The morning after

The Cumbria Shootings are, of course, domninating the British media at the moment, as it should. It's an event of horrific magnitude and whatever "reasons" are uncovered for Derrick Bird's actions, they'll never be enough for the hundreds of people affected.

Reports now state that Bird's first victims where his lawyer and his twin brother, his brother for god's sakes, and that the rampage may have been sparked by an argument over a will. So he has a grudge, kills those responsible for it and then... makes a decision.

Now I, personally, can imagine hurting someone in retaliation for hurting me, or my son, or someone else very close to me. I cannot imagine, in my own mind, hurting someone because they've pissed me off. How desperate must you be to not only set out to hurt, but to kill? It's not something I can comprehend. But, having made that decision, to commit this violent act, Bird must have known that his life as he knew it was over. We'll never know when he decided to take his own life, but the most horrific thing about the entire day, for me, is that before he did, he must also have decided to keep on killing. In for the penny, in for the pound. Once you've started, why stop?

Forty people shot, 12 dead so far. Why didn't he end it straight away? What made him hate so much that he felt the need to shoot at random? It's probably better we never know, because no matter the reason, it'll never be explanation enough.