Could the army have prevented this tragic event from happening?

A gulf war veteran admits to killing four members of his family. After leaving the army he shot them dead. David Bradley went to a police station and admitted murdering his two cousins’, wife, and uncle with a handgun fitted with a silencer.

The 41 year old cannabis smoking loner, David Bradley, who spent eight years serving his country in the Gulf, Northern Ireland and Bosnia, was described as “exemplary” by his commanding officers.

Soldiers are allowed to keep some trophy items if they want to when they leave the army, before leaving, they are usually searched to check if they are carrying any weapons. In 1995 before he quit the army the Ministry of Defence (mod) unexpectedly said they weren’t sure if the searched on Bradley had been carried out.. The gun that he had taken from his barracks was the weapon used in the terrible attack against his family.

It has now come to light that David Bradley exchanged a packet of cigarettes from a man in Bosnia for a CZ pistol with a silencer.

Two years passed, and David Bradley became more depressed and became a recluse not ever coming out of his bedroom according to his family.
Northumbria police and his Doctors have now confirmed that David Bradley was

suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

David Bradley’s family did not realise that he was hiding weapons in their home, until it was too late.

PTSD is a stressful experience which some members of the army experiencing symptoms of nightmares, flashbacks, emotional detachment, dissociation, insomnia, irritability, hyper vigilance, memory loss, startle response, clinical depression, anxiety.

I’m not excusing David Bradley’s actions for what he did but could it have been prevented?


Could the army help solders more who are suffering with Post-traumatic stress?

Why was the family not told of David Bradley condition?
By sara samra 9M