A crazed gunman shot himself dead today after blasting his partner twice in the forehead in broad daylight – as she pushed her one-month-old baby grandson in a pram.
In a chilling echo of the Raoul Moat saga, the 52-year-old man shot the unnamed woman with a pistol before fleeing the scene in Feltwell, near Brandon, Norfolk, at 11.15am.
Armed police frantically scoured the small rural village for an hour before his body was found in a field behind the street where the attack took place at 12.10pm.
The woman, 40, was still breathing and conscious when paramedics arrived.
She was rushed to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge where miraculously she remains in a serious but not life threatening condition.
The one-month-old boy suffered minor bruising to his head as she fell to the floor face down after being shot, knocking over the pram and spilling him onto the pavement.
Police and paramedics were initially called to the scene in Oak Street, Feltwell, after reports that a woman was in danger.
The victim had been walking along the pavement with her daughter and granddaughter when the attack took place.
An Oak Street resident, who wished to remain anonymous, heard two gunshots outside of her house and ran out to find the woman shot.
She said: ”They had a very on-off relationship and had just split up again.
”I came out of the house when I heard the shots and saw her lying face down on the floor.
”She had been walking with her daughter back from the doctors and was pushing her grandson in the pram when he shot her.
”When I got outside, her daughter was holding the baby and screaming and she was lying in a pool of her blood.
”I ran indoors and called an ambulance.
”It’s just so horrifying, I’m still in a state of shock.”
Neighbour Diana Smith, 52, said her husband Ken, 54, had spotted the gunman’s body lying a field 250 yards from where he is believed to have shot his partner.
She said: ”We spotted the man out of the window in the field.
”My husband told me to lock the doors while he went outside to see who the man was because we knew a shooting had just happened.
”He started throwing stones at the man and shouting at him but he did not respond.
”I phoned up my friend who was with the police and three armed officers and a police dog came towards the man before my husband got to him.
”The man had climbed over the gate into the field, which was padlocked, and can’t have walked more than three steps before he shot himself in the mouth.
”This is such a shocking thing to have happened in Feltwell, you come here to have a nice quiet life and never expect anything like this to happen.”
Police are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident and enquiries are continuing.
A spokesman for Norfolk Constabulary said that it was believed that the woman and the baby had been taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital.
He said: ”It’s believed that the people involved in this incident were known to each other and there is no threat to the wider community.”
A spokeswoman for the East of England Ambulance Service said paramedics were called to two shootings at the same location in Feltwell yesterday.
She said: “This was a challenging and traumatic situation but our call handlers and crews responded calmly and professionally and did everything possible for all the patients involved. Our praise goes out to them.
”The first call was received at 11.14am after a 40-year-old woman was shot twice in the forehead at an address on Oak Street.
”She, along with a one-month old boy who had suffered a bump to the head during the incident, was taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital by land ambulance.
”She was conscious and breathing normally and her injuries were not thought to be immediately life-threatening.
”At 12.11am paramedics went to the same address where there were reports of a 52-year-old man outside also suffering gunshot wounds to the head.
”Crews carried out CPR but at 12.31pm he was declared dead on scene.
”Both incidents in total required four land ambulances, three rapid response vehicles and two officers. The air ambulance also attended both calls but was not required to transport to hospital.”
