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Michael Robert RyanMass killer
Country:
 Great Britain |
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Biography of Michael Robert Ryan
Michael Robert Ryan was a mass murderer who committed the Hungerford massacre in Hungerford, Berkshire, England, on August 19, 1987. He was 27 years old at the time. Armed with two semi-automatic rifles and a pistol, Ryan killed 16 people, including his own mother Dorothy Ryan, who pleaded for her life. He also injured 15 others before fatally shooting himself.
Early Life
Michael Ryan was born on May 18, 1960, at Savernake Hospital in Marlborough, Wiltshire, near Hungerford. He was the only child of Alfred Henry Ryan, who was 55 years old when Michael was born. Alfred passed away in May 1985 at the age of 80. At the time of the massacre, Ryan was living with his mother, who worked at a local primary school distributing meals to students. The press sensationalized their relationship, suggesting an unhealthy dynamic and portraying Ryan as a "mummy's boy."
The Hungerford Massacre
The Hungerford massacre began approximately 11 kilometers west of Hungerford at 12:30 pm. Ryan encountered Susan Godfrey and her two children, Hannah (4 years old) and James (2 years old), who were having a picnic in Savernake Forest. He forced Godfrey to put her children in her car, took her into the bushes, and shot her 13 times in the back. The police were alerted after a passerby, Myra Rose, approached the children, and Hannah told her, "A man in black shot our mommy."
Ryan then drove to a petrol station 5 kilometers from Hungerford. He waited until Ian George finished refueling his motorcycle and started refilling his own car before opening fire on the cashier, Kakaub Dean, but missed. Ryan then entered the shop and attempted to shoot Dean at close range but his weapon malfunctioned, possibly due to damage to the trigger mechanism. After this failed attempt, Ryan left the petrol station.
As he drove towards Hungerford, Ryan encountered a witness, Ian George, who had seen his failed attempt to shoot Dean. George stopped in the village of Froxfield and called the police. Around 12:45 pm, Ryan was spotted at his home, loading more weapons into his car. When his Vauxhall car failed to start, Ryan shot it five times and killed his dog(s). He then doused his house in petrol, set it on fire, and retrieved three shotguns from the trunk. He shot Roland and Sheila Mason, a couple in their garden, with Sheila being shot once in the head and Roland six times in the back.
Moving on foot through the town, Ryan wounded two people: Marjorie Jackson, who was looking out of her window, and Lisa Mildenhall, a 14-year-old girl standing outside her home. Mildenhall later recalled Ryan smiling at her before opening fire. Continuing his spree, Ryan encountered Kenneth Clements, who signaled a warning to his family before being shot by Ryan. He also shot and killed police officer Roger Brereton, who crashed his patrol car into a telephone pole and died at the scene.
Ryan then targeted Linda Chapman and her teenage daughter Alison in their Volvo 360, firing 11 bullets into their car. The bullets passed through the hood, and Alison was wounded in the right thigh. Linda was shot in the left shoulder through the windshield. As Ryan reloaded his weapon, Linda managed to turn the car around and drove to a local doctor's office. Surgeons later found that a bullet was lodged near Alison's spine and decided to leave it in place due to the risk of paralysis if removed.
In the final stages of his killing spree, Ryan killed Douglas Wainwright and injured his wife Kathleen, who were visiting their son, Constable Wainwright. Ironically, their son had recently signed Ryan's application for a gun license extension. At around 1:30 pm, Ryan fired a burst of rounds into a passing red Renault 5, fatally wounding the driver, Sandra Hill. When passing soldier Carl Harries rushed to provide assistance, Hill died in his arms. Ryan then killed Jack and Myrtle Gibbs, a wheelchair-bound couple, on Priory Road.
Eventually, Ryan barricaded himself in a classroom of a vacant college during the summer holidays. The police attempted negotiations, but they were unsuccessful. At 6:52 pm, Ryan took his own life. One of his last statements was, "...Hungerford needed a little bit of excitement. I should have stayed at home in bed."
Together with the Dunblane massacre in 1996 and the Cumbria shootings in 2010, the Hungerford massacre remains one of the most horrific firearm atrocities in British history.
