Relatives of the victims of the Dunblane school massacre have warned that the UK's strict gun laws are now 'at risk', as the nation marks 30 years since the tragedy. On 13 March 1996, Thomas Hamilton entered Dunblane Primary School armed with four legally-owned handguns and 743 bullets, killing 16 children and their teacher in less than four minutes. The shooting remains the deadliest mass shooting in British history.
Ellie Crozier, whose five-year-old sister Emma was killed, said: 'We cannot let people forget' the atrocity. She noted that many people in Dunblane today either do not know about the shooting or were too young to remember it. Crozier, who was involved in the campaign to ban handguns following the massacre, stressed that while UK laws are strict, they are 'not perfect' and are 'at risk' due to changing societal attitudes.
She pointed to the rise of American-style shooting ranges in Scotland, the portrayal of guns in video games, and the ability to 3D-print firearms as examples of shifting attitudes. 'Whenever we allow easier access to guns, we create loopholes that allow these dangerous weapons to fall into the wrong hands,' she said. 'There is a notion, even from various politicians, that our laws should be relaxed. This cannot happen, under any circumstances. The cost is too high.'
Rachael Irvine, whose five-year-old brother Ross was killed, described the loss as 'a wound that's there forever'. She said the tragedy has 'defined Dunblane' in many ways. The Snowdrop Petition, launched by parents from the area, gathered more than 700,000 signatures and led to a ban on most handguns in 1997, initially by John Major's Tory government and later widened by Tony Blair's Labour government.
Michael Forsyth, the then Secretary of State for Scotland, who attended the scene, described it as 'a scene from hell'. PE teacher Eileen Harrild, who was shot by Hamilton, recalled the attack in a documentary: 'The shooting was continuous and rapid, and he had intent in his eyes. After about three or four minutes there was silence. Just silence.'
