A gunman on the run after a double shooting in northern England in which one man died, is also believed to have shot a traffic policeman this morning.
Northumbria Police said the officer suffered serious but not life-threatening wounds in the shooting at a roundabout in East Denton, Newcastle.
Raoul Thomas Moat (37), released from prison this week after serving a sentence for assault, is also suspected of shooting a man and a woman a few miles away in Gateshead yesterday.
The male victim was declared dead at the scene. The woman is in hospital in a critical condition. Neither has been identified.
Police said Moat approached the uniformed traffic officer and shot him in an unprovoked attack.
"We strongly believe that this was carried out by the same man who shot two people in Gateshead," said temporary chief constable Sue Sim.
"Moat is a wanted man. He is very dangerous and should not be approached by members of the public.
"We know that Moat held a grudge against the people he targeted in Gateshead yesterday. It is now believed his grudge at the moment is with the police."
Neighbours told the local newspaper that the woman was his former girlfriend and the other victim was her new boyfriend.
Witnesses said Moat shot the woman through the front window of the house. The man was shot dead in the garden, the Northern Echo reported.
One of the first people on the scene, local resident Ray Huntley, told the BBC he heard gunshots and a commotion.
"I found a body on the grass opposite the house. He was dead so I called 999," he was quoted as saying. "He had a hole in the back of his head."
Reuters