Man fatally shot in struggle with police

An inquiry was set up yesterday after a man was fatally shot during a struggle with police officers called to investigate a domestic dispute.

James Cornhill, 30, died after being hit by a single bullet from a police handgun at his home in Mossley, Newtownabbey, near Belfast, a Royal Ulster Constabulary spokesman said.

Two police officers went to the house at about 2am yesterday to investigate a domestic violence incident after a call by a distraught woman, the spokesman said. One officer was confronted by a man who hit him with a wrench or spanner behind the left ear, and during a further struggle a shot was fired, fatally wounding the man. The injured policeman was treated in hospital, but later released.

A police inquiry has been launched and will be overseen by the Independent Commission for Police Complaints.