This episode may contain content of a graphic nature, including descriptions of physical and
sexual violence against adults, children, and animals. Listener discretion is advised.
Hi everyone, I'm Tanya and I'm Talia and we are Crimes and Consequences,
a true crime podcast. Hi Talia, Hi Tanya. I have a new
episode for everyone today, So welcome back to all of our listeners. Welcome
back. Before I get into the story this week, I would like to
remind everyone hit the follow like subscribe everything, whatever, whatever, whatever button,
whatever button, whatever, I'm whatever app Yeah, we don't care.
We're not picky. So this is a story that I've never heard of and
it was requested by Amy d and she's from Belfast, Ireland. A tactical
firearms officer for the Thames Valley Police found himself in a bizarre situation on August
nineteenth, nineteen eighty seven. It was otherwise a quiet and ordinary day in
the small town of Hungerford. The officer had been trained in conflict resolution and
he worked on lots of severe cases. But this isn't like domestic violence or
are we talking like yeah, I think so, maybe like this and stuff
like that. There was a man who had barricaded himself inside the empty John
o'gaunt school, and he was asking him to surrender and talk. The man
coldly replied, quote, Hungerford must be a bit of a mess. None
of this would have happened if my car would have started. End. Quote
what does that mean? It's weird? Right, within minutes, the Hungerford
massacre would come to a shocking end. And now, even thirty six years
later, nobody knows exactly how it started. Well, the car didn't start,
Yeah right, yes, carwouldn't start. Hungerford is a small market town
around fifty eight hundred people in Berkshire, England. And I'm sure I'm saying
it wrong. It's England. I know the town sits sixty miles west of
London and is in close proximity to Salisbury and Marlborough. Hungerford is precisely what
one might picture like a little English town might be. There's schools, doctors,
dentists. There's open spaces like lots of land where children can play.
Many residents raise chicken and livestock in their backyards, and it's considered a quiet,
peaceful place to live, or it was, or it was, interestingly
outside of the Hungerford massacre. The town hit another crime connection as it was
the birthplace of a man named Robert Snooks, who was the last highwayman to
be hanged for robbery in England in eighteen o two. That's quite a gap
in crying. It's almost like two hundred years before I get into the actual
story. It's important to go through the UK's stance and laws surrounding firearms and
their ownership, because it's a lot different there than it is here in the
US. Okay, it becomes difficult to pinpoint the exact laws, as England
and Wales have separate laws from Scotland, from Northern Ireland, the Isle of
Man and other islands. In the United Kingdom, in most cases, the
ownership of fully automatic, submachine and pump action rifles is illegal. Handguns are
also prohibited for public use. Some rifles and shotguns are allowed, However,
there are strict specifications that must be met, like I'm thinking they probably use
them for hunting and things like that. According to the United Kingdom's government website,
a person must apply for a license to own a firearm and demonstrate quote
good reason to own it. I want to kill someone exactly, they would
probably not get you a license. Collectors, hobby shooters and farmers are often
granted licenses under these strict conditions. The police also conduct checks to ensure firearms
are being stored correctly. So there's just a ton of technicalities that you have
to go through in order to own a firearm. And in nineteen ninety six,
the gun laws in the United Kingdom took a drastic turn following the the
Blame massacre where sixteen children and one teacher were killed in Scotland. Oh,
shooting sprees are uncommon in the United Kingdom, fortunately for them. And that's
the last of your little firearms, all right. August nineteenth, nineteen eighty
seven. As I mentioned, it's a typical Wednesday for thirty three year old
Susan Godfrey. That morning, Susan packed her two children, Hannah who was
four and James, who was two, the car and she drove to Savernanc
Forest for a little picnic. Following the picnic, the family was due to
attend of birthday party and Susan wanted to make sure the children ate before they
got to the party. She took him to a picnic. Yeah, and
around noon Susan pulled into an isolated clearing and began setting up the picnic.
