryan was "spoiled" by his mother. A Guardian headline described Ryan as a "mummy's boy". Ryan was a bachelor and had no children.