Shepherd's Bush murders

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Shepherd's Bush murders
The crime scene, including the Q-car and body of DC David Wombwell lying in the road
Location	Braybrook Street, London, England, UK
Date	12 August 1966 (1966-08-12) around 3:15 pm
Target	DS Christopher Head DC David Wombwell PC Geoffrey Fox
Attack type	Massacre
Weapons	Luger pistol, Webley .38 Service Revolver
Deaths	3 policemen
Perpetrators	Harry Roberts John Duddy John Witney

The Shepherd's Bush murders, also known as the Massacre of Braybrook Street, involved the murder of three police officers in London by Harry Roberts, John Duddy and John Witney in 1966.^[1]

The officers had stopped to question the three men as they were sitting in a car on Braybrook Street, near Wormwood Scrubs prison. Roberts shot dead Temporary Detective Constable David Wombwell and Detective Sergeant Christopher Head, while Duddy shot dead Police Constable Geoffrey Fox.

The three men went on the run, initiating a large manhunt. All three were eventually arrested and subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment. Duddy died in prison in 1981. Witney, the driver of the criminals' vehicle, was also convicted of the murders; he was released from prison in 1991 but was killed in 1999 in an unconnected incident. Roberts became one of the longest-serving prisoners in British history, serving 48 years before his controversial release in 2014.

Public sympathy for the families of the victims resulted in the establishment of the Police Dependants' Trust – now amalgamated into the charity Police Care UK^[2] to assist the welfare of families of British police officers who have died in the line of duty.^[3]