"So, Mr. Richards", said Humphrey, "what do you recall of the day in question?"
"I woke up as normal", Anthony remembered, "and instinctively I turned to look at my police gun hanging on the wall next to my bed, and I couldn't see it. I thought maybe I had put it under the bed, or in the wardrobe, so I searched for it, but couldn't find it anywhere."
"What did Miss Calvert say to you about it?", asked Humphrey.
"She woke up as I was searching for it", said Anthony, "and asked me what was going on. So I explained, and she suggested that it was bound to turn up, and that I should have my breakfast and get washed and dressed, or I would be late for work. So I did that, then did a quick search for the gun again, but couldn't find it, so went to work without it. Of course, knowing what we know now . . ."
His voice tailed off.
"The three of us were in the canteen", recalled Kate, "and I was just asking Dan to give me some feedback on my essay, when Samira gave me a slight nudge. I looked up and . . ."
"There he was", said Dan. "Mr. Erwin Richards came striding into the canteen with a gun in his hand."
"I shivered when I saw it", said Kate, "but Samira but her arm around me."
"What did Mr. Richards then say?", asked Humphrey.
"He said, 'All the women over there right now', pointing to the right-hand wall", Kate answered.
"And what was your response?"
"I was shocked, and didn't know what to say or do", she replied.
"Did Ms. Mahmood do anything?", was Humphrey's next question.
"She stood up and calmly told him he shouldn't be wandering around with guns and threatening people. I remember how much I admired her, she was very brave."
"And what did Mr. Richards then do?"
"He pointed the gun right at her and said, 'I'm the man and you'll do as I say or I'll blow your head off, you stupid brown femoid.' So the two of us, and about 20, 25 other women in there, we all walked, very slowly, over to the wall, at all times keeping an eye on the gun."
"And after that", said Dan, "He shouted, 'All the men, out!' ".
"And how did you respond to that?", asked Humphrey.
"I said to him, 'Are you mad? I'll call the police, I won't let you touch Kate'."
"And what did he do then?"
"He pointed the gun right at my head and said, 'Shut the fuck up, you stupid pretty boy, before I spoil those good looks of yours.' "
"And then", said Kate, "I screamed at him, 'No, Dan, don't, leave and save yourself!' ".
"I stared at her", Dan remembered, and said, 'But, surely you realise . . .' "
"And I said, 'Don't worry about me, get out and stay alive!' ", said Kate.
"She looked really agitated", recalled Dan, "and I asked, 'Are you sure?' ".
"And I begged him, 'Please, go, don't die for me!' ", remembered Kate.
"So then I left the canteen", said Dan, "very slowly, looking back at her. Of course, I then thought it could be the last time I ever saw her alive, so . . ."
He broke off abruptly.
"So", continued Kate, "He stood in front of us, pointing the gun at us. He looked . . . there's no other word for it . . . mad, and he said, 'I'm now going to take revenge on all women, I'm doing this for all men, the Incel Rebellion has begun.' And then . . ."
She halted.
"What?", asked Humphrey.
"I'd rather not say", she replied.
"You must, Ms. Donaldson", said Dame Marilyn, though in a softer tone than before.
Kate sighed.
"He pointed his gun right at me and said, 'I'm going to mess up your beautiful face, Stacy' and then fired. Samira shouted 'Duck!' at me but she didn't need to: I crouched down instinctively when I heard the shot. I then heard something shatter above me, and there were pieces of glass lying at my feet: he must have missed me completely and hit the window."
"And what happened then?", asked Humphrey. He had the air of a man who did not want to hear what had happened, but knew that he must.
"We all ran towards the door, but he stood in front of it, saying, 'No woman will escape me, I will have my revenge.' And he started firing indiscriminately, and we all ran all over the place, trying desperately to avoid his bullets. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a few women drop dead. Then I felt the most terrible pain in my legs, and I couldn't help it, I just crumpled to the floor. Later I learned that I had been paralysed from the waist down."
Kate quickly glanced at her wheelchair: her eyes began to water, and her mouth quivered.
"Did Ms. Mahmood do anything to assist you?", asked Humphrey, in the gentlest tone he could manage.
"Yes", said Kate. She now spoke very quickly. "She whispered to me, 'Lie down, pretend to be dead' so we both did that. But still all the time I heard that horrible sound. And then . . ." Now she struggled to get the words out. "Samira . . . put her arm . . . across my back . . . to . . . to comfort me . . . and then . . . and then . . . I heard footsteps, then a loud bang . . . then I felt blood trickling on to the back of my head, and then . . . I knew . . . I really wanted to cry out, but of course . . ."
