Man shot dead by police in Coventry named as Sean Fitzgerald

A man shot dead by police during an operation at an address in Coventry has been named by friends as Sean Fitzgerald.

Two more men were detained on suspicion of a drugs offence in the raid on a property in Burnaby Road on Friday evening.

An inquiry into the shooting, which happened during an “intelligence-led” operation, has been launched by the independent police watchdog.

Sky News has obtained footage showing officers as they are about to enter the property.

Tributes have been paid to Mr Fitzgerald, who police say was 31.

One friend, who said he had seen Mr Fitzgerald shortly before he was killed, described him as a “very, very good guy” and that he believed he posed “no threat or danger”.

A family member wrote online that she was “absolutely gutted” by the death, while another friend paid tribute to a man who was “one of a kind” and “would be there for anyone”.

Investigators from the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) will examine footage from cameras being worn by the officers involved, as well as CCTV.

In a statement, West Midlands Police said: “One man was shot and pronounced dead at the scene while two other men were detained by officers.”

The force later said the two 26-year-old men remained in custody on suspicion of involvement in the production of cannabis.

Sue Southern, of West Midlands Police, responded to claims Mr Fitzgerald had been shot in the back, saying: “From the information I have at this point, that is not my understanding.

“Body-worn video has been examined and there will be a full forensic post-mortem and the findings of that will form part of the independent IOPC investigation.”

A large number of police cars, along with emergency service vehicles, were reported around Burnaby Road, a mostly residential street north of the city centre, during the operation.

Householders were told to remain indoors as a section of the street was closed.

Resident Regina Hughes told Sky News she heard a lot of noise and saw about “four cars full of armed police”.

Fire engineer Karl Lolley, a father-of-two who lives behind the police cordon, said he heard “four or five” gunshots after witnessing officers enter the property.

The 39-year-old said: “I saw three or four armed police cars turn up. Five to six armed officers got out and they went in the front door. There were some gunshots.

“The next thing you know there’s more police arriving and they cordon off the area.

“They carry a person out on a stretcher, they put him in an ambulance – the lights on the ambulance were flashing for about half an hour…

“Then they turned the lights off and they drove off slowly.”

The area around the scene remained cordoned off on Saturday.

The IOPC confirmed it had opened an inquiry into the shooting of Mr Fitzgerald during a “pre-planned operation”.

IOPC regional director Amanda Rowe: “Our investigation is in its very early stages and we will be working hard to establish what happened. My thoughts are with the man’s family and all of those affected by this incident.

“The next steps will be to view the body-worn video footage and establish if there are any local CCTV recordings. At this stage we are looking at the circumstances of the incident and all officers remain witnesses to our investigation.”

Mr Fitzgerald’s next-of-kin have been informed.

(c) Sky News 2019: Man shot dead by police in Coventry named as Sean Fitzgerald