She got the blanket from the car's trunk. She laid it on the ground
when she heard something behind her a shit oh. Before she had time to
react, she felt the presence of another person. It was a man and
he was armed. Twenty seven year old Michael Robert Ryan had been watching Susan
and her children through the trees. He was watching, and he was waiting,
crappy. He was dressed in paramilitary terrifying right and army gear as if
he was on like a recommission some rambo shit right. Michael barked orders at
Susan and structing her to walk into the foe. She complied, and then
she felt the barrel of a gun stuck in her back. Michael laid down
a sheet on the ground before he made Susan lay on it, and then
he shot her thirteen times. What and Susan late dying. Michael marched out
of the woods, ignoring her two screaming children at this time, just going
to ask where the kids were. They were still strapped into their car seat.
She didn't gotten him out of the car yet. Michael got into his
car and drove out of the Severn Nick Forest. Susan's body was discovered sometime
later after her two children were found roaming in the forest. And remember they're
four and two. Yeah, so they somehow buckled. Yeah, I'm sure
Hannah, who was formed, she probably figured it out. Figured it out,
Yeah, she did, and she unbuckled her and her brother's belts before
they went looking for their mom. Oh man. Yeah. The Thames Valley
Police were called to the scene. Spent shell casings were littering the ground on
which Susan Godfrey lay. Little did the Thames Valley Police know that this was
just the start of one of the UK's worst mass shootings. I never heard
of this either. So I'll tell you a little bit about Michael Robert Ryan.
Oh please tell me about this asshole. Right. He was born May
eighteenth, nineteen sixty to his parents, Alfred and Dorothy, and he was
born in Hungerford. The Ryan family dynamic differed somewhat from those around them and
Michael's parents because they were older when he was born. Alfred had a different
view of family life and left his wife Dorothy to raise Michael. Alfred instead
focused on work and I don't mean he left the family. I mean like
it was her major responsibility to raise awife. She's a housewife, homemaker,
and he focused on work and putting food on the table. From the very
beginning, Michael was different. He was far more sullen than other children,
and he didn't mix well with others. A strange little kid from the start.
Boys in elementary school they all get together and they play games, and
you know, they play football, and they do all those kinds of things
that you normally think little boys do. But Michael preferred to sit alone and
just like fantasize in his mind, like he was more okay okay. He
was never a high achiever, and he coasted through school. He was apparently
bullied, which only made him more introverted. Those who grew up around him
stated he was a mommy's boy, and his parents, especially as Mom,
gave him whatever he wanted, so he spoiled. Yes, he was over
indulgent, and he didn't even know the meaning of the word No. He
just got everything you wanted. As Michael grew older, he became interested in
the army and military and that kind of shit. Most boys' age also had
an interest in army and weapons, but Michael took it to the extreme.
He became obsessed with guns and ammy mission, subscribing to magazines and reading as
many books as possible. He also began morphing himself into like a little paramilitary
soldier, no, visiting the local army surplus stores and picking out camouflage clothes.
