Norfolk gunshot victim and gunman named

The woman who was gunned down by her boyfriend as she pushed her one-month-old grandson in a pram was named locally today as Rachel Puttock, 40.

The gunman, believed to be her ex-partner, was named locally as Mark Osler, 52, also known as ”Ozzy”.

Mum-of-two Mrs Puttock was pushing her daughter Lesley Puttocks’s infant son in a pram when Osler shot her twice in the middle of the forehead with a pistol.

Her daughter Lesley looked on with horror as her mother was gunned down on the pavement of a quiet residential street in Feltwell, near Brandon, Norfolk.

Neighbours rushed to help Mrs Puttock and attempted to stem her bleeding before the ambulance arrived.

Unemployed Osler, who is described as having tattoos on his hands and face, fled the scene to nearby fields where he shot himself in the mouth with a pistol.

Neighbours said father-of-three Mark Osler was a local lorry driver who had been unemployed for at least three years.

Pam George, 64, was tending to her flowers in her garden, which overlooks the field where Osler shot himself.

She said: ”I heard a loud bang and thought it was a crow scarer.

”I looked across the field and saw a man lying on the ground.

”I thought he was lying still for a long time. Then I saw all the police come running out into the field with their guns.

”I didn’t see him shoot himself but I heard it. A local doctor was out in the field trying to revive him.”

Osler had been dating Rachel Puttock on and off for the past three years but neighbours said they understood the couple had split up for at least three months.

Mrs Puttock is still married to her husband David Puttock but the pair have been separated for three years.

A woman who described herself as a friend of Osler said the couple were ”forever breaking up”.

She said: ”They were on-off all the time. Mark was my mate, he was a lorry driver but had been out of work for around three years.

”Rachel was still married to David. He wasn’t happy with what was going on, as you can imagine.”

A neighbour who did not wish to be named told how ”dozens of people came out to the street” when the sound of gunfire disturbed the tranquil rural village.

She said: ”I was walking up Oak Street and saw a woman with a pram lying face down on the ground.

”I couldn’t get close because there were lots of people around her and one of them was on a mobile phone.

”I hadn’t realised she was shot, it was awful.”

Another neighbour said Osler had split up with his wife around three years ago and they had three children together.

Osler moved into the Alms houses in Oak Street around eight months ago.

A neighbour said: ”Mark was always in trouble as a young lad. He married into a family which is known for causing bother around here.

”Mark caused havoc in the village when he was young but I thought he had calmed down.”

Neighbours said in recent months police had been called to the address on a number of occasions.