I won’t see you again, British gunman said before rampage

LONDON - The taxi driver, who killed 12 people in a shooting rampage in Britain before turning the gun on himself, had given a chilling warning of his intention to a friend, saying: “I won’t see you again.”

Peter Ledder, a friend of Derrick Bird who killed 12 and injured 25, told The Times: “I came into work in the morning and heard what was happening. He must have had it pre-planned.”

Bird had told him at midnight Tuesday: “I won’t see you again.”

Spoken of as a quiet and unassuming man, Bird Wednesday within a few hours killed friends, colleagues and complete strangers.

He opened fire randomly while driving from Whitehaven through the villages of west Cumbria.

Some victims were called to his car only to be shot dead, others were working by the roadside or passing on bicycles.

Ashley Gaytor told ITN that the taxi driver pulled up beside her and pointed a gun at her.

She said: “I held my ears and ducked down to protect myself and the gunshot was fired. I felt it go past my ponytail on the back of my hair.”

A while later, Bird shot himself in woods near the hamlet of Boot.

His twin brother was found dead at home and the family’s solicitor, Kevin J. Commons, was also said to have been killed.

These twin murders were believed to have happened several hours before the first reports of shooting in Whitehaven.

A relative told the newspaper that the twins’ other brother, Brian Bird, was in shock.

“He is sitting there knowing that one of his brothers has killed the other brother. God knows how that feels,” she was quoted as saying.

Taxi drivers said that Bird had been in an argument the night before and that he had taken offence.