Fugitive Dale Cregan Kills Two Unarmed Police Officers In Northwest England

[News_Editor]

Fugitive kills two unarmed police officers in northwest England < br />

2012-09-19 19:39:52 GMT+7 (ICT)

TAMESIDE, ENGLAND (BNO NEWS) -- Two unarmed police officers were shot and killed by a murder suspect when they responded to a report of a burglary in the Manchester area of northwest England, officials said on Tuesday. The gunman later turned himself in at a police station.

The incident happened shortly before 11 a.m. local time on Tuesday when two unarmed police officers were called to investigate a reported burglary at a house in the Abbey Gardens area of Hattersley, which is located in Greater Manchester. Gunshots and an explosion rang out shortly after the officers entered the building.

Residents living near the scene said the house had stood empty for several months and investigators believe 29-year-old fugitive Dale Cregan or someone helping him called in the burglary report to draw officers to the location. It is believed Cregan fired at least 13 shots before causing an explosion with a grenade.

Medical teams were quickly on the scene to provide treatment to the injured officers but one of them died at the scene while the second officer died a short time later while undergoing emergency treatment at Tameside Hospital. Cregan later turned himself in by walking into a nearby police station.

"This is a dark day for policing in not only Greater Manchester, but in the UK as a whole, as we have lost two valued members of our team," said Chief Constable Peter Fahy of Greater Manchester Police. "Our thoughts are with their families, friends, and of course colleagues, at this immensely difficult time."

The victims were identified as 23-year-old police constable Nicola Hughes and 32-year-old police constable Fiona Bone. "Nicola and Fiona exemplified all that is best in British policing, by putting others first to go into dangerous and unknown situations each day, to help people in the worst moments of their lives," Fahy said.

The double murder shocked Britain where most police officers are unarmed due to the low number of fatal gun attacks on police. "The killing of two police officers in Manchester is a shocking reminder of the debt we owe to those who put themselves in danger to keep us safe and secure," Prime Minister David Cameron said. "I want to offer my thoughts, along with those of the whole country, to the families, friends and colleagues at this difficult time."

Cregan had been the center of a massive manhunt following the murder of 23-year-old Mark Short in May and the murder of Mark's father David Short last month. "There was a huge operation in place across Greater Manchester to find Dale Cregan, with hundreds of officers and specialist units involved," Fahy said.

Police defended their decision to release Cregan on bail after his arrest in connection with the murder of Mark Short. "It is absolutely normal in the course of complex crime enquiries that when people are arrested there are occasions where there is insufficient evidence available for them to be charged," Fahy explained. "In those circumstances suspects have to be released on bail as there are strict time limits covering how long suspects can be held in custody without charge. That is exactly what happened in this case."

Cregan remains in custody on suspicion of the murders of Hughes and Bone and on suspicion of two counts of murder in relation to the investigations into the murders of David Short and Mark Short. He had not been charged as of Wednesday afternoon.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-09-19

[Notstupid30]

Police shootings: Shock of eyewitnesses as shots and explosion rock quiet cul-de-sac

Eye-witnesses have described seeing a man with a handgun in the street moments before two female police officers were gunned down in the line of duty.

Home Secretary Theresa May has cut short her holiday to visit Chief Constable Sir Peter Fahy in the wake of the gun-and-grenade attacks which claimed the lives of two woman PCs.

She is expected to be in Greater Manchester this afternoon

Source http://menmedia.co.u...uiet-cul-de-sac

Edited September 19, 2012 by Scott
Edited for fair use policy

[peterdk]

What is the point of killing of 2 policewomen, aparently tricked into going there, with a false burglery phone call ?

It was not as if nobody was looking for him.. Several hundreds officers had been looking for him for a month.

So why on earth would he lure 2 officers into a house ( on a what looks to be random day ) and kill them, just to turn himself in, later that day.

Well ok aparently he killed 2 others beforehand, so maybe this bloke is far from 100% in the brain department.

[klauskunkel]

Maybe police in UK should have guns?

[pacovl46]

Why were the cops unarmed????

[transam]

Why were the cops unarmed????

Very few UK cops are armed. Only specialist vehicles/cops have fire arms which are on call.

[twinpin]

Normally the police in the UK are not armed.

Only specially trained police officers who are deployed to deal with incidents potentially involving firearms. Carry firearms. Long may that continue.

Ask yourself the question If the police had been armed would the result have been different. It looks like they were lured into a trap So it's unlikely they would have had time to respond.

You arm the police and that would only put more guns into the hands of villains. Look at the US it does not stop police being shot and killed there.

I would hazard a guess more police are shot and killed in the USA per head of population there than here in the UK

A sad day for sure RIP to the two lady police officers

[transam]

Normally the police in the UK are not armed.

Only specially trained police officers who are deployed to deal with incidents potentially involving firearms. Carry firearms. Long may that continue.

Ask yourself the question If the police had been armed would the result have been different. It looks like they were lured into a trap So it's unlikely they would have had time to respond.

You arm the police and that would only put more guns into the hands of villains. Look at the US it does not stop police being shot and killed there.

I would hazard a guess more police are shot and killed in the USA per head of population there than here in the UK

A sad day for sure RIP to the two lady police officers

Think your wrong. In UK the illegal guns are out there, believe me. If the Police were armed in UK perhaps gutless scrotes would think again.

USA is different cos folk can own guns and so there are millions in circulation,usually it's the illegal guns that kill, of which the USA is awash with.

The UK law changed to ban firearms some years back. My two magnums were crushed and are probably washing machines now.

[cdnvic]

Maybe police in UK should have guns?

By the sounds of it, it wouldn't have made a difference here.

[luckyman]

"The double murder shocked Britain where most police officers are unarmed due to the low number of fatal gun attacks on police."

It's time to change that, I hope?

[JemJem]

Maybe police in UK should have guns?

By the sounds of it, it wouldn't have made a difference here.

I disagree. It COULD have made a difference.

I am someone in favor of strict gun control but the fact of most UK police officers' not being able to carry guns is plain silly.

[rotary]

Almost every country is the world are too easy on criminals

[bkk_mike]

Maybe police in UK should have guns?

By the sounds of it, it wouldn't have made a difference here.

I disagree. It COULD have made a difference.

I am someone in favor of strict gun control but the fact of most UK police officers' not being able to carry guns is plain silly.

Sorry, but I far prefer it if that the UK is a country where the police in general don't need guns, as it greatly reduces the odds of them shooting someone by accident..

The last time armed police were widely used in the UK was after the terrorist attacks on 7/7. And the only person shot was someone who ran because he'd overstayed his visa and had the bad luck to be carrying a rucksack on a tube train. (Jean de Menezes)..

[organic]

The guy has a black (to try to look nastier, presumably) glass eye and claims he lost his eye in a fight with Thai police.

[JemJem]

Maybe police in UK should have guns?

By the sounds of it, it wouldn't have made a difference here.

I disagree. It COULD have made a difference.

I am someone in favor of strict gun control but the fact of most UK police officers' not being able to carry guns is plain silly.

Sorry, but I far prefer it if that the UK is a country where the police in general don't need guns, as it greatly reduces the odds of them shooting someone by accident..

The last time armed police were widely used in the UK was after the terrorist attacks on 7/7. And the only person shot was someone who ran because he'd overstayed his visa and had the bad luck to be carrying a rucksack on a tube train. (Jean de Menezes)..

I disagree but anyway, I shan't continue this debate for now

This guy is an extremely dangerous one, and, if he gets anything less than a life sentence, after this crime, shame on the UK judicial system.