PC's killers: 'Significant' development promised
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Detectives hunting the killers of PC Sharon Beshenivsky expect "significant developments" imminently, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner said.
Sir Ian Blair's comments yesterday followed an announcement from West Yorkshire Police that they were "actively seeking" three men in connection with the shooting of the 38-year-old officer and her colleague Teresa Milburn, 37, in Bradford last Friday. Five men and a woman who were arrested in London over the weekend have all been released.
Met Police officers, including specialist units, were providing a "significant amount" of support to their West Yorkshire colleagues as the focus of the investigation remained in the capital, Sir Ian said.
Asked if this operational activity was directed at the Somali community, the commissioner replied: "It is others than just the Somali community. There are a number of communities involved in this. These appear to be fairly chaotic gangs, they coalesce and separate."
Detective Superintendent Andy Brennan, who is leading the inquiry, appealed for information about a silver Toyota RAV-4 all-terrain vehicle, registration number WP05 YTT, which officers have now tracked down. He said the vehicle was hired at Heathrow on 25 October. "We believe the vehicle travelled to West Yorkshire from London in the early hours of Friday, 18 November, and returned to London later that evening," said Mr Brennan.
The two women officers were shot as they responded to an alarm triggered by a member of staff during a robbery at a travel agency. PC Beshenivsky, who had three children, was shot in the chest and was pronounced dead in hospital.