Newport gunman Darren Williams's son found hanged - The Guardian

A schoolboy has been found hanged in woodlands weeks after his father shot his mother in a hairdressing salon.

Jack Williams, 16, was discovered dead close to where his father, Darren Williams, hanged himself after fleeing from the shooting at a salon in Newport, south Wales.

The teenager's mother, Rachel, 39, was described as devastated" after Jack's death, which comes days after she was released from hospital.

Friends told how Jack was struggling to come to terms with his father's death after the shooting in Malpas, Newport, five weeks ago. Darren, 46, a lorry driver, had stormed into the salon where Rachel worked and opened fire with a double-barrelled shotgun, seemingly in fury after she demanded a divorce. Rachel, a mother of two, was blasted at point-blank range and needed a 10-hour operation to save her left leg.

Jack had been living with his father's sister while his mother was recovering in hospital. Rachel came out of hospital at the weekend and Jack was reported missing on Monday evening. He was found in the woods close to the spot where his father was discovered and where his father's ashes were scattered.

A family spokesman said: "Jack was finding it difficult to come to terms with what happened. His mother was shot and his dad found hanged all within a couple of hours. He was a sensitive young man – he wasn't coping with things. Now Rachel is going through hell all over again. She is aware that Jack was very, very upset by the whole business."

Jack was the couple's only child but Rachel has a son, Josh, 20, from a previous relationship. Darren and Rachel had split up weeks before the shooting at the Carol Ann hair salon in Malpas.

Williams was said to have burst into the premises and shouted: "Rachel, I love you," as he opened fire in the busy salon, hitting his wife and two elderly customers.

Rachel has undergone extensive reconstructive surgery at Morriston hospital in Swansea over the past month. She said she had "no doubt" Darren had intended to kill her. He was found hanged in woods near the couple's marital home in Brynglas, Newport, soon after the shooting. The couple had put their family home up for sale a few weeks before because of their impending divorce.

Darren, a military and shooting enthusiast, was jailed for four months in 2004 after police discovered an "arsenal of weapons" in his bedroom that included a stun gun, a .22 pistol, a machete, a hunting knife, canisters of CS gas and bullets.

Jack, a pupil at Newport high school, had been staying with his aunt while his mother was in hospital.

His father's ashes had been scattered in the woods at Brynglas, Newport, after his funeral.

Gwent police on Wednesdayconfirmed they were investigating Jack's death but said there were no suspicious circumstances.

A single anonymous entry on a Facebook tribute page entitled RIP Jack Williams reads: "It's really sad that he died. Let's all just keep him in our prayers and his family as well. May he rest in peace."

A spokeswoman for Gwent police said: "At approximately 7.30pm on Monday evening (26 September) police were called to where the body of a 16-year-old male was found. The death is not being treated as suspicious."

An inquest is set to be opened after a postmortem examination is carried out.