The killer behind the UK’s worst mass shooting who murdered 16 primary school children in Dunblane in Scotland in 1996 planned the massacre from his mother’s bath, a new documentary has claimed.
Thomas Hamilton gunned down 16 children and teacher Gwen Mayor before killing himself in the gymnasium at Dunblane Primary School on March 13, 1996.
The massacre at the Stirlingshire town prompted further restrictions on the sale and licencing of firearms – which had already been curtailed following the Hungerford massacre of August 19, 1987.
Thomas Hamilton, pictured murdered 16 children and their teacher before turning the gun on himself at Dunblane Primary School on the Scottish borders on March 13, 1996
Hamilton was obsessed by guns and even spoke to them like they were his own children
Police raiding Hamilton’s home found several magazines and boxes of bullets
According to the Sunday Express, a new documentary series, ‘Murderers And Their Mothers’, claimed Hamilton grew up believing his mother Agnes was his sister.
He was told the truth in his 20s which according to psychologists had a dramatic impact on his mental health.
Hamilton was a former scout leader and also led his own boys club, which according to the documentary, prompted allegations that he may have also been a paedophile.
According to the Sunday Express, psychoanalytic psychologist Peter Aylward said: ‘His relationship with guns took a perverse course.
‘He used to talk, apparently, to his guns as if they were children and it was as if the guns replaced the children that he’d tried to gather around him. In this way he had complete and utter control over his guns and his ammunition in a way that he never could with his children.’
On the night before the massacre, Hamilton went to see his mother and had a bath, which Mr Aylward found intriguing, especially because he only discovered his mother’s real identity when he was in his 20s.
During a memorial service last year marking the 20th anniversary of the massacre, Rev Colin Renwick, minister at Dunblane Cathedral said: ‘The tragic events of March 13 1996 will long be remembered in Dunblane and there has not been a day since when there has been no remembrance of those lost, injured, bereaved or traumatised.
‘Since that day, people have appreciated the support and prayers of others throughout the world, but have also valued being allowed the space to grieve and rebuild with privacy and dignity, with as little media scrutiny as possible.
‘During these various services, there will be an opportunity for those who gather to remember and to pray for continuing strength and peace.’
A police officer stands guard outside the school where Hamilton went on the rampage
The Dunblane massacre forced a review of the UK’s gun laws to prevent a further bloodbath
THE UK’S DEADLIEST FIREARMS ATROCITY: THE DUNBLANE PRIMARY SCHOOL MASSACRE
Disgraced former Scout leader Thomas Hamilton was 43 when he carried out the planned execution of innocents, first cutting the school’s telephone wires before making his way to the gym hall armed with four legally-held handguns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
Inside the gym, 28 primary one pupils were preparing for PE class as he entered and began shooting, killing 16 children and their teacher Gwen Mayor and injuring 15 others.
The massacre on March 13, 1996, shortly after 9.30am in the Stirlingshire town shocked the nation and led to the UK enforcing some of the strictest firearms legislation in the world.
Thomas Hamilton shot dead 16 children and their teacher in Dunblane on March 13, 1996 before turning the gun on himself in Britain’s worst ever gun massacre
Hamilton became a Scout leader in 1973, at the age of 20, but was asked to leave the following year because of complaints about his behaviour at camp.
In a BBC documentary to mark the anniversary, former head teacher Ron Taylor, 63, described how he is still consumed with guilt by the tragedy.
‘It was unimaginably horrible to see children dying in front of you. I felt enormous guilt – more than a survivor’s guilt. It was my school, I felt violated,’ he said.
‘As a headteacher what happened to me that day was the worst experience any headteacher could have. People have to cope in their own way.
‘One of the things I have at home is a box full of newspaper articles.
‘And it includes my own written version of the events of the day and I did that to help. I locked it away and thankfully I have never looked at it again.’