Another UK shooting

[LAK]

"Gamekeeper" shoots police constable in UK. Several below, plus one link (last one) listing articles on shootings etc in the UK that have made the news.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/shropshire/6633711.stm
Gun used to kill officer 'legal'

A weapon used to kill a firearms-trained police officer during a domestic disturbance was legally held by the gunman, police have said.

Pc Richard Gray, 43 and from Dundee, was shot dead at the scene in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, on Sunday.

Gunman Peter Medlicott is believed to have shot Pc Gray with a .222 calibre rifle he used for pest control work, before turning the weapon on himself.

Married Pc Gray, known as Ricky, had been commended five times for bravery.

West Mercia chief constable Paul West said he had previously won recognition for his part in the arrests of two armed men.

Detectives confirmed 33-year-old Mr Medlicott's rifle was "legally held". 

A post-mortem examination revealed both men died from single gunshot wounds to the head.

The force said a police armed response unit was called to attend a domestic incident at 0610 BST on Sunday in New Park Road.

Unarmed officers had initially attended the scene, as there was indication of an armed threat, before they radioed for help saying they had been held at gunpoint.

"Both authorised firearms officers were armed and as they went forward they were confronted by a man who shot Pc Ricky Gray, " said Det Ch Insp Sheila Thornes.

"Approximately an hour later, the body of a man, now identified as Medlicott, was located by officers close to the scene."

She said police were not looking for anyone else in connection with the shooting.

Mr West told a press conference on Monday: "Pc Gray was an excellent officer. He was very popular with his colleagues, extremely well-liked and held in the highest regard.

"The fact he had been recommended for five commendations spoke volumes about his character."

The officer had previously worked for Cheshire Constabulary, serving in the Warrington area from 1997. He later joined the armed response unit before transferring to West Mercia Police in 2003.
 
See also:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,2074048,00.html

http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=703852007

Gun crime UK:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/gun/0,,178412,00.html

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[mr.v.]

Uh boy... and then there went the legal ones...

[El Tejon]

.222.  Wow, rarely hear of that little beauty being used.

[LAK]

Other than the seemingly pre-emptive report that the police "are not looking for anyone else" (always an odd thing to come out the same day a homicide investigation starts), and not a word about "the girlfriend", who she is or anything about her, the tone of the articles is remarkably restrained.

Also noteworthy is the benign way one article goes as far as to refer to Medlicott's rifle as "for his pest control work" - as if he is some freelance vermin shooter who just happens to have a legal rifle for the purpose.  "Gamekeepers" work for wealthy people who own considerable tracts of land to control predators and sometimes manage deer  in the U.K.

Wonder what Medlicott was such an angry man about, who his "girlfriend" is, and who was the wealthy as yet un-named person he worked for.

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[crt360]

"Both authorised firearms officers were armed and as they went forward they were confronted by a man who shot Pc Ricky Gray, " said Det Ch Insp Sheila Thornes.

If a guy with a gun confronted two armed police officers here, he'd have been shot (at) 43 times before he had a chance to aim.

And, assuming he only had a bolt-action or single shot, how was he not shot by the other authorised firearm officer before chambering another round and shooting himself?

[Iain]

We don't know what 'confronted' actually means. Might have still be a reasonable distance, and the guy might have been concealed.

First police officer killed on duty this year, not even a fatal car crash whilst on duty. First murdered on duty since Nov 05.

[LAK]

If a guy with a gun confronted two armed police officers here, he'd have been shot (at) 43 times before he had a chance to aim.

In addition to the mystery "girlfriend", we also do not know if anyone else was present at the time and what physical proximity they were in relation to the two armed officers and Medlicott.

And the only BBC followup article I see is about the "public meeting" to be held about it. Public meeting? I suspect this will center solely on pacifying fears and be limited in scope to the emotional issues and clarifying the surface legal issues.

In the same article now though, it is stated that Medlicott was "single" and worked for a "contruction firm". Construction firm? So which was it; gamekeeper? Or construction worker - or both?

Interesting; I wonder how many "construction workers" in the U.K. currently hold firearms certificates for "pest control".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/shropshire/6641463.stm

In a May 8th article the Guardian states;

"... Mr Medlicott, described by friends as a fishing and shooting enthusiast.... "

http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,2074383,00.html

No other followup articles.

And this from the next Scotsman article;

"A HEROIC Scottish police officer was trying to save two colleagues being held at gunpoint when he was shot dead by a firearms fanatic ... "

http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=707&id=711672007

So Medlicott was ... a freelance pest controller with a firearms certificate ... or a gamekeeper. No, he was a construction worker, and a fishing and shooting enthusiast ... and a firearms fanatic.

There we have it folks. Or do we? I am still very curious as to why the media are playing down - or silent - over some interesting questions as to Medlicotts actual occupation(s) and his firearms certifcate for the alleged weapon and usage. The so-called "anti-gun" media would normally be all over this.

