Police officers involved in a shooting in the Somerset town of Castle Cary
The Avon and Somerset Police firearms officers were on patrol in the early hours of January 23 when they were called to a report of a gun being fired in Castle Cary.
The officers attended a house in Park Street, where gunman Daniel Hannam was waiting with an armed shotgun.
Daniel Hannam. As the officers approached the house, one reported seeing a “twitching” movement near an upstairs window - seconds before Hannam fired the gun.
“I thought this is it – I’m going to die”
One of the officers, referred to in court during Hannam’s trial as IX, told jurors he thought he was about to die.
Daniel Hannam was in no doubt why we were at that property. We repeatedly tried to engage and issue challenges to him, offering him every opportunity to give himself up peacefully.
We were protecting our colleagues who were trying to get inside and arrest him. In a matter of what felt like milliseconds, the top window opened and he fired a double barrelled shotgun – it’s something you aren’t going to forget in a hurry.
I thought this is it, I’m going to die. It’s as simple as that.
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A second firearms officer, referred to in court as IC, said “all hell broke loose” after Hannam opened fire.
The firearms officers told jurors Credit: ITV News West Country Very, very quickly all hell broke loose. There was a muzzle flash and I heard a blast. I believed I’d been shot and I didn’t know whether IX had been shot.
I returned fire to neutralise the threat as we are trained to do. It happened very, very quickly. My mind was telling me there was no way that he’d missed and it was adrenaline stopping me from feeling the injury.
Hannam made the decision to do what he did. At no point did we realise anyone else was in that address which is quite haunting in hindsight.
There’s a lot of ‘what ifs’ - I do think about that a lot. Innocent people could have been injured or worse, as a result of his actions.
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Footage recorded by a police helicopter captured the moment Hannam opened fire. Hannam, from Dorset, was found guilty of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger following a trial at Bristol Crown Court.
He was cleared of two counts of attempted murder but found guilty of the firearms offence.
The 32-year-old will be sentenced at a later date.
