Victims of Britain’s worst attack on children
On 13 March, 1996, Britain was united in grief by the events at Dunblane Primary School in central Scotland.
Sixteen children aged five and six, and their teacher, were gunned down by a local man in an unexplained and unprecedented attack.
Thomas Hamilton, an unemployed former Scout leader, entered the school through a side door shortly after 9.30am and opened fire on a gym class.
Of the 30 pupils of Primary One, 15 were shot dead, along with their 45-year-old teacher Gwen Mayor, who had tried to shield her pupils from the gunfire. Another of the children was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital, while 12 other pupils and two teachers were injured.
The killer, who was armed with two pistols and two revolvers, then turned two of his weapons on himself and shot himself dead. He held many grudges against the authorities.
The Dunblane shootings led to a huge public outcry against the licensing of handguns and more than 700,000 people signed a petition calling for an outright ban. As a result, the Government outlawed private ownership of handguns ...
More ›