And that was a fashion statement. All right, all right, it's
a fantasy, he say, exactly. In one shocking incident, a childhood
friend recalled the day Michael's interests took a turn for the bazaar. At the
bottom of the Ryan's property, the family had a barn where they kept animals
and grew crops. One afternoon, Michael and his friends ventured into the barn,
where Michael began blasting the door with his air rifle. Yeah, something
in his mind just changed, and days later he became a member of the
local gun club, where he shot pistols and rifles. Michael was reportedly a
good shooter and often won awards and competitions. Others at the gun club were
friendly with him, but Michael didn't know really how to recip kate. He
continued visiting the gun club throughout his teenage years. And into adulthood, his
interest in survivalism grew. Oh boy, I know, and he bought himself
a flak jacket. What's that like? A bulletproof jacket? Everybody needs one
of them, right, You never know, Leah. I mean here in
America, it's probably a smart purchase. But I mean, you get shot
going to the grocery store. But I think in the United Kingdom is a
little different. Tensions in Michael's mind were increasing, as was his gun collection,
and something's about to crack. Michael's about to crack. Yeah. After
leaving seven Lake Forest in his first victim Susan behind, Michael drove his Vowhall
Astraw to the Golden Aero Service, which is a gas station in Froxfield,
which is really close to Hungerford. According to the gas station owners, Michael
was a regular customer who would fill up with small amounts of gasoline, pay
and then leave without really just engaging much conversation. I don't know his business
and got out. Yeah, but August nineteenth was different. Mister Dean,
the server on duty that day, I think they must have like people who
pump your gas. Oh back in the day, ye, back in the
day. She noticed that Michael looked distracted in days. She saw him standing
at the pump filling his car with more and more gas than usual. At
one point, gas almost spilled out of the tank. As Michael was in
such a day's like he just wasn't paying attention. Zoned out, Yeah,
zoned out, just pumping his gas. After filling his car, Michael filled
a gasolene camp Oh Boy, and he waited for the only customer to leave.
Right slowly, he walked towards the booth where Miss Deane was sitting.
She believed he was there to pay for the gasolene, but instantly her life
changed. Shit. I know, Michael Withdrew's guy and shot once into the
booth. Incredibly, she was able to duck out of the way of the
bullet for her right how terrifying though, but undeterred, Michael walked to the
side of the booth where there was a larger opening, and he pointed the
barrel directly at her head. And I don't know if it was Locke or
God was on her side, but the gun either jammed or ran out of
bullets and she survived. Wow. Realizing what happened, Michael ran into his
car merged on to the A four, which is heading toward Hungerford, so
it's a highway. She called the police, who were then beginning to put
the incidents together, like, oh, this is the same weirdo. Fifteen
minutes later, Michael arrived at Southfu, the street where he had grown up.
The home that he grew up on. Southfu held many happy memories for
the Ryan family, and at this point in nineteen eighty seven, it was
just Michael and his mother living there because his father had passed away a few
years earlier. He went into his childhoot home and grabbed his arsenal of weapons.
He took a nine millimeter handgun, it was a Barrettas semi automatic pistol,
an M one carbine assault rifle, an AK forty seven rifle. Oh
shit, and he took hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Dorothy Ryan, Michael's
mom. She wasn't home at the time, so thank god. Yeah,
well, Michael was left to do whatever he wanted. And yeah, no
one there to stop him. I don't know if his mother would have stopped
him, she would have noticed, right, you don't know. After stacking
up, Michael headed to his car with a full tank of gas and tried
to start it, but it kind of sputtered. The sputtering continued. Oh
shit, this is where the car doesn't start right, Like this just pissed
him off. His car's just sputtering, and it was his only possible escape
from what he's created so far. I mean, he's already left one person,
dad, but he was going to do more in the car. He's
gonna drive somewhere, right, And shit, he stacked up on all this,
right, he wasn't just what weapons going to McDonald's get a burder,
No, that's true. He needed his car to go kill Moore, to
kill kill Moore. So he's all pissed. So he shoots his car five
times. Oh yeah, in a fit of rage. His fury had reached
its crescendo. He grabbed the gasoline can, headed into his childhood home and
just doused everything in sight. Seconds later, Yeah, the house is now
engulfed in flames, and that's not going to get attention. And hello,
yeah, well he's got no vehicle to take off. The shots and the
fire certainly attracted the attention of the residence on the street, and just a
few doors down from Michael's home, Ronald Mason was outside fixing his fence.
