Derrick Bird appears relaxed behind the wheel of his taxi with his arms wrapped around a rifle in a closed-circuit television image captured only seconds after he murdered his third victim.
The coroner in the West Cumbria shootings inquest released the first image to be published of the gunman in the driving seat of his charcoal Citroen Picasso people carrier with the weapon clearly visible through the driver’s side window.
This is is the chilling image that confronted the people of Whitehaven, Cumbria, shortly before 10.30am on Wednesday June 2 last year when Bird shot dead 12 and injured eleven more before killing himself.
The image was captured at the end of Duke Street only seconds after Bird, who had already murdered his twin brother David and solicitor Kevin Commons, had stopped at the taxi rank where he blasted Darren Rewcastle, 43 to death with a shotgun, and then shot fellow taxi driver Donald Reid, 57.
Phillip Coyles, a witness, told the inquest in Workington, Cumbria, today: “It was strange - Derrick Bird never uttered a word. He had the gun locked to his shoulder and appeared extremely calm.”
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In the ensuing seconds Bird, 52, was to drive within the speed limit around the seaside town’s one-way system until he slowed down to fire two further shots at the taxi rank before beginning his murderous flight across the western fells.
The inquest heard how Bird stopped to shoot twice more with police in pursuit before officers lost him at a three-way junction on the town’s outskirts. CCTV images, also released yesterday, show Mr Reid and other by-standers running for cover.
Bird spotted Paul Wilson, 34, a taxi driver, on foot in nearby Scotch Street. He called him by name as if he wanted to speak to him before blasting him in the face with his shotgun.
Mr Wilson, who survived with gunshot pellets embedded in his cheek, said: “I took a few steps towards him and ducked down to look at him through the open passenger window. As I ducked he fired.
“I heard the blast and saw the flash before I realised what it was. I felt a gust of wind going past my ear. Looking into the car I noticed the gun. It was a double barrelled shotgun.”
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Initially Mr Wilson, who knew Bird only as a friend, thought it was a prank and tried to dismiss the concerns of those running to his aid. He recalls thinking Bird was a “daft bugger”.
“At this point I put my hand to my face and it was covered in blood. I realised that I had actually been shot”.
Inspector Craig Lory, in charge of operations in Whitehaven, heard the “loud bang” and saw the flash of Bird’s gun from across the road as he was hurrying from a routine meeting at local council office to the police station.
Paul Goodwin, lottery manager of Whitehaven Rugby League Club, described how he followed Bird in his car on the circuit around the one-way system. He hailed a police office, PC Michael Taylor, running from the police station, and told him: “That’s him - he’s got a gun”.
The police constable joined him in the car and they gave chase, just ahead of a marked police transit van with its sirens blaring. As they entered Coach Street the police van took the lead.
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Terence Kennedy, 53, a taxi driver, was left so badly injured by Bird that he has since had his right hand amputated.
He described to the jury how he encountered Bird’s taxi heading in the opposite direction along Coach Street as he was ferrying his passenger Emma Percival, 21, to the doctor’s surgery.
As they approached on the narrow street he immediately thought that Bird was being stopped by the pursuing police van for speeding. Bird motioned with hand indicating he wanted him to slow down.
He said: “He never moved, just stared. He smiled and I turned around to Emma to say something. She squealed and I turned to see there was a gun pointing at me. I said ‘what the f*** are you playing at?’ “I cannot remember a bang or a flash. I cannot even remember feeling any pain”.
The blast hit Mr Kennedy in the hand and face and peppered Miss Percival’s right side with shot.
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David Roberts, the coroner, asked: “Were you conscious you put your hand up to protect yourself?” “No,” replied Mr Kennedy.
“It is almost certainly what saved you?” said the coroner. “Yes,” said the taxi driver. “It certainly saved my life”.
PC Taylor told the jury how he leapt from the car to cajole and drag the two injured people from the car and into a hiding place in a nearby alleyway. The officer was concerned that Bird, who had stopped at the junction ahead, was preparing to turn around to “finish” what he had started.
Apparently deterred by the police van blocking the road, Bird fled towards the country swiftly losing his pursuers at a three-way junction. The officers wrongly chose the main road to St Bees on the coast. Mr Goodwin carried on the pursuit but, by then, Bird’s Citroen Picasso was lost to view.
Miss Percival, who knew Bird as a genial man, said in a statement: “If it wasn’t for the police officers I simply believe the man was coming back to finish us off. He looked very angry. He did not look like the person I’d known. His eyes just went through me”.
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Earlier Inspector Lory, a trained negotiator, told the jury how he repeatedly phoned Bird on his mobile and sent text messages assuring him that he would not be hurt if he surrendered. They went unanswered.
The jury is expected to tour the route taken by Bird tomorrow in a coach.