Michael Robert Ryan
| Hungerford massacre | |
|---|---|
Michael Ryan in 1986
|
|
| Location | Hungerford, Berkshire, England |
| Coordinates | 51°25′N 1°31′W / 51.41°N 1.52°WCoordinates: 51°25′N 1°31′W / 51.41°N 1.52°W |
| Date |
19 August 1987 ca. 12:30 p.m.–ca. 6:52 p.m. |
|
Attack type
|
Mass murder, spree shooting, murder-suicide, massacre |
| Weapons | |
| Deaths | 17 (including the perpetrator) |
|
Non-fatal injuries
|
15 (not including several minor injuries) |
| Perpetrator | Michael Robert Ryan |
| Motive | Mental illness suspected (acute schizophrenia and/or psychosis) |
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, including a police officer, 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. 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.
Michael 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.
Ryan's true motives may never be known as he killed himself and his mother, the only other person who knew him well. Dr John Hamilton of Broadmoor Hospital and Dr Jim Higgins, a consultant forensic psychiatrist for Mersey Regional Health Authority, both thought he was schizophrenic and psychotic. Hamilton stated "Ryan was most likely to be suffering from acute schizophrenia. He might have had a reason for doing what he did, but it was likely to be bizarre and peculiar to him." The local vicar, the Reverend David Salt, said on the first anniversary of the massacre, "No one has ever explained why Michael Ryan did what he did. And that's because, in my opinion, it is not something that can be explained." Ryan's body was cremated at the Reading Crematorium on 3 September 1987, 15 days after he took his own life.
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