The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Sniper had murderer Mone ‘in his sights’ from roof
EXCLUSIVE: Former police chief speaks out on anniversary of deadly school siege
A police sniper had murderer Robert Mone in his sights on the day of a notorious Dundee school shooting but was ordered not to kill him, The Courier can reveal.
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the 19-year-old soldier’s crime spree when, armed with a shotgun, he terrorised St John’s Roman Catholic High School, holding a class hostage and murdering pregnant teacher Nanette Hanson.
Retired police inspector Jim Melville said a rooftop marksman had the opportunity to shoot Mone before Mrs Hanson was killed. He believes “the shot should have been taken”. Those who witnessed the siege now recount their ordeal.
Exactly 50 years ago today a 19-year-old soldier walked into a Dundee classroom armed with a shotgun and enough ammunition to kill every pupil in his sight.
Robert Mone’s heinous acts at St John’s High School on November 1 1967 left pregnant teacher Nanette Hanson dead and sent shockwaves across the country.
Five decades on, witnesses to the siege at St John’s have recounted the terrifying events.
And a former police chief who arrested Mone has revealed that a sniper had the killer in his scope – but was ordered not to pull the trigger.
A private in the British Army, Mone was dressed in his Gordon Highlanders uniform and armed with a shotgun when he entered 26-year-old Mrs Hanson’s needlework class of 11 girls aged between 14 and 15.
They initially thought it was a practical joke but it was not long before the true horror of the situation became clear.
Six girls were ordered to move desks in front of the door to stop anyone coming in. When the noise attracted attention, Mone fired a shot.
A state of emergency was declared and 1,000 pupils were evacuated as police surrounded the school.
Officers lined the corridor outside the class. Also present were head teacher Brother Bede and, eventually, Mone’s own grandmother, who pleaded with him to stop.
Also on the scene were Detective Constable Jim Melville and his superior Detective Sergeant George Mclaren, both of Dundee City Police CID.
Mr Melville, now 83, claims police had the opportunity to shoot Mone – an act he says would have saved Mrs Hanson and Mone’s subsequent victims.
The former policeman, who received the Queen’s Gallantry Medal for his actions during the Claypotts siege of October 1977, said marksman Tom Jowett had Mone in his sights but was ordered not to take the shot.
Mr Melville said: “It must have been about 2pm. We were in the office and got word and George said, ‘Come on we’re going up to St John’s. Quickly, let’s go.’
“I remember getting up there and George said ‘Just let me in here I’m handling this’.”
Mone had asked to see a former acquaintance called Marion Young, an 18-year-old Dundee student nurse.
The newly-married Mrs Hanson had come to an agreement with the soldier that if Ms Young was traced and brought in, the pupils would be let go.
Ms Young was found and, heroically, she agreed to go into the classroom and attempt to talk Mone out of murder.
The two women eventually persuaded Mone to let the girls go but, as Mrs Hanson lined up to leave, he told her “not you. You’re not going. I want you here”.
At 4.30pm two gunshots rang out. Mone had asked Mrs Hanson to shut the blinds. As she turned away, he shot her in the back, killing her.
Mr Melville added: “At that time we had a police officer on the rooftops of the shops opposite the school. Tom Jowett, detective sergeant.
“And he had a shot on the guy. He could have shot him, but the order was never given.”
Had the shot been fired, Mr Melville believes even more lives would have been saved.
After being detained for his crimes, Mone broke out of the State Hospital at Carstairs with his lover Thomas Mcculloch in 1976. Their bloody escape resulted in the murder of a nurse, police officer and patient.
There was further bloodshed three years later when Mone’s father, Sonny, carried out a triple murder in a macabre bid to “better” his son.
Mr Melville, who was third into the classroom after the killing, still remembers how Mone was sitting almost expressionless.
He said: “He’s sitting there quite calm, shotgun lying on the table – and she’s lying there dead.
“So we just went in and grabbed him, and that was him. He never made any attempt to go for a gun or anything. His task was over.”
bdingwall@thecourier.co.uk A pupil caught up in the tragic events at St John’s 50 years ago says Nanette Hanson was “an angel”.
Aged 15 at the time, she still remembers how Mrs Hanson remained amazingly calm as she sought to protect her pupils.
Breaking her silence for the first time, the now 65-year-old, who did not want to be named, said: “I can see her face right now, just an angel. She was very, very quiet spoken, very nice, just a typical teacher but nice. And in those days you didn’t like a lot of the teachers.”
The grandmother credits Mrs Hanson and Marion Young with saving her life and those of her fellow pupils – many of whom she remains in contact with.
“It was a normal afternoon, somebody came to the door. I just thought it was another teacher and all of a sudden he came in with his gun. We thought it was a joke. Everybody thought it was a joke and we laughed,” she recalled.
“When he shouted, you knew that it wasn’t a joke.
“And then reality hit home and everybody sort of froze.”
Mone ordered them up against a wall before they were forced into a side room.
“She (Mrs Hanson) was quite calm. She was amazing. I think she saved our lives actually. She was so calm and she just kept asking him to let us out,” she added. “It was frightening but it was like ‘Is it really happening?’ You were just frightened. We were all huddled together. Some girls were crying. And then he kept asking for the girl. For Marion Young.
“She pleaded with him to let us out as well. She saved our lives as well and she tried to save the teacher’s life.”
Mrs Hanson was posthumously awarded the Albert Medal for bravery, while Ms Young was given the George Medal for a “most courageous act”.
While half a century has passed, the former pupil says it is a day that will never leaveher.“youneverforget.anythingthat happens in Dundee – murder, killing – you just get that flashback of it,” she said.