A friend of a mother who was killed in a car with a shotgun has told how she was being stalked by a man shortly before her murder.
Police received several reports that a shot had been fired on Farmers Gate, Newport, Shropshire, at just before 11.15pm on Friday January 26.
Neighbours told how the teenage daughter of the victim was heard screaming ‘my mum’s been shot, she’s dead’ before officers arrived to find the woman in a black Range Rover Evoque with a gunshot wound to her neck.
The smashed drivers side window of the Range Rover where the woman was shot in the neck
Police said they received several reports that a shot had been fired on Farmers Gate (pictured), Newport, Shropshire, at just before 11.15pm on Friday
The black Range Rover was covered by a forensics tent to preserve the scene against the weather as officers continue to investigate the murder
Paramedics desperately tried to save the woman, who is in her 50s, but she was declared dead at the scene.
West Mercia Police said a 45-year-old man was arrested on farmland in nearby Sutton, Staffordshire. A shotgun was also found with him.
The man, from Newport, Shropshire, was held on suspicion of murder and is currently in hospital under police guard.
One Facebook user said: ‘I know this woman and she moved to get away, he found her by stalking, shot her and my friend has lost her mom.
‘There’s nothing wrong with Shropshire. He lived in Sutton, she moved to get away from him, however he found her by stalking her.
‘I’m a friend of the lady’s family. We are all hoping he wakes up and faces justice. A court of law will [bring him to justice], that’s if he survives.
‘We are in a great deal of shock. Lovely woman and fantastic mother and she will be sadly missed and that’s all I’m prepared to say.’
Police have carried out a finger tip search at the scene of the incident in Farmers Gate
A 45-year-old man, from Newport, was arrested on farmland near Sutton. He is currently in hospital under police guard
A friend of the mother who was killed in a car with a shotgun has told how she was being stalked by a man shortly before her murder
The house, on a newly-built estate which is still being constructed, looks onto a grass and playpark area
West Mercia Police currently believe the suspect and the deceased knew one another.
Donna Campbell, 38, lives by the woman and said: ‘I heard two bangs and thought it was fireworks to start with.
‘Then I heard screaming, looked out the bedroom window and saw a silver Range Rover wheel spinning off.
I looked and a young girl was screaming ‘my mum’s been shot, my mum is dead,’
‘I phoned 999 and went out to see if I could help. The girl was just crying that her mum was dead and one of the other neighbours was on the phone to the police.
‘He was asking if I could check the lady in the car for a pulse but by that point the ambulance and police were just arriving.
‘They had only been here about three weeks. You don’t expect it.’
When officers arrived they discovered the injured woman, who was in her 50s, in the car. Paramedics attended but she was declared dead at the scene
Superintendent Sue Thomas said: ‘We are in the very early stages of our investigation and have a number of officers carrying out inquiries’
One Facebook user said: ‘I know this woman and she moved to get away, he found her by stalking, shot her and my friend has lost her mom’
Vicky Allen, 34, said: ‘I heard screams, I don’t know what time it was exactly. I was in bed and just thought it was people coming back from up town.
‘In the Range Rover we could see the shotgun hole through the back window – it’s not nice.
Debbie Beamond, 48, who lives in the area, said: ‘A man had a snood on over his face and was walking around here. I don’t know whether he had anything to do with it – loitering around.
‘You don’t expect it round here, it’s a quiet road – it’s new. The poor girl’s daughter that was in the house, they had only just moved in.’
One neighbour who wished to remain anonymous said: ‘If it’s who I think it is she was quite a nice lady.
‘That house has been occupied for about a month. It was her and a child – poor woman, no one deserves that.’
A neighbour said: ‘In the Range Rover we could see the shotgun hole through the back window – it’s not nice’
Forensic officers converse at the scene on Farmers Gate in Newport, Shropshire
Debbie Beamond, 48, who lives in the area, said: ‘A man had a snood on over his face and was walking around here. I don’t know whether he had anything to do with it – loitering around’
Superintendent Sue Thomas, from West Mercia Police, said: ‘We are in the very early stages of the investigation and a cordon remains in place at the scene and on farmland in Sutton, Staffordshire, whilst enquiries are being carried out.
‘At this time we believe the suspect and the deceased were known to each other. We are treating this as an isolated incident.
‘I understand that this incident will be concerning for the local community, and I’d like to reassure them that we will have extra officers in the area over the coming days to carry out enquiries and to provide reassurance.
‘We would ask anyone with any information which could assist with the investigation or who may have any concerns to please come forward or to speak with a local officer.
‘Our thoughts remain with the family of the victim, who is being supported by specially trained officers at this time.’
Anyone with information should call 101 and quote incident 725s of 26 January 2018 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
One neighbour who wished to remain anonymous said: ‘If it’s who I think it is she was quite a nice lady’
A Paramedic removes emergency ambulance equipment that was at the scene to treat the woman, in her 50s who died
Police say: ‘We will be stepping up patrols in the area overnight and over the weekend to provide reassurance to the community’
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