British taxi driver kills 12 in shooting spree

Taxi driver Derrick Bird shot dead a colleague in the town of Whitehaven before going on a shooting spree in local countryside. His body was later found in woodland.

Police say 25 other people were injured, three of them critically.

"We are still at a very early stage in our investigation and we are not able to really understand the motivation behind it - or establish whether this was a premeditated or random attack," Cumbria Police's Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Hyde said

"Current indications are that 12 people have died, plus Derrick Bird. And a number of people are also receiving treatment in hospital," he added.

The shooting is England's worst since 1987, when Michael Ryan killed 16 people in Hungerford, Berkshire, Kazinform cites RIA Novosti. See www.en.rian.ru