A gunman wanted for three shootings killed himself early on Saturday during a standoff with marksmen and negotiators in rural northeast England, Reuters reported. Raoul Moat, a 37-year-old former bodybuilder and nightclub bouncer who bore a grudge against police, was surrounded by armed officers on a riverbank in the picturesque town of Rothbury in Northumberland where he had been living rough. Extra armed police officers, snipers and armoured vehicles were rushed to the area to help a week-long manhunt for Moat who had declared war on police and later threatened the public. British police do not routinely carry firearms. The police had even turned to the military for advice. "We can now confirm that Raoul Moat died in hospital early this morning," police said in a statement. Moat was wanted for the shooting of his ex-girlfriend, the killing of her boyfriend and the shooting of a policeman last weekend, days after he was freed from a prison term for assault. Moat believed his former girlfriend had begun a relationship with a police officer while he was in prison. Police said this was untrue. The search for Moat came just a few weeks after police scrambled to find a taxi driver who went on the rampage in the Lake District in northern England, shooting 12 dead before apparently killing himself. -- SPA