Michael Ryan walked towards Ronald as if he was going to strike up a conversation,
but instead he shot him. Yeah. He pulled out one of his
many guns and shot Ronald six times. Oh man. He then turned to
Ronald's wife, Sheila, who was outside as well. He shot her once,
and Sheila and Ronald died at the scene. Michael continued walking along the
road, almost as if he hadn't just shut two more people dead in broad
daylight and burned his house down, and burned his fucking house down, And
before I tell you more, we're gonna take a break. The next house
he came across was that of Marjorie Jackson. The time was close to one
pm, and the commotion had attracted attention along South Few Street. So this
isn't far from his house though, right right, yeah, this is yeah,
I think this is the next house after Ronald Mason. We jeez.
Marjorie watched from the window as Michael shut indiscriminately. Then he turned to her.
He stormed up the driveway, shooting at her through the window. A
bullet hit Marjorie in the back, forcing her to the ground. I know.
She spent the rest of the afternoon keeping load of the ground while ending
to her wound. It would take several hours for emergency services to be allowed
down that street. Oh my gosh, they barricaded like the street. Yeah,
and by that point it was too late for some of these residents.
Michael continued the rampage, making his way down the street. Children and teenagers
were playing on the roads when they heard instructions to go outside, but the
instructions weren't from their parents, but instead from Michael himself. Throughout his rampage,
he made it clear that he had no intention of shooting children, at
least for the most part. Well, why didn't they come down the street
and try to get him? Right? I don't understand. I don't understand
he didn't want to hurt children. I mean, he did leave Susan's children.
That's so kind of know alive, I know, so kind. Fourteen
year old Lisa Mildenhall would be Michael's next victim. She's still a child,
I know, exactly like the other children. She had scrambled to the front
door of her home, praying that the knob would slide open with ease and
leader to safety, but just as she reached the front door, Michael shot
her in the legs and stomach. She survived her injuries, and she didn't
make it inside her home to safety. Sylvia Pasco, who lived next door,
recalled hearing a frightened Lisa running into her home before she fell silent and
collapsed. South Few Street has a path to what is called Hungerford Common and
it's a large field with some brush and trees. And after walking their dog
in the commons, fifty one year old Kenneth Clements and his family walked on
to Southfew Street. Ambieknownst to Kenneth and his family. They stepped in the
middle of this shit. Michael shot Kenneth point blank, but allowed the rest
of the family to flee. At twelve fifty eight pm, Police Constable PC
Roger Brereton received orders to drive on to south Few Street and secure the scene.
PC Brereton had worked as a traffic officer in Newbury for the Thames Valley
Police. Oh it's a little bit more than traffic going all right. As
he pulled his car onto Southview, he was met with a hail of bullets
twenty three to be exact, and four of which hit him, killing him
in small fuck. As this fucked, the Thames Valley Police arrived at the
scene. More officers arrived shortly after and found one of their own dead.
Roadblocks had been set up, but angry residents were eager to get through.
At this point, the Thames Valley Police didn't disclose why the roads were closed
or even what was going on, So people are like, why why can't
they get down? The block is happening? What's going on? While the
rest of Hungerford went about their lives, Michael was committing one of the worst
spree killings in British history, and many residents were unaware of even what was
unfolding in their little town. I told it, it's only like fifty eight
hundred people in this town. Mother and daughter, Linda and Alison Chapman,
were driving along Southview around one o'clock when they saw a bright flash. They
had been shot at. I thought it was it was like barricaded or blocked
off. How'd they get dried? I don't know. I think while the
police I think showed up a little after that because PC Brereton was there about
one o'clock too. They had been shot at. They would join the evergrowing
list of Hungerford victims. Incredibly, both mother and daughter survived, although according
to the BBC, Alison was left permanently disabled after a bullet penetrated her spine.
I know, Michael seemed not to care whether he left living victims,
and he didn't return to ensure that they were dead, Like you just want
to call, you just want to cause damage? Yeah, he shot it
whatever and listic, right, I mean, once he fired at them,
he just moved on to the next victim. People who knew Michael all of
their lives had suddenly been faced with a gun to the heads. Many tried
to talk him down or played for their lives, but their please went unanswered.
