Horden shooting

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. 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.

Background

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.
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.