Editing Hungerford (section)

===1987 Massacre===
{{main|Hungerford massacre}}
The Hungerford massacre occurred on 19 August 1987. A 27-year-old [[unemployment in the United Kingdom|unemployed]] local labourer, Michael Robert Ryan, armed with three weapons, a [[Type 56 assault rifle]], a [[Beretta]] [[pistol]] and an [[M1 carbine]], shot and killed 16 people in and around the town – including his mother – and wounded 15 others, then [[suicide in the United Kingdom|killed himself]] in a local school after being surrounded by armed police. All his victims were shot in the town or in nearby [[Savernake Forest]].<ref>''Mass Murderers'' {{ISBN|0-7835-0004-1}} p. 169</ref>

[[Home Secretary]] [[Douglas Hurd]] commissioned a report on the massacre from the Chief Constable of [[Thames Valley Police]], Colin Smith. The massacre was one of three significant firearms atrocities in the [[United Kingdom]] after the invention of rapid fire weapons such as the one involved, the other two being the [[Dunblane massacre]] and the [[Cumbria shootings]]. It led to the passing of the [[Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988]], which banned the ownership of [[semi-automatic rifle|semi-automatic]] centre-fire [[rifles]], and restricted the use of shotguns with a [[magazine (firearms)|magazine]] capacity of more than two rounds. The Hungerford Report confirmed that Ryan's collection of weapons was legally licensed.<ref>[http://members.aol.com/gunbancon/Frames/Hungerford.html The Hungerford Report – Shooting Incidents At Hungerford On 19 August 1987, Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police Colin Smith to Home Secretary Douglas Hurd]. Retrieved 24 August 2007. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050122075928/http://members.aol.com/gunbancon/Frames/Hungerford.html |date=22 January 2005 }}</ref>