Pc shot helping colleagues
Brave Midland Pc Ricky Gray was shot dead as he rushed to the aid of two colleagues who were being held at gunpoint.
Pc Ricky Gray was blasted once in the head by Peter Medlicott, who had forced two unarmed officers to face a wall.
Pc Gray, aged 43, was first on the scene in an armed response vehicle and almost immediately gunned down rushing to help his colleagues.
Medlicott – described as a loner who enjoyed shooting and fishing – shot himself in the head with the same .222 rifle, which was legally held for his pest control business.
Married father-of-two Pc Gray, who had five police commendations to his name, was wearing his stab-proof vest.
But West Mercia Constabulary was unable to say if he was wearing additional body armour.
Officers initially responded to reports of an argument between Medlicott and his girlfriend Mildred Day at their flat in Shrewsbury shortly after 6am on Sunday.
Det Ch Insp Sheila Thornes, who is leading the investigation, said today: "There were no initial reports of firearms being involved.
"However, when the officers arrived, they were challenged by a man who held them at gunpoint.
"The officers used their radios to call for support, and an armed response vehicle was sent to the scene," she added.
"Both authorised firearms officers were armed, and as they went forward they were confronted by a man who shot Pc Ricky Gray.
"Approximately an hour later, the body of a man, now identified as Medlicott, was located by officers close to the scene."
Post-mortems carried out on the men revealed they both died from single gunshot wounds to the head.
Witnesses said Medlicott was ordered out of the Plough pub, near his home in the Castlefields area of the town, at about midnight on Saturday.
Residents saw him in the early hours of the morning on the roof of a garden shed, throwing stones at the windows of his flat.
West Mercia Constabulary said it was working closely with the Independent Police Complaints Commission to establish the full details of what happened.
