Background
Raoul Thomas Moat was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, in 1973. He worked at various times as a nightclub bouncer and a tree surgeon in the Newcastle area. By 2010 he had a long and troubled personal history, including a turbulent relationship with his former partner, Samantha Stobbart, with whom he had a child.
In early July 2010, Moat was released from Durham Prison, having served a sentence relating to an assault. While he was imprisoned, his relationship with Stobbart had ended, and she had begun a new relationship. Moat reportedly became convinced, mistakenly, that her new partner was a police officer, a belief that fed his anger in the days following his release.
The Shootings
In the early hours of 3 July 2010, Moat shot Samantha Stobbart and her new partner, Christopher Brown, at a house in Birtley, Gateshead. Christopher Brown, aged 29, was killed. Samantha Stobbart was seriously wounded but survived her injuries.
The following day, on 4 July 2010, Moat shot a police officer, PC David Rathband, while Rathband sat in his patrol car in East Denton, Newcastle. The unprovoked attack left Rathband permanently blinded. The attacks prompted one of the largest manhunts in recent British history, with Moat regarded as armed and extremely dangerous.
The Manhunt
Following the shootings, Northumbria Police launched a major operation to locate Moat, who had fled and was believed to be hiding in rural Northumberland. The search drew in large numbers of officers and specialist firearms units, and assistance was reported from forces and agencies beyond the local area.
During the period he was at large, Moat issued threats against the public and the police, heightening public anxiety across the region. The manhunt lasted roughly six days, concentrating in the area around the town of Rothbury, Northumberland, where Moat was eventually traced. The case attracted intense national media coverage throughout the search.
Standoff and Death
Moat was found in Rothbury, and on the night of 9 to 10 July 2010 a prolonged standoff took place between Moat and armed police near the River Coquet. Negotiators sought to persuade him to surrender peacefully over a period of several hours.
The standoff ended in the early hours of 10 July 2010 when Moat died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. During the confrontation, police deployed Taser-type devices; the precise sequence of events surrounding his death was later the subject of an inquest. An inquest jury concluded that Moat had killed himself.
Aftermath and Legacy
The case had a lasting impact on those affected. PC David Rathband, who was blinded in the attack, later founded a charity to support emergency workers injured in the line of duty. He died in February 2012; an inquest recorded that he had taken his own life, underscoring the long-term human toll of the events.
The manhunt and its conclusion prompted public debate in the United Kingdom about police firearms procedures, the use of less-lethal weapons, and the handling of high-profile fugitive operations. Reviews and an inquest examined the police response. The case remains one of the most widely reported British manhunts of its era.