What the fuck? I know, Michael was despondent and almost in another
world. Entirely nothing mattered to him, and he carried on moving like a
robot or a soldier, following orders. Well, one thing mattered to him,
yeah, kill, shooting as many people as they possibly could. George
White and Ivor Jackson, who was Marjorie Jackson's husband, were turning on to
Southview in their Toyota Crown when they too were shot. George died instantly,
but I've survived, I ever told the BBC he played dead in an attempt
to save himself. He waited, holding his breath and closing his eyes until
he heard the footsteps like gradually fade. That's gotta be terrifying. I've often
thought like, how could I play dead? I don't know. I feel
like i'd be a hot mess, right, like I think i'd be like
in such a panic. I don't think I could slow down my breathing all
right, I wouldn't think straight right like I think again, Oh, for
sure, i'd be dead in any type of situation like that. We're like,
fuck you fuck, I know, I'm for sure. I don't.
I don't do well in those kinds of situations. I'm guessing I can't calm
myself down. I'm thinking, I mean, I've never been in this situation.
But eighty four year old Abdul Khan, he was shot three times by
Michael as he Modus Grass. He's still He's out there, Monus fucking Grass.
Hello, there's a house burning. Gun shots? What's going on?
Buddy? I know these people are like giant yards or something, But I
don't knock a house burning. I know, I ever remembers opening his eyes
and seeing Dorothy Ryan, Michael's mom. After spending the day at the market,
she had just returned to Southew Street in the middle of Oh shit,
can you imagine? Oh man, I beat his ass, Get over your
Michael. She got there, she was like, what the hell is going
on? You are grounded? Her house is burned down, right, I
mean yeah, yeah. Bodies were all over the streets. The air was
filled with just people like, screaming, panicking, groaning. Still want like,
why the why the police aren't doing something? I know, but maybe
it all happened in a few minutes. I don't know. Dorothy ran toward
her son. She was going to try and comfort him. She'd done throughout
his life. Don't tell me, Michael, though, he wasn't really interested
in that at this point. No, what he didn't want cuddling right now
at this moment, Okay, Dorothy was the only woman and possibly the only
person Michael had really ever loved, and if somebody could talk him down,
it was her. But when she reached her arms out for a hug,
she was shot, you you were gonna say that, point blank? Stop
it? In the oh fu And he watched her die. What the mother
fuck right? The Tames Railey police had set up a command post on Southview
and he had instructed Michael to lay down his weapons and surrender. Okay,
Michael had also shot several other residents, who thankfully survived. I had.
Around one twenty pm, Michael left Southview, taking a meandering path that led
to the Hunger for Common. Along the path lay the War Memorial Recreation Grounds,
where Michael found his next victim, who was twenty six year old Francis
Butler, who was walking his dog. Francis was shot several times and left
to die in the gravel. Michael took off as if he was on a
peaceful summer walk. I mean, he wasn't running anywhere, he wasn't in
a pan taking a stroll with his fucking gun. Was his fucking guns.
Minutes later, thirty year old Marcus Bernard was shot through his car window.
According to the Crime and Investigation Network, Marcus was driving to a nearby hospital
to visit his wife, who had just given birth to their son. Oh
no, Michael watched as Marcus slumped over the steering wheel. For a brief
moment, he had clarity. The ak forty seven killing machine he had used
to kill Marcus Francis and others minutes earlier, now represented something horrific to him.
Anna Bazarre ritual. Michael laid the gun on the ground and he stared
at it, perhaps hoping that this was all just some weird dream. He
was in, what the hell is this? Within seconds, though, the
murderous rampage once again started. Oh so, he had just ate very briefly.
He had a brief moment. He laid down the gun. He kind
of was like, what the fuck? And then he's like I made a
mistake. And he's like, nope, no, and he picked up the
AK forty seven, threw the strap over his shoulder, and he carried on
walking down the path in the commons, like fuck it. Off duty police
officer Truv Waynewright knew what was happening in Southfield. His wife had called him
moments earlier in a panic after hearing a bullet spray over their back garden.