Well, I stand corrected - maybe - on one issue. Yet another (the only) BBC article dated May 9th states;

"The IPCC [The Independent Police Complaints Commission] also said it would review circumstances in which Mr Medlicott had come to hold firearms."

Maybe they'll get down to the point. Still doesn't explain the medias' um .. co-operation - expected terminology aside.

The article backtracks though in it's lead heading where it announces;

"The man thought to have shot and killed a policeman in Shropshire was known to the police force, it has been revealed."

"Thought to have"? I thought the police were "not looking for anyone else".


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/shropshire/6640061.stm

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[Iain]

I also want to know where the Trilateral Commission fit into this. Maybe Blair did it and that is why he is going to announce his departure date today.

Why the conspiracy? Guy can hold several jobs in a short space of time, maybe a few at one time. Do a bit of hunting and fishing on the side, hold a firearms certificate. My cousin would be described as a farm labourer, but he has a rifle that has despatched thousands of rabbits into the hereafter. Could be described as a freelance pest controller. In fact I have a childhood memory of walking through a small Cornish village with an uncle of mine and a camo'd man with a silenced rifle materialising and saying hello. Uncle said he was a local man that popped rabbits for farmers for a bit of money.

[Perd Hapley]

OK, LAK, what am I supposed to make of all this?  You seem very suspicious.  Why? 

[LAK]

Suspicious? Anyone who has seen firsthand the media coverage - and subsequent style of reporting over the shootings by Hamilton, Ryan and others ssince should be able to see that they are soft peddling this one.

Medlicott shot a policeman with what would normally be touted as a "high powered rifle" or with some similar embellishments; it was probably scoped, and if he used the thing for shooting foxes, or perhaps culling Roe deer, he was no doubt using some softpoint ammo - guaranteed to make a terrible mess on a headshot. As a "bonus" for the media hounds - he had a firearms certificate.

Iain,

Injecting nonsense into a discussion doesn't do you or the discussion any credit. If you'd like to discuss Comrade Blair's resignation - or the Trilateral Commission for that matter, in another thread feel free to open one up and I'll be happy to join in.

To imply that my observations are some kind of nonsense indicates that you've paid little attention to the war against gunowners and the media's role and style in the U.K. for the last thirty years, your memory has lapsed, or you are simply too young to have observed any of it further back than a few years.

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Blair resigned

 

[Stand_watie]

I don't neccesarily see any conspiracy, and I could definitely see that events could have unfolded truthfully within the (so-far) news accounts. That said, media has their biases, and the UK media's biases are peculiarly anti-gun, so it is interesting that this hasn't been splashed more widely and with greater vitriol.

I hope those following the news media for the area more closely than I will update us as more details come out.

[LAK]

Has anyone in the UK seen the television reporting on this one? Anyone?

[Iapetus]

Suspicious? Anyone who has seen firsthand the media coverage - and subsequent style of reporting over the shootings by Hamilton, Ryan and others ssince should be able to see that they are soft peddling this one.

But the cases are not really comparable.

Hamilton & Ryan were mass-murderers.  (And Hamilton killed many young children).

This guy killed one person, then commited suicide.  Such things happen from time to time here.  When a criminal with an illegal firearm kills someone, it often leads to a big public/media outcry over "soaring gun crime", and calls for tougher (and pointless) laws (like a ban on replica handguns).

But when a farmer / gamekeeper / etc kills someone in a domestic dispute, with a legal shotgun or hunting rifle, it doesn't normally elicit the same sort of response.

This story got quite a lot of prominence in the UK media, because the victim was a policeman, but it blew over quite quickly.  If the victim hadn't been a policeman, it would probably have blown over even quicker.

[LAK]

Of course they were not the same. The Ryan and the Hamilton shooting were not the same.

But when a farmer / gamekeeper / etc kills someone in a domestic dispute, with a legal shotgun or hunting rifle, it doesn't normally elicit the same sort of response.

That is simply not true. For one, apparently Medlicott was not a gamekeeper. Or was he? Why is the media not hot footing all over that? Who did he work for? The UK media has been increasingly, since the 1960s, a vehement tool of those who want a total ban on civil firearms ownership.

We could speculate that there are few possible politically based reasons the media might make a cool rational low key presentation of any particular shooting. Normally. But the murder of a police constable - with a legally held rifle? Something's up. 

The Medlicott shooting has these and a few other elements that would have been jumped all over the same or next day by the media nationwide. With a sustained choreographed campaign. Normally.

The single followup BBC article as of today;

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/shropshire/6633711.stm

 .... is remarkably matter of fact about everything to do with this case. Totally out of character. It is remarkably more matter of fact and unembellished than even what we here in the USA have come to expect in many cases.

The story is being soft peddled, and drawn out to die a quiet death of it's own. And yes, I am still curious why.

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