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I seem to recall that the impetus for the very stringent gun control laws throughout most of the UK was a highly publicized school shooting in Scotland, so the UK isn't immune to it either
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There were two incidents that lead to strict gun controls in the UK. The first ban was on semi-auto rifles except .22.
Crimes That Shook Britain: The Hungerford Massacre
8 May 2012 13:50
One August afternoon in 1987, a heavily-armed Michael Robert Ryan shot and killed sixteen people - including his own mother - before turning a gun on himself. It remains one of the worst shooting atrocities in British history.
The seckond lead to the ban on handguns.
Shortly after 9 a.m. on March 13, 1996, Thomas Hamilton, a 43-year-old former Scout leader, burst into the gymnasium of a primary school in the tranquil Scottish town of Dunblane.
Within minutes 15 children aged five and six had died in a hail of bullets. One died later in hospital. Their teacher, Gwen Mayor, a 44-year-old mother of two, died in the attack, reportedly while trying to shield her pupils. Two other teachers were also seriously injured while heroically trying to protect children. Hamilton turned one of his four handguns on himself and was found dead at the scene.
It didn't stop other incidents.
Twelve people have been killed and 25 injured by a gunman who opened fire in west Cumbria.
A body thought to be that of the suspect - taxi driver Derrick Bird - has been found in the Boot area.