PC Waynewright of the Thames Valley Police had vetted Michael a year prior, in
nineteen eighty six, when he applied for an upgrade to his firearms license.
How much of an upgrade you need to get at AK forty seven. Well,
I think you probably needed a lot like you can get a pistol this
soul launchers. PC Waynwright saw that Michael had no criminal history and there were
no concerns for his mental well being, so he granted the upgrade, allowing
Michael to own high powered weapons, the very weapons he was using. After
leaving the Common, Michael arrived at Priory Avenue, which leads to Terence Hill.
Walking along Priory Avenue, he came side by side with a car inside
Sat Douglas and Kathleen Waynewright, the parents of PC Trevor Wingwright, the off
duty police officer I just talked about. Kathleen and Douglas had recently sold their
house in Tent which was about one hundred miles away, and they came to
Hungerford to visit their son. Michael shot Douglas twice in the head and once
in the chest. Kathleen did survive. She crawled out the passenger seat and
crouched outside. Michael reloaded his gun but walked away, allowing her to live.
Eric Vardy and Stephen Ball were driving up Terence Hill, unaware of what
was going on that this rampage was happening. Eric was shot as he drove.
He died sometimes later due to his injuries. The teams Valley Police were
desperately trying to lock down the area, but the roads and avenues snaked into
one another, giving him many escape rounds. And there's pathways and stata And
I'm thinking they probably aren't prepared for this type. Yeah, it's a tiny
town. I don't think police are usually prepared for some crazy ass wild mass
shooting. So Wednesday was market Day in Hungerford and turning left onto Priory Avenue
took you straight to the market square. Oh shit, I'm picturing like a
farmer's market. Yeah. Michael was confronted with a choice. Is he going
to go left toward this market square or is he going to go right?
Left, like I said, would take him to this busy market. No,
I would go if I was him, Hell, yeah, you're gonna
choose many people. But he chose to bear to the right, making his
way along Terence Hill. After a short walk, he found another victim,
twenty two year old Sandra Hill, who he shot once in the chest.
Even though Michael had done a lot of walking, he really didn't cover all
that much ground. By two pm, his adrenaline rush was beginning to slow
down. So what has it been like an hour? Yeah, this has
been like an hour maybe a little more. And let's not forget Susan,
right, Oh, yeah, Susan, because that was I think that was
probably around noon. Yeah, so probably this has been two hours. You're
right, His drenaline's coming down. But shortly after he shot Sandra in the
chest, he turned his gun on Victor Gibbs and his wife, who used
a wheelchair. What what her name was, Myrtle? Oh, Myrtle and
the wheelchair, the wheelchair and Victor died instantly, and she died later.
Shortly before two pm, Michael claimed his sixteenth fatality. Sixteenth fatalitytality thirty four
year old Ian Lale I hope, I'm saying that right. He was hit
by a bullet to the neck. Ian had brought his family along with him
to Hungerford for a shopping trip, and he died two days later on August
twenty first, at the hospital. By this point, Michael's, like I
said, he's coming down from the adrenaline. Is buzz a certain wear off.
Maybe le's go look the bathroom, getting hungry. I mean at some
point, I mean hours into this ship. You're a human. I'm just
saying, I know, slow it down. He was beginning to count.
Are heavy too, right, by the way, Yeah, they are carrying
that around for I've never hit an AK forty seven. I don't know,
but I mean a handgun's heavy. Yeah, I don't know. To me,
it is a sorry side trick. I'm saying. He was beginning to
come to terms with what he'd done. Had he really killed his mother?
Yeah, I mean the only person he had ever loved in cold blood?
He fucking did. Yeah, he fucking did. Nearly two pm, teams
Valley Police and Tactical Response Units received word that Michael had just been spotted walking
into John o'gaunt Secondary High School. Please tell me school's non in session.
