PM visits victims as details of carnage emerge

WHITEHAVEN — Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday visited survivors of a gun massacre which killed 12 people in Britain, calling it an "appalling tragedy" as more details emerged of the brutal rampage.Cameron hailed the "incredible" bravery of local people and emergency service workers caught up in the killing spree by 52-year-old taxi driver Derrick Bird, which was reportedly linked to his financial problems.His visit came as police in the rural and normally peaceful Lake District revealed more details about Bird's three hours of attacks Wednesday which claimed the life of his twin brother, among others.David Bird, against whom the killer reportedly held a grudge over their elderly mother's will, was the first to be killed, followed by the family's lawyer Kevin Commons, police revealed at a news conference.Derrick Bird then embarked on a "45 mile (70 kilometre) rampage", evading police as he used his local knowledge to weave through the area on often isolated roads as 42 armed officers and helicopters pursued him.His body was eventually found in woodland near the village of Boot by sniffer dogs. Officers believe he was armed with a rifle plus silencer -- for which he had a licence -- and killed himself. "From what we know, at no stage did any police officer have the chance to end this any sooner," said Chief Constable Craig Mackey, head of the local Cumbria Constabulary, told reporters."Twelve innocent people -- mothers, fathers, partners and friends -- were brutally murdered as they went around their daily lives and I'm 100 percent committed to getting to bottom of this investigation".Mackey's defence of his force's handling of the case came a few hours after Cameron visited officers and survivors to offer his condolences.The local area has "suffered the most appalling tragedy and it will have a huge impact on the community," the premier told reporters."I wanted to come here to show the government wanted to listen, wanted to show how much it cares about what has happened here."The country already has

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