Hungerford massacre
The Hungerford massacre was a spree shooting in Wiltshire and Berkshire, United Kingdom, which occurred on 19 August 1987 when 27-year-old Michael Ryan shot and killed sixteen people, including an unarmed police officer and his own mother, before killing himself. No firm motive for the killings has ever been established.
| Hungerford massacre | |
|---|---|
Michael Ryan in 1986 | |
| Location | Savernake Forest, Wiltshire, UK Hungerford, Berkshire, UK |
| Date | 19 August 1987 c. 12:30 – 18:52 (BST) |
Attack type | Spree shooting, mass shooting, murder-suicide, matricide |
| Weapons | M1 Carbine, Beretta 9mm pistol, Type 56 assault rifle |
| Deaths | 17 (including the perpetrator) |
| Injured | 15+ |
| Perpetrator | Michael Ryan |
| Motive | Unknown |
A report on the massacre, commissioned by Home Secretary Douglas Hurd, found that understaffing and telecommunication problems may have hampered the police response to the developing incident. The killings were committed using legally owned handguns and semi-automatic rifles, and the report stated that existing firearms legislation should be more stringent. Consequently, the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988 was passed in the wake of the massacre, banning ownership of semi-automatic centre-fire rifles and restricted the use of shotguns with a capacity of more than three cartridges.
The shootings have been compared to those in Dunblane in 1996, and in Cumbria in 2010, and the Hungerford massacre remains one of the deadliest firearms incidents in British history.