This all kicked-off a short distance from my workplace...
I actually walked past the gunman twice without knowing it.
I work on a recycling site, which is situated at the end of a quiet 1/4 mile access road.
On my way into work this morning I actually drove past his car.. it was parked approx 10yds up a side road (rear facing me), just off the access road.
I obviously had no idea about what was going to unfold, I thought that the driver was just parked up for forty winks or perhaps waiting for a fare (the car had taxi stripes on the doors)
The rumour is, that he had been sitting there since the early hours of the morning.. possibly lying in wait for someone.
At 8.30-8.45am I again walked past the side road whilst doing a litter-pick.. again the car was still parked there, but again I didn't think much about it at the time.
About an hour later, a member of the public said she had seen a badly injured man staggering from a white van and collapse a short way up the side-road..
The gunman's car had gone at this time.
The member of public phoned for an ambulance, who were there within minutes...I believe that this victim has not survived.
The Police turned up shortly after that and closed the access road completely..
Since about 11.00 this morning there were no members of public allowed up the road, as a result myself and my colleagues have spent most of the day drinking tea and sweeping the yard, whilst listening to the radio.
Strangely, all the news reports have failed to mention this particular shooting, but I am pretty certain that it must have been the first.
I shudder to think of what might have happened if I had approached the car to enquire as to why he was there.
Police and forensics are currently swarming the area and the victim's van is still there being examined.
I have no idea whether we will be allowed to open the site tomorrow.
This whole incident seems somewhat surreal.. Whitehaven, where I live and the surrounding area, are for the most part, quiet and idyllic..
It's a cliche that is often said, but I never thought that something like this could happen where I live.
Sadly, Whitehaven is now definitely on the map.. for the wrong reasons.
