A teenage girl narrowly escaped with her life after being shot during a New Year’s Day massacre which left four people dead.
The 19-year-old fled as taxi driver Michael Atherton, 40, opened fire in a semi-detached house in Horden, near Peterlee, County Durham, just before midnight.
Drenched in blood and hysterical, she clambered out of the upstairs window and pounded on the door of a neighbour’s house in a desperate attempt to raise the alarm.
Police arrived at the scene to find four bodies in close proximity. These were Atherton, his partner Susan McGoldrick and two other women, who are believed to be related to the family.
Atherton had a shotgun lying at his side. Officers today confirmed that he had a firearms licence.
Detective Superintendent Paul Goundry of Durham Police told a press conference that police had had ‘minor contact’ with the family in the past but gave no further details.
He said that three people had survived the shooting – including the teenage girl who had had shotgun pellets removed from her wrist and shoulder before being released from hospital.
One survivor had been arrested on suspicion of murder but later released without charge, he added. Police are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.
The horrific shooting started just after 11.45pm last night. Armed police arrived at the house within 20 minutes and were met by two survivors who had remained inside the property.
They entered the front door and found a massacre. The bodies were lying in different rooms but all were downstairs in the small, three-bedroomed house.
Paramedics confirmed four people dead at the scene. The youngest victim is believed to be in her teens though it is understood that she was over 18.
Mr Goundry said: 'It is very early stages in the investigation. My priority is to identify the individuals in the house and I am working very closely with friends and family to establish that.'
This morning Assistant Chief Constable Michael Banks confirmed that a resident of the house held a firearms licence.
He said: 'I can confirm that a resident at that address was the lawful holder of shotgun and firearms licences and we cannot confirm at this stage whether any of those weapons that were lawfully held have been used in this.'
0 comments:
Post a Comment