| Horden shooting | |
|---|---|
| Location | Horden, County Durham, England, UK |
| Date | 1 January 2012 |
Attack type | Mass shooting, murder–suicide |
| Weapon | Shotgun |
| Deaths | 4 (including the perpetrator) |
| Injured | 1 |
| Perpetrator | Michael Atherton |
The Horden shooting was a mass shooting in Horden, England, on 1 January 2012, also called the New Year's Day shooting. 42-year-old Michael Atherton shot his partner Susan McGoldrick, her sister Alison Turnbull and her daughter Tanya Turnbull with a shotgun, before killing himself. [1] They were all killed in Atherton's home, where three others escaped from an upstairs window, one of whom had suffered minor injuries from the spray of the gun. [2]
Michael Atherton, a taxi driver, had a licence which allowed him to legally own firearms, six in total – three of which were shotguns. Despite having his guns confiscated in 2008 by police, they were later returned. [3]
He was arrested for affray at a local club, and months later armed police were called to his home after he threatened to "blow his head off" to his family. [4]
