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COURSE OF EVENTS On Wednesday, March 13 , 1996 , Unemployed former Shopkeeper Thomas Hamilton walked in to the School armed with two 9mm Browning HP Pistol s and two Smith And Wesson .357 Revolver s. He was carrying 743 Cartridge s. After gaining entry to the school, Hamilton made his way to the gym hall and opened fire on a class of 5-6 year olds, killing or wounding every person present bar one pupil. Fifteen children and a teacher (Mrs Gwen Mayor) died at the scene. Hamilton then fired one shot with one of his two revolvers pointing upwards into his mouth, killing himself instantly. A further fifteen children and three adults were rushed to the hospital as soon as the emergency services arrived; however, one of these children was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. List of deceased victims A memorial service conducted by James Whyte was held on October 9 , 1996 . THE AFTERMATH Hamilton's motives will never be known for sure, but it is known that there were complaints to police of his suspicious behaviour towards boys who attended the youth clubs he ran. He was apparently prone to violence, and there were suspicions his interest in boys was less than healthy, with at least one complaint about photographs of boys being taken without the parents' consent. He claimed in letters that rumours about him led to the collapse of his shop business in 1993, and in the last months of his life he complained again that his attempts to set up a boy's club were subject to persecution by the police and the scout movement. Among those he complained to were , and Robertson launched a landmark 'e- Libel ' action against the Sunday Herald in 2003 after comments made on the newspaper's message board. He won an apology and damages. As the law stood at the time the Police were unable to revoke Hamilton's Firearm Licence because there were no substantiated grounds to do so. Although several Central Scotland Police officers had suggested that revoking his FAC should be considered, these were overruled as legal opinion was that he would be able to successfully appeal. The Cullen Inquiry recommended tighter control of handgun ownership as well as other changes in school security and vetting of people working with children under 16. However because the Hungerford Massacre also involved a legal gun owner killing with his legally held guns public feeling had turned against private gun ownership and allowed a much more restrictive ban on handguns to pass. A month later, Martin Bryant killed 35 people in the Port Arthur Massacre in Tasmania , Australia . The chief defense psychiatrist in the case has revealed that the Dunblane massacre, and in particular the early treatment of Thomas Hamilton, was the trigger in Bryant's mind for the Port Arthur massacre. {Link without Title} Cultural Impact With the consent of Bob Dylan , a Dunblane musician named Ted Christopher wrote a new verse for '' Knockin' On Heaven's Door '' in memory of the Dunblane school children and their teacher. The recording of the revised version of the song, which included brothers and sisters of the victims Singing chorus and Mark Knopfler on Guitar , was released on December 9 , 1996 in the UK, and reached number 1. The proceeds went to charities for children. The Living End have a song on their self-titled album about the Dunblane massacre. It is called "Monday". Singer/Guitarist/Songwriter Chris Cheney said, "It was such a senseless act. I just felt compelled to write a song about it." Political Impact Mrs Ann Pearson, a friend of some of the bereaved families, founded a very widely supported campaign, named the Snowdrop Petition because March is Snowdrop time in Scotland, gained 705,000 signatures in support, and was successful in pressing Parliament , under the new 1997 Labour Government Of Tony Blair , for a UK-wide ban on handguns. Although the Tory legislation banned only handguns greater than .22 calibre, the new Labour government went further with the Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1997 and banned virtually all handguns. Conspiracy theories After the massacre numerous Conspiracy Theories arose up among shooters and supporters covering relationships between the Central Scotland Policy, Freemasonry , George Robertson , MI6 , the supporters of the Snowdrop Petition and Northern Ireland Terrorist organisations. These were initially given some credence by the 100 years restriction on publication of parts of the Cullen Inquiry into the massacre. The lifting of these restrictions on 3 October 2005 effectively ended these, although Dunblane conspiracy sites persist on the web and are still actively linked to by shooting organisations such as the Sportsman's Association . SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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