The huge police manhunt to capture Raoul Moat which involved officers from Greater Manchester
manchestereveningnews.co.ukIt's been almost 13 years since Britain's largest manhunt took place in Northumbria, in a bid to detain gunman Raoul Moat. The 37-year-old fugitive evaded police, sleeping rough in the market town of Rothbury for a week, after shooting and injuring his ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart and killing her new boyfriend, karate instructor Christopher Brown in Birtley, Gateshead.
The former bouncer, from Newcastle, had a vendetta against the police and days later shot PC David Rathbone twice in the face, blinding him.
He then went on the run, provoking an almost week-long manhunt involving hundreds of officers from across the country. Northumbria Police called on reinforcements from specially trained armed response officers from eight other police forces, including Greater Manchester. READ MORE: Join the FREE Manchester Evening News WhatsApp community Sniper teams, helicopters and armoured anti-terrorist police vehicles from Northern Ireland were also used in the efforts.
Armed officers were deployed to schools across the area and pupils were kept under temporary lockdown for fear that Moat might be close by.
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