Assistant Chief Constable Sue Southern was responding to questions following a briefing, in which she read a statement on behalf of West Midlands Police regarding the fatal shooting of a man named locally as Sean Fitzgerald. Police officers attend the scene in the city of Coventry, central England, Saturday Jan. 5, 2019, after British police say a 31-year-old man was shot dead by armed officers, and two others were detained at the scene following an "intelligence-led" operation. Loved ones have paid tribute to Mr Fitzgerald, who lived locally, as the police watchdog opened an investigation into the shooting that followed the execution of a warrant at about 6.20pm. Friends of the deceased man paid tribute on Saturday, including one, who gave his name only as Ali, who described him as a “very, very good guy” who had served as a member of the armed forces. Ali said he believed his friend presented “no threat or danger”, and added: “He’s served for all of us – the police, everybody – in the Army up until last year.”

A family member wrote online that she was “absolutely gutted” by the death of Mr Fitzgerald, who another friend described as a “one of a kind” who “would be there for anyone”. The death of Mr Fitzgerald, believed to be a former serviceman, has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which will examine footage from body cameras being worn officers involved as well as CCTV. “Body-worn video has been examined and there will be a full forensic postmortem, and the findings of that will form part of the independent IOPC investigation.”

Police arrested two other 26-year-old men at the scene of the shooting on suspicion of involvement in the production of cannabis following a “long-running criminal investigation”. It has not been revealed if the operation was terrorism related – but witnesses described seeing a large number of officers in the area, including a significant number of police vehicles as officers executed a warrant at the address at 6.20pm.
Sean Fitzgerald, 31, is shot dead by police officers during a raid on a house in Coventry, England, United Kingdom. Two 26-year-old men were arrested during the same raid, in connection with cannabis production.