From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] EX-MERCENARY SHOT DEAD IN AIRGUN CLASH WITH POLICE 251703 SEP 10 By Mark Wilkinson and Peter Beal, PA News A former mercenary soldier who single-handedly killed nearly 50 troops in the Balkans conflict was shot dead after confronting police with an air rifle. Kirk Davies, 30, a British Army deserter who served as a sniper with the Croatian special forces, was shot last night after refusing to hand his weapon to armed police in the grounds of a secure hospital unit in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. Davies, said to have been traumatised by his role in the former Yugoslavia where he shot dead 46 Serbs, had earlier walked into a police station and pointed the rifle, disguised by camouflage netting, at officers. Shortly before midnight he was traced to the Newton Lodge secure unit and shot after twice refusing to hand over the gun and walking away. An investigation into the incident is being conducted by an officer from another force, supervised by the Police Complaints Authority. West Yorkshire Police Assistant Chief Constable Andy Brown would not say how many times Davies, of Selby, North Yorkshire, had been shot. It was too early to say whether he had fired his weapon. Davies, who bought Combat and Survival magazines from his local newsagent, died shortly afterwards in Pinderfields Hospital, Wakefield. Mr Brown said that Davies appeared to have no connection with the secure unit but just before the incident had asked to see a woman who worked at another hospital nearby. He said: "These are tragic circumstances that led to the death of Mr Davies. "We have been in contact with his family and we offer our sympathy and condolences to them." Neighbours at the house in Osgoodby, Selby, which Davies used to share with his former girlfriend, described him as troubled. One said: "He would be very pleasant one minute but he would suddenly change and become agitated and keyed up." Davies joined the Duke of Wellington's Regiment as a 19-year-old but deserted from boredom despite seeing service in Northern Ireland. He had always believed his father Tony was an SAS hero who was wounded in the Cambodian conflict. But when he returned from Bosnia at Christmas 1996, his mother told him his father's tales were untrue and that he had been an Army truck driver. Dressed in Croatian uniform and armed with a kukri knife and steel poker, Davies confronted his father to ask for an explanation after first carrying out a frenzied attack on his car. He greeted his father with the words: "My Maker" before police were called and had to use CS spray to subdue him. Davies was given a nine-month jail sentence for affray and possessing an offensive weapon, later reduced to probation on appeal after a judge heard how he was haunted by his actions in the Balkans. His barrister at the appeal, Robert Collins, said that Davies was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. "He had credited to him 46 Serbian kills. He can still see their faces and although he is coy about it, he is now terrified of battles, having seen so many of them dead," he told the court. "He was involved in the very worst of the fighting and the atrocities. "There is no doubt that this man has seen sights no-one would even wish to think about." The judge at the appeal, Recorder Aidan Marron QC, told Davies: "There is a need to address your problem and we wish you well." Davies had gone into Selby police station at around 9pm last night and pointed his rifle at the officer on the desk. No shots were fired and he drove off in a red Austin Maestro. Ninety minutes later police were called to an incident at the secure unit, where a man was reported to be threatening staff with a gun. Kenneth Pantling Bad laws are the worst sort of tyranny. (Edmund Burke�1729-97) Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
