2010 Northumbria Police manhunt

Northumbria shootings
Location	Tyne and Wear, England, UK
Date	3 July 2010 (2010-07-03) 02:40
Attack type	Spree shooting, murder
Weapons	Shotgun
Deaths	1
Injured	2
Perpetrator	Raoul Moat (Suspect)

The 2010 Northumbria shootings were a shooting spree that took place in Tyne and Wear, England on 3 and 4 July 2010. The shootings occurred when Raoul Moat, a former bouncer from Newcastle upon Tyne, allegedly shot three people, one fatally, over a 22 hour period. As of 6 July 2010, police investigations and the search for the suspect are ongoing.

Timeline

On 1 July 2010, Raoul Thomas Moat was released from Durham prison after serving an 18-week sentence for assaulting a relative. The following day, the prison contacted Northumbria Police to warn them that Moat had threatened to seriously harm his former girlfriend, Samantha Stobbart.

Shootings

At 02:40 am on 3 July 2010, Moat allegedly arrived at Stobbart's parents' house in Birtley in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Using a shotgun, Moat was reported to have fired through the living room window, striking Stobbart in the arm and abdomen. Stobbart's partner, Chris Brown, went to confront Moat but was shot at close range and killed. Stobbart was taken to hospital to undergo a liver operation and was put under armed guard.

At 12:45 am on 4 July, Police Constable David Rathband was shot while sat in his patrol car on the roundabout of the A1 and A69 roads near East Denton in Newcastle upon Tyne. As of 6 July 2010, Rathband was in Newcastle General Hospital in a critical condition after suffering injuries to his head and upper body. The Guardian reported that Moat had called police 12 minutes before shooting PC Rathband to taunt them and tell them what he was about to do, and again some 50 minutes after the shooting, during which he showed little remorse.

Immediate aftermath

On 5 July, Northumbria Police received a 49-page letter, supposedly from Moat, warning that they were "gonna pay for what they've done". The letter also stated that "The public need not fear me but the police should as I won't stop till I'm dead. They took it all from me, kids, freedom, house, then Sam and Chanel. Where could I go from there. Obviously I have issues, but I was pushed. I never beat my kids."

Detective Chief Superintendant Neil Adamson relayed a message to Moat through the media from Stobbart saying "If you still love me and our baby you would not be doing this any more. When you came out of jail I told you I was seeing a police officer. I said this because I was frightened. I have not been seeing a police officer."

Fearful of more shootings from Moat, police mounted a raid with armed officers, dogs and a helicopter on a house in the North Kenton area of Newcastle, and also detained a man from Sunderland. Neither action found Moat, and the man from Sunderland was later released without charge.

Kelly, 27, Moat's half-sister reported that he had updated his Facebook status with a 'hitlist' which included her and other family members. "He's said he will take out any police that get in his way."

At a press conference on the evening of 5 July, police revealed that Moat had kidnapped two men at the time of the shootings. They also requested this information be subject to a media blackout. It was later reported that the police thought they had been dealing with a "complex, fast moving hostage situation".

Hunt for Moat intensifies

Around 22.50 on the night of Monday 5 July, a fish and chip shop in Seaton Delaval, north of Newcastle, was a victim of an armed robbery by a man resembling Moat.

Following a police appeal for sightings of a black Lexus IS200 SE, the car—believed to have been used by Moat—was found on 6 July 2010 near Rothbury in Northumberland. A 2 miles (3.2 km) exclusion zone was set up by police, and two men were found walking along a road. These men were originally thought by police to be hostages, but were later arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder. Neither were Moat, and DCS Neil Adamson reported there had been a "significant threat to the lives of the two men". Police also said that they were "closing the net on Moat" as officers from six forces were called into the area with a large number of armed response officers in their ranks. They stormed buildings on a disused farm called Pike House with armed officers and dogs, after a tip off from the landowners, that one of the boards on the windows of the derelict building had been removed, but they did not find their suspect.

Suspect

Raoul Thomas Moat, aged 37 or 38, is a former bouncer from Newcastle upon Tyne. Between February and July 2010, he was imprisoned in Durham Prison for assaulting a relative. He has a young daughter with Stobbart called Chanel.

Impact on UK airspace

According to NATS, a temporary airspace restriction was imposed on an area above Rothbury with a diameter of approximately 5nm and up to a height of 30,000ft.