Suspects wanted for PC's murder still at large

Detectives investigating the murder of policewoman Sharon Beshenivsky are still hunting for two prime suspects.

The two wanted men are members of a 20-strong London drugs gang known to have undertaken a number of robberies in the capital. Detectives are hopeful that an important advance in the investigation will link the pair to the murder of PC Beshenivsky, who died from a single gunshot wound to the chest as she and a colleague encountered three armed raiders in Bradford on Friday.

Investigations into the identities of the gang members are centring on London's Somali community, four members of which were arrested at the weekend. Five of the six suspects were released yesterday, four on bail and one without charges. The other is still in police custody.

West Yorkshire and Metropolitan Police detectives are working in tandem on the case. The search for the killers turned to London on Saturday after the registration plate of their silver 4x4 getaway car - a rental vehicle which had been hired by one of the six people placed under arrest - was captured by remote-controlled cameras in Bradford.

An eyewitness to the murder has described how the gang that murdered PC Beshenivsky also attempted to kill her colleague, PC Teresa Milburn, as she rushed to her dying partner's aid.

The witness, a man known only as Robert, said he was working nearby when he saw three black or Asian men wearing smart, dark suits shoot PC Beshenivsky as she opened the door to a travel agency. He then saw the men fire at PC Milburn as she ran to her colleague's aid.