Unarmed Cop Shot At By Gun Nut
Tuesday, 24th January 2006

LIFE STYLE EXTRA (UK) - An unarmed policeman had a miracle escape when a gun nut fired a hail of bullets during a terrifying late night chase, it emerged today.

The gunman fled on foot after cops pulled over his Volkswagen Passat in south London in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The unarmed officer, who has not been named, cornered him in an alleyway off Croxted Road in Dulwich, but the ruthless thug pulled a gun and opened fire.

The brave cop dived for cover, escaping unharmed.

Police marksmen surrounded the scene but found no trace of the gunman who is believed to have fired at least three rounds.

Chief Superintendent Ian Thomas, head of Southwark Police, vowed to hunt the gun nut down.

He said: "This was very serious. For someone to fire at officers with absolutely no provocation is extremely worrying.

"We are doing everything we can to clampdown on gun crime and everything in our power to hunt down this individual and prosecute him."

The terrifying incident - coming just two months after the fatal shooting of PC Sharon Beshinevsky, 38, in Bradford, Yorkshire - will intensify call for officers to be routinely armed.

The majority of patrolling Met Officers are currently unarmed. They wear ballistic vests that lessen the impact of any blast, but will not stop a bullet at close range.

However Chief Supt Thomas distanced himself from calls for all police to be routinely armed.

He said: "Unarmed British officers have access to armed support. I think at the moment the balance is right."

Croxted Road was closed for four hours in the wake of the shooting just after midnight.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "Armed officers carried out a search of the area. A firearm was recovered. The passenger of the Passat was arrested in relation to this incident and our inquiries continue."


www.lse.co.uk/ShowStory.asp?story=HN2321874E&news_headline=unarmed_cop_shot_at_by_gun_nut

3 rounds is a "hail of bullets"?

Glad to hear the peeler is OK, but jeeze, why don't they just review the surveilance tapes and check the GPS and facial recognition software systems....

Wow, could you throw in any more buzz-words and hype into one short arcticle.

The reporting sounds like a freaking kid's action book. I guess they consider a "gun nut" something different over there. Sounds like the guy was a simple thug.

A few questions...

How is the cop "brave" simply because he was fired upon without being hit?  That doesn't make you brave, that makes you lucky.

When, exactly, did three rounds become a "hail of bullets?"

When was it decided that a criminal with a gun was a "gun nut?"

-James

how did the "gun nut" get a handgun.. aren't handguns banned in the UK?

A "hail" of 3 bullets fired... what a maniac.

Passats and WVs are chick cars.

Can you imagine how they would describe it if the cop had shot back?

what kind of self respecting gun nut drives a passat?

Im gonna root for the gun nut on this one.  The police and government are the enemy of england, too bad the real hero didnt take him out.

So the guy had a .32?

Freaking gun nuts are out of control over there.

By calling this criminal a "gun nut" they are attempting to draw a link between him and law-abiding firearms enthusiasts like us.

How Orwellian.

The nuts are the people that patrol at night UNARMED .

rj

"The majority of patrolling Met Officers are currently unarmed. They wear ballistic vests that lessen the impact of any blast, but will not stop a bullet at close range."


No shit, they wear stab vests....

wow, I thought this article was a joke

Gun nut?
The actually say "gun nut"
Wow.
Guess Airstrip one is getting ready for some "two minute hate"

A hail of bullets?


At least 3?  that is not a hail.

We all know that guns are banned in the U.K., so this cannot be true. I'll bet that if this is true it is the fault of the U.S. The guns here are overflowing into the U.K.

Quoted: wow, I thought this article was a joke

Police in the UK are a joke.

all of you people who think that you would "vote from the rooftops" if the government here ever came for your guns:

read this article CAREFULLY.

this is EXACTLY how you will be written about. only the names and locations will be changed.

Liberal translation hail of bullets more then two!

I’ve dived out gun fire many times I didn’t think I was brave just smart.

Does anyone else notice how messed up all this is?
ETA:Ok, after reading some of the responses, yes you guys did notice.

gun nut

fired a hail of bullets

at least three rounds

Obviously an anti-gun article.

We are doing everything we can to clampdown on gun crime

Hmmmm, i though that they had passed laws there against gun owner ship by ordinary citizens, guess it ain't working is it?

The majority of patrolling Met Officers are currently unarmed

ballistic vests that lessen the impact of any blast, but will not stop a bullet at close range.

