A man accussed of mass murder is reportedly at large in mainland Spain. Despite strict border controls, the man was allowed entry because the killings happened ten years ago, and he has yet to be officially charged in the slow moving UK legal system.
The man in question, known only as Mr X, cannot be officially identified for legal reasons. From the account of eye witnesses, the events of the fateful night of the killings are now clear. After engaging the services of professional killers, Mr X left the country on a family holiday, ensuring an alibi and that he could not be accused of a direct hand in the slayings. The killers went to the home of the deceased in the dead of night, and set off a controlled explosion. The house was destroyed, killing the intended victim and members of his family. The force of the blast was such that neighbouring houses were also destroyed, killing a number of women and children. One child survived, but lost all four limbs.
It is a scandal that will shock and shame, and is likely to further inflame the emotional debate over gun control. In a brazen interview with the publicly funded BBC the man defended the killings as justified. Mr X, who has no prior convictions for violence, claims the killings were in self defence.
The circumstances around the killings are still the subject of controversy in the UK, but what is not in question is the motive. When pressed on his reasons, Mr X claimed that he had been told that a neighbour in the next street was hiding a gun in his house. The neighbour, it turns out, did have a history of violence, but the accused had never met him in person, and was acting on information from friends. In the interview the accused claimed he believed he was in “imminent danger” because the man could use the gun at any time. When cross-examined, Mr X conceded that no threat had actually been made, but asserted that the neighbourhood was now a safer place that the man was dead. Asked about the other killings, the man said he was “devastated” that innocents had died on the night in question, but that these killings were “unfortunate and unintentional.” When told of Mr X’s devastation, the young girl who lost her family and all four limbs is reported to have said, “I share his pain.” Ironically, despite the claims of Mr X and an extensive police search, no gun was ever found amongst the debris.
In a further twist, the BBC itself has come under criticism in that it is claimed a reporter who was tracking the case had prior knowledge of what Mr X was planning, but did not alert the appropriate authorities. And that when this came to light after the fact, the BBC is accused of having engaged in an elaborate cover up to protect both itself, and Mr X.
Earlier today Mr X was not returning calls to his cell phone. A spokesperson for the BBC has denied that Mr X is in fact a former British Prime Minister.