Gateshead gunman shoots policeman
Updated on 04 July 2010
A gun attack on a policeman last night in Gateshead, which has left the officer in hospital, has been linked to yesterday’s double shooting which claimed the life of a man and left his partner critically injured.
Police are looking for Raoul Thomas Moat, 37, who was released from prison last week, in connection with the initial shootings at 2.40am in Birtley, Gateshead on Saturday night.
The man he shot died at the scene, while the woman, named locally as Samantha Stobbart, is fighting for her life in hospital.
Last night, an officer in Newcastle was also shot at a roundabout in East Denton, Newcastle. He is in a critical condition in hospital, but his injuries are not thought to be life threatening.
Temporary Chief Constable Sue Sim said: "This was an unprovoked attack on a Northumbria police officer as he carried out his duty.
"My thoughts are with his family and colleagues at this time.
“We strongly believe that this was carried out by the same man who shot two people in Gateshead early yesterday morning.
"Raoul Thomas Moat is a wanted man. He is very dangerous and should not be approached by members of the public.
"We know that Moat held a grudge against the people he targeted in Gateshead yesterday.
"It is now believed that his grudge at the moment is with the police."
Police declined to comment on reports that Moat’s “grudge” came from his romantic history with the woman he shot yesterday, who was his ex-girlfriend, and the man he killed, who was her current partner.
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Police move to 'major incident' standby
Police said they were pursuing all lines of inquiry and all available resources and tactics were being used in the hunt.
A police spokeswoman said: “The force has also moved to major incident standby.
"A major incident is an incident which requires the implementation of special arrangements by one or more of the emergency services. In this case, the handling of a large number of inquiries by the police.
"Significant numbers of resources have been allocated to the incident and the force wants to reassure the public everything is being done to find Moat."
Relatives of Ms Stobbart told the Sunday Telegraph she had been in an on-off relationship with Moat for six years.
Previous threats
Her grandmother, Agnes Hornsby, said Ms Stobbart would stay with her when things were going wrong with Moat, usually provoked by violence.
Ms Hornsby said Moat turned up at her house in Gateshead last year wielding a gun when he thought Ms Stobbart was with another man.
She said: "He threatened us with a gun when she was here, all because she'd put on her Facebook that she was going out with a friend.
“He came here and said 'you've got a man in there' and I said 'there's no men in this house, it's me, Sam and Chanel.'
"He had a gun then and he was out there for about two hours and she was on the phone to him trying to calm him down."
She added: "The force has also moved to major incident standby.
"A major incident is an incident which requires the implementation of special arrangements by one or more of the emergency services. In this case, the handling of a large number of inquiries by the police.
"Significant numbers of resources have been allocated to the incident and the force wants to reassure the public everything is being done to find Moat."
Jack Sheavills said: "I heard people screaming, 'he's got a gun, he's got a gun. I was starting to get out of bed then I heard a gunshot. By the time I got to the window there was second gunshot."
Mary Hall said: "There seemed to be a person huddled on the ground and there was someone over at the first house over there, shooting through the window. I don't know whether there were two or three shots through the window, and then he just walked away."
