Raoul Moat: gunman believed to be hiding in woodland
The gunman Raoul Moat is believed to be holed up in remote woodland, armed with two shotguns and a stash of ammunition ready to face a final confrontation with police.
Armed officers established a two-mile exclusion zone around a village in Northumberland and claimed that the net was closing on the self-confessed “maniac”.
But by nightfall, Moat had still not been found despite several reported sightings. Residents and children were told to stay indoors.
A former girlfriend, Yvette Foreman, said Moat knew the area like “the back of his hand” and would be able to survive for days as they used to camp there. The former bouncer was believed to be hiding in woodland near Rothbury, north west of Morpeth.
The bodybuilder has been on the loose since Saturday morning after shooting his ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart, killing her new boyfriend Chris Brown and 24 hours later shooting an unarmed policeman, David Rathband.
Northumbria Police have drafted in armed officers, search helicopters, sniffer dogs and officers from five forces to join the hunt.
Questions were being asked about the police’s alleged slow reaction to potential leads and an apparently missed opportunity to catch him over the weekend. Andy Mcallister, a friend of Moat, said the gunman came to his house in Kenton, Newcastle, on Saturday night shortly before he shot Pc Rathband.
On Sunday, Mr Mcallister called police whom he claimed took four hours to turn up, but they did not stay and monitor his property. Moat returned that night to ask Mr Mcallister to give a letter to police which pledged: “I will keep killing police until I am dead.”
Miss Foreman also said she warned police two days ago that he might be in the village, but her calls were ignored. She said: “I knew he’d come here. It’s his favourite place in the whole world. There’s so much woodland I think he could hide out for days.”
On Tuesday, attention focused on Rothbury after a black Lexus Moat was believed to be driving was found.
Police said two men they feared were being held hostage by Moat had been found and were well. The alleged “associates” of Moat were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder.
The bodybuilder has been on the loose since Saturday morning after shooting his ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart, killing her new boyfriend Chris Brown and 24 hours later shooting an unarmed policeman, David Rathband.
Northumbria Police have drafted in armed officers, search helicopters, sniffer dogs and officers from five forces to join the hunt.
Questions were being asked about the police’s alleged slow reaction to potential leads and an apparently missed opportunity to catch him over the weekend. Andy Mcallister, a friend of Moat, said the gunman came to his house in Kenton, Newcastle, on Saturday night shortly before he shot Pc Rathband.
On Sunday, Mr Mcallister called police whom he claimed took four hours to turn up, but they did not stay and monitor his property. Moat returned that night to ask Mr Mcallister to give a letter to police which pledged: “I will keep killing police until I am dead.”
Miss Foreman also said she warned police two days ago that he might be in the village, but her calls were ignored. She said: “I knew he’d come here. It’s his favourite place in the whole world. There’s so much woodland I think he could hide out for days.”
On Tuesday, attention focused on Rothbury after a black Lexus Moat was believed to be driving was found.
Police said two men they feared were being held hostage by Moat had been found and were well. The alleged “associates” of Moat were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder.
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