No, it is empty because it's August. And this is where we started
the story. Oh yeah, Michael had attended John o'gaunt as a teenager some
twelve years earlier, and it was a place where he had faced the most
bully. Yeah, I being asked, right, all right? All right?
Luckily for the police, like you mentioned, the school was shut down
for the past six weeks. You know it's summertime and students were not due
back until the first week of September. Every entrance and exit to the school
was closed off. So now Michael's barricaded himself in sight and I was just
a waiting game. Huntygan in if everything's closed. Oh yeah, he's a
gun girl. He probably blew off a block or something. I don't mean,
I've seen. I don't know. Michael still had three weapons, and
he still had plenty of ammunition. Even the tactical response unit each of those
officers only had one weapon each. I know he's only one person, but
at least he's contained. Yeah, exactly, Slowly but surely. The police
began to close a circle around the school, putting as much pressure as they
could on Michael. He had an advantage though, is he was familiar with
the school's layout. Yeah, but you can only be in that school for
so long. Eat their chocolate pudding in the cafeteria. Do they even ham
chocolate pudding? I don't know. You got to leave. Yeah, but
for hours the police and Michael were in a standoff, and around five thirty
pm is when the Thames Valley Police finally pinpointed exactly where he was in the
school is a lot of hours. Yeah, this is all fucking a dude.
Michael knew there was no way out of this. He's just like,
you know, yeah, there is no way. No, you're fucked.
Basically, officers held their breath as they saw an arm reach out the window.
Snipers and firearms officers were ready to shoot at a moment's notice, but
Michael was hanging onto a white cloth at the window. Oh police, yeah,
letting the officers know he wanted to surrender or at least talk. A
line of communication between Michael and a crisis responder was created, and one of
the first things Michael asked for it was his mother. Okay, nobody,
No, dude, you've shot her point blank in the head, right,
Like, what do you think? So why, he asked. They're not
sure exactly. He knew he had shot her, like you said, plant
blank. The crisis responder and Michael talked, and it seemed to Michael may
have been opening to surrendering. He asked the officer if his dog had been
found safe and well following the house fire. Oh yeah, that's right,
and whether they had discovered his m one carbine. Michael asked about it not
for himself, but because he was worried children may use it and hurt themselves
or someone else. Makes no sense, but Michael wouldn't budge no matter how
hard the negotiator tried to get him to come out of the school. Then
just sit it out, Michael threw his AK forty seven out the window,
leaving him now with just the Baretta nine millimeter pistol. Buy six forty five
pm, communications had broken down, and that's when he told the officer Hungerford
must be a bit of a mess. None of this would have happened if
my car would have started. It's just right. I don't know what to
say about that. No, Michael, none of this would have happened if
you weren't fucking nuts exactly. And then he said, it's funny, I've
killed all those people, but I don't have the guts to blow my own
brains out. Well, why don't you put your head out the window.
Yeah, we'll do it for you. I'll help you out. For several
minutes, Michael stayed silent, pondering his next move. Officers prepared to move
in or accept his surrender. At six fifty two pm, a solitary shot
rang out from the classroom. Michael Robert Ryan was dead if did it.
He finally mustered up the courage. After hearing the shot, officers knew the
operation was over. In just six hours, Michael Ryan had killed sixteen people
and wounded fifteen others. Damn the small town of Hungerford had been plunged into
chaos, all at the hands of one man. Richard Auger of the Technical
Firearms Response un It was there when Michael took his own life. He told
the media that at that point he felt sorry for Michael, who seemed quote
pathetic and lost. The Hungerford massacre would remain the UK's largest spree killing until
nineteen ninety six, when a lone gunman opened fire at Deblaine School in Scotland.