Unarmed British officers have access to armed support. I think at the moment the balance is right

Maybe it would be a good idea to ARM YOUR DAMN POLICE OFFICERS!!!!!!!!!!

This just begs for highlighting...

Quoted: Unarmed Cop Shot At By Gun Nut Tuesday, 24th January 2006 LIFE STYLE EXTRA (ok, so this is the section of the paper or the name of the whole "news" outlet?) (UK) - An unarmed policeman had a miracle escape when a gun nut fired a hail of bullets during a terrifying late night chase, it emerged today. The gunman fled on foot after cops pulled over his Volkswagen Passat in south London in the early hours of Saturday morning. The unarmed officer, who has not been named, cornered him in an alleyway off Croxted Road in Dulwich, but the ruthless thug pulled a gun and opened fire[/blue](this is the only valid statment in the article) . The brave cop dived for cover, escaping unharmed. Police marksmen (do the just train with Airsoft or carry it too?? )surrounded the scene but found no trace of the gunman who is believed to have fired at least three rounds. Chief Superintendent Ian Thomas, head of Southwark Police, vowed to hunt the gun nut down. He said: "This was very serious. For someone to fire at officers with absolutely no provocation is extremely worrying.  (Does this guy have a recurring role on Monty Python???? Insinuating that a criminal is just a "someone" like you or me....) "We are doing everything we can to clampdown on gun crime and everything in our power to hunt down this individual and prosecute him." The terrifying incident - coming just two months after the fatal shooting of PC Sharon Beshinevsky, 38, in Bradford, Yorkshire - will intensify call for officers to be routinely armed. The majority of patrolling Met Officers are currently unarmed. (Dumb Cops) They wear ballistic vests that lessen the impact of any blast, but will not stop a bullet at close range. (Dumb Reporters) However Chief Supt Thomas distanced himself from calls for all police to be routinely armed. He said: "Unarmed British officers have access to armed support. I think at the moment the balance is right."  (Again is this guy a comedian or a cop? Some of the most assinine statements I have ever heard) Croxted Road was closed for four hours in the wake of the shooting just after midnight. A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "Armed officers carried out a search of the area. A firearm was recovered. The passenger of the Passat was arrested in relation to this incident and our inquiries continue." www.lse.co.uk/ShowStory.asp?story=HN2321874E&news_headline=unarmed_cop_shot_at_by_gun_nut

dived for cover?  apparently the person who wrote that stopped going to school after fifth grade.

Wow, could you throw in any more buzz-words and hype into one short arcticle.

Newspapers and TV news have their stories already written, standard templates.  They just fill in the blanks with a few details, names, places.

For example:

An elderly lady is the victim of a home invasion.  She repells invader with her trusty old double barrel 12 ga.

Invariably the title of the story will be:

"Granny, Get Your Gun"

And there will be an accompanying photo of the old lady sighting down the barrels, aimed right at the camera.

OBVIOUSLY this is George W. Bush's fault.

Quoted: dived for cover?  apparently the person who wrote that stopped going to school after fifth grade.

Actually both Dived and Dove are acceptable English. Dived is actually somwhat more proper.
Strike one for you.

Quoted: dived for cover?  apparently the person who wrote that stopped going to school after fifth grade.

www.dictionary.reference.com

dive1  
v. dived, or dove (dv) dived, div·ing, dives

eta: the _dr. beat me.

Quoted: The nuts are the people that patrol at night UNARMED . rj

The nuts are the people that patrol at night anytime UNARMED .

Quoted: However Chief Supt Thomas distanced himself from calls for all police to be routinely armed. He said: "Unarmed British officers have access to armed support. I think at the moment the balance is right."

What a fucking idiot.

Quoted: 3 rounds is a "hail of bullets"? Glad to hear the peeler is OK, but jeeze, why don't they just review the surveilance tapes and check the GPS and facial recognition software systems....

Sad but true.

What a gun nut?

Quoted: A hail of bullets? At least 3?  that is not a hail.

Maybe from a single shot bolt gun.

I think he and the rest of them are brave. I couldnt imagine doing the job anywhere unarmed.
Pepperspray againt a butcher knife is not the way I would choose to do it.

He said: "Unarmed British officers have access to armed support. I think at the moment the balance is right."

So the cops there have to call 911?

Okay now Britian needs to ban handguns.

This crime is just out of control.

Wow it sounds like there gun control is working out just fine.  Cheers.

Maybe I could sue them for slandering my old license plates;

big deal...i bet that kinda stuff happens 5 times a week in big cities here in the states
im sure some of the cops on this board could vouch for that