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| Care home shooting: manager tells how she disarmed alleged gunman | Care home shooting: manager tells how she disarmed alleged gunman |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| The manager of a care home where an 81-year-old woman was shot dead has described how she convinced the alleged gunman to hand over his weapon. | |
| Julie Curtis confronted him after the shooting of a resident, named by police as Rita King, at the De La Mer residential home in Essex, on Monday morning. | |
| “I put my left arm around him and put his right arm between him and the gun and said, ‘Please, please give me the gun’, and he let go,” said Curtis, who has run the home in the seaside town of Walton-on-the-Naze for two years. | “I put my left arm around him and put his right arm between him and the gun and said, ‘Please, please give me the gun’, and he let go,” said Curtis, who has run the home in the seaside town of Walton-on-the-Naze for two years. |
| She also told reporters that, as the man had fired the gun earlier, he mumbled: “She has had enough.” | |
| An 86-year-old man, who is believed to have been King’s husband and who had checked himself in for a week over Christmas, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder. A revolver that was recovered from the scene was due to be examined by forensic and ballistic experts. | |
| Emergency services were called shortly after 9am on Monday following reports that a woman had been seriously injured. She was declared dead at the scene, and police said she was believed to have been shot. | Emergency services were called shortly after 9am on Monday following reports that a woman had been seriously injured. She was declared dead at the scene, and police said she was believed to have been shot. |
| The incident took place in a communal area of the 57-bed home. On hearing shots, staff moved in to disarm the man, police said. Detectives have recovered a weapon and are not looking for any one else in connection with their investigation. | The incident took place in a communal area of the 57-bed home. On hearing shots, staff moved in to disarm the man, police said. Detectives have recovered a weapon and are not looking for any one else in connection with their investigation. |
| DCI Simon Werrett, leading the investigation, said: “It is an unusual investigation. Both parties involved are residents in the care home. We are speaking with members of staff to find out if they witnessed any unusual behaviour this morning.” | DCI Simon Werrett, leading the investigation, said: “It is an unusual investigation. Both parties involved are residents in the care home. We are speaking with members of staff to find out if they witnessed any unusual behaviour this morning.” |
| Speaking outside the home, he said: “The weapon has been recovered from the man’s possession … Members of staff stepped in to remove the weapon from the man.” Scene of crime officers were seen searching a downstairs bedroom, but Werrett confirmed: “The incident did not take place in a bedroom. It took place in a communal area.” | Speaking outside the home, he said: “The weapon has been recovered from the man’s possession … Members of staff stepped in to remove the weapon from the man.” Scene of crime officers were seen searching a downstairs bedroom, but Werrett confirmed: “The incident did not take place in a bedroom. It took place in a communal area.” |
| Curtis said at first she had not realised the gun was real or if anybody had been injured. “First of all I thought it wasn’t real,” she told the BBC. “I thought it was a toy gun, and than as I got nearer, I could see that it was a real gun. | |
| “I was aware that I had two staff behind and aware that there were other residents nearby, and all I can remember thinking was: ‘Somehow I have got to get that gun’.” | |
| Adding that staff had dealt with the situation brilliantly, she told the Press Association: “It’s a shock – I cannot believe it happened at a residential care home. Our staff have been brilliant, staying calm and speaking to the residents who live here. Under the circumstances, everyone is coping very well.” | |
| A police guard has been put in place at premises, on Naze Park Road, while forensic searches are carried out. | A police guard has been put in place at premises, on Naze Park Road, while forensic searches are carried out. |
| Eric Moseley, 69, who lives opposite the care home, said he heard two or three bangs, but at the time put it down to military testing on nearby Ministry of Defence land. “I put it down to the testing we hear quite often,” he said. “To be honest, the first I really knew of it was when five police cars, two ambulances and one paramedic car turned up. I knew it was serious then.” | |
| The local Ukip MP, Douglas Carswell, described the news as “very shocking”. “If you have a loved one in a care home, you expect them to be safe,” he said. “People need to know the exact circumstances of what happened. It is extremely disturbing. Walton-on-the-Naze is supposed to be one of the most peaceful and tranquil places there is. Elderly people want to be in a peaceful and tranquil environment. Of all the places you expect this to happen, this is the last.” | |
| Carswell added: “I know the care home well; I have been several times. I know the staff are very good people and they must be fairly shocked by this.” | Carswell added: “I know the care home well; I have been several times. I know the staff are very good people and they must be fairly shocked by this.” |
| The deceased’s next of kin have been informed. | |