Like I mentioned earlier, the Hungerford massacre sparked the Hungerford Report, which
explored how Michael had obtained these weapons and what could be done to prevent further
tragedies. Following the report, the Firearms Act of nineteen eighty eight was passed,
which banned the purchase and ownership of semi automatic rifles and restricted pump action
shotguns from having no more than three Cartridges. One victim's family remarked that while
they're glad he's dead and not living in prison at the taxpayers' expenses, they
also feel robbed of an explanation. Michael didn't even know. How do you
explain anyway? He said it was car, wasn't origin. He was getting
upset, right there is that he just snapped? And is there any logical
explanation you could give to do this? I know, is there any like
the shootings that we know about that happened. No, there's no. Yeah,
people, it's just rage, right. Criminal psychologist Professor Jackson concluded that
Michael Ryan's rampage was not planned, but he hasn't been able to pinpoint the
exact cause, and I don't think psychologists will ever be able to. Yeah,
they didn't even examine them. Michael had no criminal history and he was
legally allowed to obtain the firearms he did. Since to Blaine in nineteen ninety
six, there have been very few spree killings with a gun in the United
Kingdom. And that's the end of my story. And I'm not even going
to go into my own beliefs about these stupid, fucking mass shootings that we
have all the time because I would just not go I'm not get on myself.
Yeah, please don't. I don't want to hear it. I've already
heard it. I had a cousin who was in the last Vegas shooting WOW
a few years ago. I mean, she obviously survived, but she was
with her boyfriend like for the concert and I'm sure she's scarred to this day
for it. Thank thank god, she came out alive. Well, before
I get into the rest of the business, there's shout outs, shout outs,
we'd done them on a long time, and we have mirum M.
I think I'm saying that right. Her name is spelled m I R J
A m oh. I don't know. I think it's Miriam And I'm sorry
if I missed pronounce L j Amanda P, Laura S. Shannon, S,
Angela B. Haley, n Amelia M, Jennifer H. Kate Ella
hector A. This person to leave their name, but this is part of
their email as varg Well Okay, Jessica H. Yatt, D Ryan J.
Tracy, C. Joyce, R. Jess G. Candice P.
Jennifer P. Christina D. Shayley C. Bundy K. Bundy K Bundy
K, Victoria P. Garrett S and Nice who is from Belgium. Yes,
and I asked how to pronounce it, so it's nice nice and I
think I did that right. So um, thank you everyone, Thank you,
thank you our newest Patreon members. And if you're wondering what the hell
that was all about? What was maybe this is your first episode that you've
ever listened to? I mean maybe maybe maybe we have an episode that we
release a week for free that you're all listening to now. But we also
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for very low amount per month, very low. You can get all of
these episodes and there's just so many. Yeah, I mean we're on episode
like one ninety two or something on our regular ones. So there's equal amount.
Yeah, there's almost equal amount. You can go to Patreon dot com
slash TNT like Dynamite t NT crime and we're not going to go into it
because it's a copyright. I don't want to be sued by you. We
would get a lot of attention of acdc's true was dn I'm jnna to us?
Yeah, please and to get ad free. Yes, and free at
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app. They are the same episodes, so if you prefer to do it
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they don't give us your name. Yeah, use Axapple exactly because Zapple and
Apple's big on privacy. So if you do want to shout out, just
email us at contact at Crimes and Consequences. Good job dot com. I
almost forgot our emails. Contact at Crimes and Consequences dot com dot com.
If you want to go to our website, check it out Crimes and Consequences
dot com. We're on Facebook and Instagram at Hardcore True Crime, and we
have merged if you're interested in that. In our website, buy some stuff,
get a T shirt, show your score. I have about fifteen of
them. I don't even know. I have a whole drawer exactly existence I
hate people. Oh oh, I had the earlier what the futa? I
have that one I'm dead inside? Yep, Oh, I have that one
with the little skeleton. That one's cute. I don't kill each other,
don't kill each other. A lot of the good one. Yeah, that
is a good one. It's classic. Yeah and don't Yeah, don't do
it. Don't kill each other anyway until our next episode. Don't kill each
other exactly. Bye bye