https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14749595/Mum-Brit-US-ban-school-shooter-drills-gun.htmlMy son was shot dead just days after celebrating his 23rd birthday but I blame American parents for normalising a culture of gun violence in schools
By SAM LAWLEY
Published: 10:46, 26 May 2025 | Updated: 12:22, 26 May 2025
The mother of a British man shot dead by a teenager has placed the blame for her son's death on parents who 'normalise' gun violence in US schools. Rory Swimm, who was born in Dundee, Scotland, was killed after an altercation with a stranger in Salt Lake City, Utah, just days after his 23rd birthday on October 13, 2023. The student had been out celebrating when he started engaging in 'banter' with schoolboy Jordan Fisher, then 15, about drinking whisky, according to accounts from his friends at the scene. After an argument broke out, the teenager is alleged to have driven away before coming back to throw bottles at Mr Swimm, driving off again and eventually returning to shoot him in the chest with the help of a laser. Fisher, now 17, will be tried as an adult in a Utah court in June but will not face the death penalty if he is found guilty. He is pleading self-defence. Now Rory's mother Susan, 56, has placed the blame on American parents who put up with 'shooter drills' and the sale of 'bullet-proof backpacks'. Mrs Swimm said: 'What has struck me since Rory's murder is the blame I place on parents of American children who think it is okay their kids are drilled into hiding under desks at school and in closets. From Kindergarten all the way through to high school they do shooter drills. This is a normal occurrence across America. You have got kids waiting for the school shooter to come. Gun culture in schools has become normalised. We did simple fire drills in the UK - they do shooter drills here. You've got adverts for what colour bulletproof backpack to get. America has accepted that kids will be killed at school and the parents have allowed that to happen. They don't seem to understand. Even the Sandy Hook parents have been able to do very little to change that. What kind of a country allows this and what message is that giving to children? People are still not allowed to drink until they are 21 yet can buy an AK Rifle at 18.'
The distraught mother was born in Glasgow but moved to Edwards, Colorado, with husband Rob, 59, and their two other children Scott, 26, and Maggie, 21. Ms Swimm said that despite Fisher's name being released in court documents, she would never say it herself. She added: 'That boy was out to kill someone and it was a complete stranger encounter. If Rory hadn't gone into the store or if he had turned left instead of right he would still be alive. I am still not going to say his name. I never will. He was just 15 yet had managed to acquire two handguns one of them had a laser. They travelled 45 minutes from where they live and came across my beautiful son and his best friends. It started as a banter altercation. Rory was offering him whisky. He was hospitable and liked to have a drink with his mates. The problem was that boy was just out to kill someone.'
Ms Swimm added: 'They had been coming home from a bar celebrating Rory's 23rd birthday and had stopped to get some snacks. They started singing with a homeless man and Rory offered him some whisky. Three boys approached and called him a 'skater f**' and Rory told them to f*** off. Rory gave the homeless man a snack and those boys started harassing him again.'
They allegedly clashed again a short while later and Susan said Rory's friend saw the alleged killer pull out the gun, and saw the bullet leave. She added: 'It had a laser on it. You don't miss when there is a laser. All the boys fled in different directions and Rory fell to the ground. His killers then got back into the car and sped away.'
Despite the horrifying incident, Ms Swimm described Salt Lake City, which had 11 homicides at the time of her son's death, as 'peaceful and quiet' and the area where it took place as a 'very quiet residential street'. 'Never in a million years would you think something bad would happen there,' she said.
'Our mission now is developing a non-profit we have started to teach youths kindness, compassion, empathy, inclusion through sport, art and music. Rory was an incredible skier. He was called a 'reckless beauty like no other'.'
Ms Swimm said she has struggled to get the wider public interested in her son's case but hoped publicity around the trial might make some take notice. She added: 'America doesn't want to hear any bad news they are not interested my son was killed. The local paper did a big piece on his memorial and how incredible it was but they didn't want to go into what happened. So many young children are being killed. But America doesn't care. If they did they would do something. Instead they are doing shooting drills, which only normalises the culture. It's easier to get a gun than it is to get a Budweiser. Rory was the most joyful human being I knew and had the ability to see good in everyone. He was a non-judgmental person and would include everybody. He was the magnet of his huge friend group and people gravitated towards him. He had a real kindness. He would stand up to bullying and get involved but he would never want to hurt anybody. He was so full of fun.'
Mr Swimm was just about to complete welding school and was planning to move to Montana with his best friend when he was killed. 'He was on his way to doing really well,' his mother added. 'But that was ripped away from him.'
