LONDON (AP) — British police searching for a man accused of shooting his ex-girlfriend, killing her new boyfriend and seriously wounding an officer have called in reinforcements Monday.
Raoul Thomas Moat, 37, was released from prison last week after serving a sentence for assault.
His former girlfriend, Samantha Stobbart, 22, was shot in Gateshead, northeast England, on Saturday. Her new boyfriend, Charles Brown, 29, was killed outside the same house, police said. Constable David Rathband, 42, was shot a few miles away in Newcastle early Sunday. He remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition.
Authorities have requested "additional firearms trained officers from a number of other forces" as they search for Moat, Northumbria Police said.
Stobbart was initially hospitalized in critical condition, but has since improved, authorities said, without specifying her new condition.
Stobbart, who has a baby with Moat, issued an appeal through police for the former bouncer to give himself up.
Det. Chief Supt. Neil Adamson, the police officer leading the manhunt for Moat, also urged him to surrender.
"Mr. Moat, we are aware that you have a number of issues and grievances," Adamson said. "We want to understand your position and I want you to realize that you do have a future. We can only help you with this if you make contact with us directly."
The shootings occurred a month after a man went on a killing spree in England on June 2, when taxi driver Derrick Bird killed a dozen people and wounded 11 others before committing suicide.
Unlike those attacks, many of which were random, police hunting for Moat said they don’t believe he poses a danger to the general public, because he has "specific grievances against certain individuals and groups." But some people have been given police protection, authorities said.
One of those grudges appeared to be against the police, which may have stemmed from the fact that Stobbart told Moat that she was dating a police officer because she was scared of Moat, Adamson said as he read out her statement.
"We’ve spoken to Sam and she has asked us to say the following to you: ‘Please give yourself up. If you still love me and our baby you would not be doing this any more,’" Adamson read. "Sam also said: ‘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.’"
