A sombre day for Cumbria

[alfiethetortoise]

I don't know if this news will have reached the world yet.

Cumbria is in northen England. It is used to low crime rates, safe neighbourhoods, and is a fairly wealthy county. Most of Cumbria is countryside. Police forces are small and used to petty theft and minor crimes.

Today a man took 12 lives (three more are critical) and 25 injuries - men women and children. The man, Bird, took two cars, and took fire in no less than 11 towns, villages and hamlets. It is believed that taking the second car, he was planning in heading to central Lakes (Ambleside, Coniston) where tourists flock in the holiday season. On his way, he crashed this car and carried on foot. He took his own life by shooting himself in the woods near Boot.

This afteroon, we were on red alert. We were adviced to lock our doors and not to roam the streets. This is unheard of. Sellafield, the local neauclear power plant, was on complete shut down for the first time in 25 years. We had to fly in helicopters and extra armed forces from Manchester.

We live in central Ambleside. I feel very lucky that he didn't make it this far and that myself and Ava were not in any way harmed. We also have family living out on the west coast. None of them were harmed. Thoughts for those who have lost loved ones, or been injured. And a shudder to think that it could easily have been us, or our family.

A sad, sad, day for Cumbria.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Oh Brooke those are very scary things. Coming from California they are pretty much daily things and we get used to them. Everybody carried guns. But I understand your situation not being used to stuff like that.
My last house had a skylight right above my bad and I would lay in bed at night and watch the police helicopter fly over using it's powerful searchlight to look for criminals on the ground and I would lay there wondering if they were badies running past my house then there's be a bump and I'd think is someone breaking in? Corvallis is a paradise compared to where I lived before.

So keep your doors locked and stay safe...

 

[alfiethetortoise]

Thanks Maggie.

Cumbria doens't even own a helicopter. There are no armed forces. This kind of scale of crime has never happened here before. I often go to the shop and leave my doors open. Crime is down 12% on last year in ambleside. 9% of that is petty theft. I live on my own and never worry about crime.

It really makes you think.

 

[Isa]

That is terrible and so scary!!!
You are right, it is a very sad sad day. Stay safe.

 

[Rhyno47]

I dont know if any of you remember the D.C. Sniper, but he was caught just before he reached my town. Similar-ish story.

 

[terryo]

Very scary...stay safe Brooke. There's always something going on where I live, but you never get used to it.

 

[dmmj]

I had heard only of some deaths in the UK, should be the same story.

 

[Stephanie Logan]

OMG, Brooke, you must be so shaken. How terrible and frightening! What was wrong with this man? TWELVE lives? For what?

Unfortunately, sometimes people just lose their mind and commit these horrible crimes, and there is no certain way to predict or prevent these events when a person is so determined to wreak havoc and horror on a wide scale.

The human capacity for violence can be very depressing and distressing. I will have to read the details in the newpaper tomorrow. Very sad, indeed. Think of all those families whose lives are now changed forever.

 

[mightyclyde]

What is it coming to? This? How very sobering.

 

[alfiethetortoise]

A terrible story, with still no real reasons why. Some attacked seem completely random, others pre meditated. One man, a farmer, shot dead while hedging had two young children. Just Awfull. A silence was held today at our village war memorial.