‘How can you have a shooting in England’

Shooting Rampage disrupts Reg ops

A plague of locusts decended upon The Register this week, with a combination of technical glitches and gun-toting maniacs disrupting many hours of 'normal' news staff work practice.

The shooting caused a stir with American readers, who seemed alarmed that anything more dangerous than a croquet stick could be wielded in a British tiff.

Mick Grant felt the urge to get this off his chest:

Wanted to add myself to the hundreds of Yanks who've already responded... How can you have a shooting in England? Labour got rid of all your guns... and...

Ahh, for one competent citizen with a concealed pistol permit... probably would have ended differently.

Come on out to Arizona. Beer's shit, but the thong tan lines are plentiful.

Fellow American Connor W. Anderson was equally shocked by the incident.

Good God. Does the USA have to export ALL of it's cultural idiocies? As an American, I apologize. :)

Apology accepted, Connor.

Meanwhile, Derek Cohen, editorial director of Dennis Publishing, had a more sinister explanation for the 'shooting' (which led to police shutting off streets in various parts of central London yesterday).

It is all of course a big undercover operation by IDG or Future Publishing.

How else to explain a supposed club shooting that managed to disrupt The Register, VNU (Broadwick Street) and Dennis (Tottenham Mews is behind us and the area was cordoned off when we got to work this morning).

Quite right, Derek. Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they're not out to get you. ®