Letters: Cynical ploy of the gun lobby

ir: Last night, after a rare midweek drink with a friend, as my son is holidaying with his grandmother, I couldn't get into my home as several roads were cordoned off by the police because we were told there had been an "armed incident".

Suddenly the quiet, genteel district of Notting Hill Gate where I live had become something from an American cop show - white barrier tape and swarms of police trying to placate an increasing frustrated crowd, some of whom had been waiting for several hours. The anger and fear I felt last night was compounded this morning by the attitudes of those arguing for the rights of individuals who wish to own guns. No, the Dunblane parents are not out for "revenge" (report, 14 August). They are out for every parent who like me was relieved that my child did not have to witness the fear and distress from police and public alike that an "armed incident" can cause.

I also felt ashamed that at the time of the Dunblane massacre I felt the same tragic apathy that many would have felt. But what a difference when it is on your own doorstep.

GLORIA MORRISON

London W11