Kate completely let herself go and cried. The courtroom seemed to become blurred, there seemed to be no one else around, just her and her grief. Then the clerk came up and whispered to her that Dame Marilyn had ordered the court to be adjourned: she gratefully pushed her way to the hall outside.
About 15 minutes later, Dame Marilyn gave the order to reassemble. Breathing heavily, Kate made her back to the witness box.
"So", said Humphrey, a look of the greatest pity in his eyes, "if you could, Ms. Donaldson, please tell us what happened after the shooting ended."
"Well", said Kate, her voice thick, "after about 20 minutes, the shooting suddenly stopped. I continued to play dead, thinking he might just be cleaning or reloading or something like that, but after about five more minutes I slowly lifted up my head, and I saw him, just feet away from me, lying dead. I tried to get up, but then . . . well obviously, I couldn't so I dragged myself over and saw he had a wound in his head, and the gun was lying beside him. I looked around the room, 10 women were dead, nine students and a waitress, and just about everybody else was wounded. I quickly turned away to look at Samira, and there was this horrible gaping hole in her head, and her hair was covered in blood."
Kate seemed relieved to got to the end.
"I stood just outside the canteen", remembered Dan, "and I heard him shooting, I tried to rush in to help Kate, but the others held me back. Then the shooting stopped, we waited about 10 minutes before going back in. I rushed over to Kate and hugged her, but she didn't hug me back."
"Don't get me wrong, I was pleased to see him", said Kate, "but I just felt so numb."
"She showed me what had happened to Samira, then showed me the bastard . . ."
"Can we not use that language in this courtroom, please Mr. Bassett", said Dame Marilyn icily.
"All right, Mr. Richards then", said Dan resentfully, "lying dead, like the cowardly murderer he was."
"When I was at work", recalled Anthony, "we received reports of a shooting at Pankhurst University."
"And how did you react?", Humphrey asked him.
"My first thought was, are Erwin and Amy all right."
"How did you find out that your son was the perpetrator?"
"Well", said Anthony, speaking very slowly, "as I didn't have my gun, I wasn't allowed to go to the scene. And when my colleagues came back, they told me about the shooting and that the gunman, judging by the resemblance, seemed to be my son." He was looking at the floor as he finished.
"And what did you say to that?"
"I said it wasn't possible, he would never do that, but they seemed very sure about it, and had me travel to the morgue to identify him. They also showed me the gun that had been used, and I had to confirm it was mine. I got hauled up before the Superintendent as well, and suspended for two weeks", he continued bitterly, "like it was all my fault."
"I heard rumours about it when I was at work", said Jenny, "and obviously I was worried for the children. Then, when Anthony got home, he was looking very grim, so he told me what had happened."
"What was your reaction, Miss Calvert?", asked Humphrey.
"I just stood there, unable to move", she said. "I couldn't believe it, and I still can't believe that someone from our family would do that."
"I must have been in a lecture when it happened", said Amy. "After we came out, me and Will heard rumours, and I thought that an armed robber must have got in or something. People kept saying to me, 'They say your brother was the one that did it', but I didn't believe them, not until Dad came home and told me."
"And what did you do after he told you?"
"I just flung myself on my bed, staring up the ceiling, struggling to believe it. That wasn't him, someone must have made him do it, he wouldn't have done it on his own."
"I did tell her", said Will, "that he might have done it, after all, she'd seen how he'd been behaving. But still, man, when I heard that it was him . . ."
He shook his head.
"I was chosen to lead the officers who went to the scene", said DI Alexander.
"Did you find anything?", asked Humphrey.
"Yes", Alexander replied. "In Mr. Richards's pocket we found a note, which read" - at this point he took the note of his pocket and read it aloud " 'Finally the day has come when I decide to go ER, to take revenge on the femoids who never gave me their love. They use their faces and bodies to attract me, but never let me have them. All I ever wanted was love, and I never got it. They've forced me into a life of loneliness and rejection, they will let other men fuck them but never me. It's not right and it's not fair. I'll take great pleasure in what I do, finally I'll be the one with the power, while those stupid roasties will be screaming in agony as they get what they deserve. They showed me no mercy, so I'll show none to them.' "
"Perhaps", suggested Anthony, "it would have been all right if he'd been given a sex robot."
There were gasps all over the courtroom: Humphrey's mouth was wide open.
"I just think", said Dan, "if only I hadn't left her in there.
"And what are your feelings towards Mr. Richards?", asked Humphrey.
"I hate him", said Dan. "He was an evil man and a murderer, and the world is a far better place without him."
"I've no idea why he would have done it", said Kate, "but I know he wasn't evil to start with, so something must have happened, though I've no idea what."
The inquest concluded with a verdict of suicide.
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