British Labor MP Killed with "Homemade" Gun, Knife

 Image from news.sky.com

A British Labor MP has been murdered when she intervened in an altercation between two men, on of whom has been reported to have mental issues.  Witnesses at the scene reported that the gun used appeared "homemade".  A knife was also used.  The MP was reportedly shot three times and stabbed several times.  From uk.businessinsider.com:

An eyewitness report given to the BBC said that Cox was attacked after becoming involved in an altercation between two men.

"There was a guy who was being very brave and another guy with a white baseball cap who he was trying to control and the man in the baseball cap suddenly pulled a gun from his bag," the witness said.

The gun was "homemade" and large, according to multiple reports.

From sky.com:

"It looked like a gun from, I don't know, the First World War or a makeshift, handmade gun. It's not sort of like the kind of gun you see normally."

From spiderfinance.com:

 Another witness told Sky that a man in white, dirty baseball cap
had been jostling with the MP before pulling out a gun. The gun
was “homemade,” according to multiple reports. 

Given the  low level of firearms awareness in the U.K., I have doubts about the witnesses ability to discern whether the gun was homemade or not.  On the other hand, homemade guns are fairly common in the U.K. because factory made guns are so tightly controlled.  A third possibility is that the gun was modified from a factory long gun or a replica or blank firing gun.

That a British MP was murdered by a mentally ill man who had a gun and a knife in his bag illustrates the failure of gun control in England and Wales.

The only previous MP who was shot was in 1812, when the Prime Minister, spencer Percival was assassinated in 1812. From independent.co.uk:

Serious attacks are rare, although that doesn’t make them much less frightening. They have been an infrequent, out-of-the-blue shock since the shooting of Spencer Perceval, the only Prime Minister to have been assassinated, in 1812.

That was with a muzzleloader, which is not even being considered by gun control advocates.  Not a single MP was shot during the entire history of modern firearms before "gun control" was instituted in England and the Wales.

It will be interesting to see actual pictures of the weapons used.  They often appear in the UK press.  I have not seen any pictures of the weapons yet.

Update: A single witness alleged that the attacker yelled "Britain First!". There were several people nearby when the attack occurred.  Area residents say the attacker never showed any interest in politics.  It seems more likely that the witnesse' prejudices are in action here, instead of the attackers.  

The campaigns to keep the UK in the EU or to leave it have been suspended, but the referendum will take place as scheduled.

Second update: From the telegraph.co.uk:

Police arrested a 52-year-old former psychiatric patient named locally as Tommy Mair. According to witnesses, Mrs Cox’s killer used either an antique or a home-made gun which he calmly reloaded between shots. As she lay bleeding to death, he repeatedly kicked her before walking away, having stabbed a 77-year-old man who tried to intervene.

It is easier to make a single shot or double barrel gun than a multi-shot; which is why the "calmly reloaded" part is interesting. However, the same article claims that Mair was yelling "Britain First" which has been discredited in other reports.


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