Britain09 July, 20262 min read
Thomas Hamilton Kills 15 Children And Professor In Dunblane Primary School Shooting
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Rupert Lowe called Dunblane massacre "one murder" on Joe Rogan while criticizing gun laws. The remarks sparked widespread fury and condemnation across UK media.
Dunblane massacre revisited
On 13 March 1996, gunman Thomas Hamilton entered the gymnasium of Dunblane Primary School and opened fire on pupils and teachers, killing 15 children and a professor, with 12 children and three adults injured, before Hamilton killed himself shortly afterwards. La Vanguardia says Andy Murray, then 8 years old, and his brother were among the survivors, and Murray later recalled that they saved themselves because they heard the shots and ran to the head teacher’s office where they hid under a table.
“Ese día Andy Murray, que tenía 8 años, volvió a nacer.”
The same La Vanguardia account says Murray described the day as “demasiado joven” to understand the tragedy’s magnitude, and it quotes Murray saying, “Varios de mis amigos murieron, sólo tengo pequeños recuerdos de aquel día, también recuerdo que minutos antes cantamos canciones en clase”. La Vanguardia also says Murray later wrote in his biography that Hamilton “se sentó una vez junto a él en el coche de su madre,” and Murray wrote, “Lo más extraño era que conocíamos al tipo (Hamilton).”
“One murder” backlash
In July 2026, Rupert Lowe sparked outrage after describing the Dunblane massacre as “one murder” during an appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience, where he said the UK banned handguns “because there was a murder up in Dunblane”. The Telegraph reports that Rogan asked Lowe “One murder?” and Lowe replied “One murder.”
BBC News said a Restore Britain spokesperson insisted: “Rupert was clearly referring to one incident.” BBC also quoted Conservative MSP Stephen Kerr saying Lowe’s comments were “astonishingly insensitive and profoundly disrespectful to the victims,” while Kerr argued that describing Dunblane as “one murder” “diminishes one of the darkest days in Scotland's modern history.”
Gun law legacy at stake
The BBC says the Dunblane attack involved Thomas Hamilton carrying four legally-owned handguns and 743 rounds of ammunition, and it reports that the attack lasted less than four minutes before Hamilton turned the gun on himself. BBC further says the Snowdrop Campaign, founded by grieving families, led to the UK enforcing some of the strictest firearms laws in the world, and it notes that a ban on most handguns was introduced by John Major’s Conservative government in 1997.
“He carried four legally-owned handguns and 743 rounds of ammunition.”
Sky News adds that later that year legislation widened the ban to include all cartridge ammunition handguns introduced by Tony Blair’s Labour government, and it describes Lowe as the MP for Great Yarmouth making the remark while discussing the UK’s strict gun laws. In response to the comments, BBC quotes Kenny Ross saying, “They don't realise how devastating it was,” and Ross added, “But now we have a safer society because there is no longer private gun ownership.”