memorial
Sunday March 8,2009
By PAULA MURRAY
DUNBLANE survivors have ?shamed? the memory of their dead peers with foul-mouthed boasts about sex, brawls and drink-fuelled antics as they reach adulthood.
A number of the youngsters, now 18, have posted shocking blogs and photographs of themselves on the Internet, 13 years after being sheltered from public view in the aftermath.
Sixteen pupils and their teacher died when gunman Thomas Hamilton burst into the gym at Dunblane Primary School and opened fire on March 13, 1996.
In the days and months that followed the survivors, then aged just five and six, were the subject of overwhelming worldwide sympathy.
But now the Sunday Express can reveal how, on their web-based social networking sites, some of them have boasted about alcoholic binges and fights.
For instance, Stewart Weir ? who was hit by a single bullet and watched in horror as his classmates died ? makes rude gestures in pictures he posted on his Bebo site, and boasts of drunken nights out.
The webpage of Mark Mullan, who suffered serious injuries in the shooting, states he is the ?f*y who canny stop drivin in the silver hing?, is littered with foul language and features images of him with his new tattoo on his back.
Others boast about discovering sex. Politicians and relatives of the victims yesterday said they were shocked by the webpages.
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Nancy McLaren, whose granddaughter, Megan Turner, died in the tragedy said the behaviour ?brought shame? to the community.
She said: ?It is insulting. They were damn lucky to come out of it and they should be making the most of it. Maybe that?s what they think they are doing, but it is in bad taste.
?We go to the cemetery every Sunday and we nearly always meet some people who are visitors, and they come and have a wee look. I think that is lovely and I always say to them that it is nice they remember.
?So the behaviour of these children is a real contrast to all those caring people. It?s shameful.?
MSP Elizabeth Smith, Scottish Tory spokeswoman for children, schools and skills, said: ?I have to say personally I?m not happy. Some of the things that go up on these websites are very unfortunate and I don?t think they give a very good picture about the youngsters.
?Some of them are in great bad taste and I am quite worried about that.
?I feel embarrassed about it and I?m sure other people do too. In some cases the people are still really young and you can?t really expect them to have a sense of responsibility.
?I?m sure that when they look back at what they have done in 10 years time they will be cringing with embarrassment.?
The Dunblane survivors were kept away from the spotlight in the aftermath of the tragedy to allow them to cope. Indeed, no photographs of any of the children have been seen in more than a decade, and the social network sites give the first insight into how their lives have progressed.
Stewart Weir?s Bebo page, which is a shrine to Rangers Football Club and Scotland, boasts about ?gettin gassed wi? the lads?, enjoying ?carry oots?, and getting in fights.
On his profile he writes: ?Im stewart although im also known as weirdo i like to tkink im a sound guy but i get p*d off easily nd if u p** me off ul know about it as i start gettin smart just ask graeme.?
Among the blogs on his site is a list of the 23 best chat-up lines ? but he is still single. His pictures include images of him gesturing with one finger, and posing in London as a ?Scottish terrorist? with a scarf around his face.
It is a far cry from the image of the smiling boy in the back row of Gwen Mayor?s class.
The social network site of Mark Mullan is equally eloquent as he states he is ?up fur anyhin?. On his biography he asks to be called ?God? and says he lives ?fur the weekend, that sounds so sad but am 18 so suck ma b*ws.?
He adds: ?U?ll find one in Dunblane on a friday or saturday night staggerin about down the street or the hills, consumin BUCKFAST (its just good). If u dinny drink till u drop ur no drinkin.?
Mullan was named player of the year by Bannockburn Amateurs youth football team. He suffered major abdominal and pelvic injuries in the shooting.
In the days following the tragedy his late father, Jim, said relatives were worried the youngster might suffer from long term effects. Speaking in October 1996, he said: ?He?s trying to forget which is fine, but isn?t fine, if you understand. He needs treatment but not in a dramatic way.?
Mrs McLaren said yesterday she would consider confronting the survivors involved.
She added: ?Can it really be genuinely these same young people? I think it is totally out of order to put something like that on the Internet. It is a bit nasty really.?