London , England ( CNN ) -- At least 12 people have been killed and 25 injured after a gunman -- believed to be a local taxi driver -- went on a shooting spree through three small towns in the English county of Cumbria on Wednesday . After a large scale search , Cumbria police found the body of the suspected gunman , 52-year-old Derrick Bird , in a wooded area of Boot , a village in the Lake District , a popular tourist area . Authorities seized a gun from the scene where the body was found . Cumbria Police Deputy Constable Stuart Hyde said investigators believe Bird committed suicide . `` I 've never known anything like this , where somebody would want to walk out and kill so many people in such a beautiful place in such a short space of time , '' Hyde said . Police were working 30 separate crime scenes and are still attempting to determine the motive , Hyde said . Investigators are looking at Bird 's history and his access to firearms , he said . Police named Bird as a suspect following reports of the first shooting mid-morning on Wednesday in the Irish Sea port town of Whitehaven . UK guns laws tightened after massacres . `` Our focus is now on the movements of Mr. Bird this morning , '' authorities said . `` Our thoughts are with the families in these tragic times . We are asking for any witnesses to come forward and help us with our investigation into the events of this morning . '' British Prime Minister , David Cameron said the government would do whatever it could to help the communities affected . `` When lives and communities are suddenly shattered in this way , our thoughts should be with all those caught up in these tragic events , especially the families and friends of those killed or injured , '' he said . Were you there ? Send us photos , images . Armed police patrols and dog squads were dispatched in the hunt for the gunman after the first shots were fired at 10:35 a.m. ( 5:35 a.m . ET ) in Whitehaven . Police issued a photo of the Bird and urged members of the public to stay indoors until further notice . More shots were fired in the small towns of Seascale and Egremont , with officers attempting to track the suspect on land and by air while ambulance crews attended the victims . Footage from one of the shooting scenes showed a covered body lying on a street . `` Police are working to identify the individuals and inform relatives , '' Cumbria police said . `` Ambulance crews are in attendance across the area . '' Peter Leder , who said he was a friend of Bird 's , told CNN he spoke to Bird last night and was told : `` You wo n't see me again . '' Bird was initially driving a dark gray or silver Citroen Picasso , but police later said he had abandoned his car in the area of Boot , in the Lake District , and was traveling on foot . Soon afterwards police said they had found a body in a wooded area . The Lake District is a scenic rural retreat in northern England which is popular with walkers , hikers and tourists . Leder said Bird has been an independent taxi driver in Whitehaven for more than 20 years and described him as `` an outgoing , well-known guy , who everyone liked . '' Bird was divorced several years ago and has two children , both boys , who have moved away from home , he said . Bird is very close to his mother , who is very ill in a local nursing home , Leder said . He said his friend enjoyed scuba diving , went on several diving trips abroad and practised regularly at the Whitehaven swimming baths . The vehicle police said Bird was driving at the time of the shootings was his regular taxi cab , Leder said . A police hotline was set up for concerned relatives of those involved . John Bevir , a reporter for CNN affiliate ITV , described nearby Whitehaven as a sleepy seaside town . `` Things like this just do n't happen here , '' he said . `` Well , they did n't , until this morning . '' CNN 's David Wilkinson contributed to this report .
Police confirm 12 people killed in # ##s in northern California . Police have found body found to be unknown gunman Derrick Bird . Friend says suspect told him , ` ` You wo n't call me again ''