British Prime Minister David Cameron has visited Cumbria to meet survivors and emergency services staff caught up in Derrick Bird's shooting rampage, which he described as 'the most appalling tragedy'.
Mr Cameron and Home Secretary Theresa May arrived for a private visit at West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven, where five victims are being treated for their injuries.
All five were described today as being in a 'comfortable' condition. Two others are being treated in Newcastle.
Many of Mr Bird's 11 surviving victims suffered terrible facial injuries and he appeared to have deliberately aimed for their heads.
Mr Cameron visited Workington police station to pay tribute to staff who dealt with the aftermath of the shootings.
He said it was too early to conclude what may have caused Bird to shoot 12 people dead before turning the gun on himself.
He said: 'There will be some parts of this that we will never understand. There were some random acts of killings and people who will have lost loved ones will ask why it happened to them and why so random; why it is so unfair and so cruel what's happened here.
'There are incredible stories of bravery here and an amazing community that has been torn by this but will eventually come through this like other communities have,' he added
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg also paid tribute to those killed, saying 'My heart goes out to the families of the victims and obviously the victims themselves.
'This is a huge trauma for a very close-knit community and, with each new revelation about the background to what happened, I think more and more people will just be shaking their heads in disbelief that such a peaceful, close-knit community should now have been the scene of such terrible bloodshed,' he said.
Wednesday's shootings were Britain's biggest mass murder by a single gunman since Dunblane in 1996 and it has brought calls for the tightening of restrictions on gun ownership.
However, Mr Cameron insisted there should not be a ‘knee-jerk reaction’ to changing gun ownership laws.
It has emerged that Mr Bird legally held licences for a shotgun and a .22 rifle despite having a previous conviction for theft.
One theory now emerging as a possible reason behind Mr Bird's rampage is that he faced prosecution for an unpaid tax bill, which could have resulted in a jail sentence.
Counselling for those affected
The British ambulance service has said that staff who attended the crime scenes after the shootings will be offered a counselling service to cope with the aftermath of the event.
Peter Mulcahy, head of service for Cumbria and Lancashire said: 'This was a traumatic incident for our staff as well as the local community. It was an unusual incident for our staff and the types of injuries and calls our staff dealt with were very distressing.
'The safety and welfare of our staff is paramount and the Trust will provide full support and counselling to staff to help them deal with the aftermath of this shocking event,' he said.
More than 50 emergency calls were made to the control room regarding the shootings and 13 ambulances were dispatched along with air ambulances and rapid response vehicles.
The NHS confirmed it would continue to hold drop-in sessions this weekend for Cumbrians struggling to deal with the past few days.
In addition, British Red Cross mobile units will be offering practical and emotional support to outlying communities in West Cumbria.
