Danny Fitzsimons claimed he was the “Anti-Christ” before shooting two colleagues

Danny Fitzsimons

Danny Fitzsimons, a security guard from Middleton who shot dead two of his colleagues, claimed he was “the Anti-Christ” and that he must “satisfy” his “blood lust” an inquest has heard.

Fitzsimons, a former paratrooper, is currently serving 20 years in an Iraqi jail after killing Paul McGuigan and Darren Hoare in 2009.

In August 2009, Fitzsimons was hired by ArmorGroup and was posted to Iraq. 36 hours after arriving in Baghdad, he shot dead Mr McGuigan and Mr Hoare after an alleged drunken brawl.

At an inquest yesterday (Monday 9 February) into the death of Mr McGuigan, who was 37-years-old at the time, disturbing extracts from Fitzsimons own writings were heard.

In the writings Fitzsimons indicated that he had long harboured thoughts of harming people.

A psychiatrist who assessed Fitzsimons whilst he was in Forest Bank Prison in Salford in 2008 revealed the contents of the papers which had been found at his home by police.

In one extract he had written: “I am the Anti-Christ. I will continue to satisfy my blood lust and my need to take life. Any chance I get to do someone in, I will take it – but only if they deserve it.”

Fitzsimons said that the passages were part of a fictional book, based on his military experience, which he had started working on whilst drunk and claimed that the text was thoughts of the character and not his own.

Despite this, Dr Mark Swinton said he was “not wholly convinced” by the explanation and that it was more likely that “he did believe them and at the time he wrote these things down, he was having thoughts about harming people.”

He went on to tell the hearing in Stockport, that despite that, there was no evidence at the time that Fitzsimons was suffering from severe mental illness.

During his trial, Fitzsimons admitted killing the men but said he was acting in self-defence after a fight broke out. He also claimed that he was suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Despite these claims, a British pathologist said he could find no injuries to the hands or any visible evidence that Mr McGuigan had been involved in a fight.

It was also confirmed at the inquest that Mr McGuigan had been shot three times - twice in the chest and once in the mouth but “there was nothing to suggest a close range shot.”

The inquest began last September but it was adjourned after it was revealed that Fitzsimons was on hunger strike and was trying to get transferred to the UK to serve the remainder of his sentence.

The inquest is expected to last two weeks.