Hells Angel shot dead on M40 motorway Horror scene ... biker, ringed, died at scene By VERONICA LORRAINE and JOHN SCOTT August 13, 2007 A HELLS ANGEL was shot dead on the motorway as he rode home from a festival yesterday. The biker, 33, was heading south with three gang mates when a car drew alongside, and a passenger leaned out and opened fire with a pistol. He was hit in the neck and tumbled to the ground. An air ambulance was called to the scene near Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, but the man had “very serious injuries” and died. The attacker sped south in the saloon car after the attack. Police are appealing for witnesses. Thousands were caught up in gridlock as police closed the M40 for six hours. Revving up ... Hells Angels at start of the Bulldog Bash Checks were being made on CCTV cameras on the motorway. The Hells Angel had been at the four-day Bulldog Bash at Long Marston airfield near Stratford - billed as Europe’s number one biker party. Bulldog Bash organiser Bilbo, 56 — a Hells Angel for 30 years — said: “We have no idea what happened. He was a fine man —a brother. “We are flabbergasted. It’s dangerous to guess why he was shot. It’s deeply shocking.” Last night police said the biker may have been the victim of a revenge attack after a long-running feud with a rival gang. An officer on the case said: “He was on the inside lane travelling at a normal speed when the car drew alongside and a passenger in the vehicle opened fire. “He was hit once in the neck at close range and it was fatal. We do not think that this was the result of anything that happened at the Bulldog Bash, but believe its origins may date back further. “We are checking for any other incident that might explain a possible revenge attack against this individual or his gang.” A police spokeswoman said this morning detectives had ruled out a road rage type attack and were treating it as murder. Officers want to trace a green Rover 620 car seen travelling south on the M40 close to a group of motorcyclists at around the time of the incident. Police would like to speak to the driver and occupants of this car. A post-mortem examination will be carried out today and the victim has not been formally identified. The spokeswoman said the force was opening inquiries into whether or not the biker had been specifically targeted. After the shooting at 2.20pm, cops cordoned off the motorway in both directions between junctions 12 and 13 near Banbury, causing chaos for drivers heading home after a weekend away. Sarah Park, 31, from Chester, was caught up in the jam. She said: “Everything came to a complete standstill. “We were sitting there for two hours. Eventually the police guided us off on a sliproad.” The Bulldog Bash, which ran from Thursday, attracted 25,000 visitors for a line-up that included Status Quo, The Damned and The Wurzels. Hells Angel shot dead on M40 motorway Horror scene ... biker, ringed, died at scene By VERONICA LORRAINE and JOHN SCOTT August 13, 2007 A HELLS ANGEL was shot dead on the motorway as he rode home from a festival yesterday. The biker, 33, was heading south with three gang mates when a car drew alongside, and a passenger leaned out and opened fire with a pistol. He was hit in the neck and tumbled to the ground. An air ambulance was called to the scene near Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, but the man had “very serious injuries” and died. The attacker sped south in the saloon car after the attack. Police are appealing for witnesses. Thousands were caught up in gridlock as police closed the M40 for six hours. Revving up ... Hells Angels at start of the Bulldog Bash Checks were being made on CCTV cameras on the motorway. The Hells Angel had been at the four-day Bulldog Bash at Long Marston airfield near Stratford - billed as Europe’s number one biker party. Bulldog Bash organiser Bilbo, 56 — a Hells Angel for 30 years — said: “We have no idea what happened. He was a fine man —a brother. “We are flabbergasted. It’s dangerous to guess why he was shot. It’s deeply shocking.” Last night police said the biker may have been the victim of a revenge attack after a long-running feud with a rival gang. An officer on the case said: “He was on the inside lane travelling at a normal speed when the car drew alongside and a passenger in the vehicle opened fire. “He was hit once in the neck at close range and it was fatal. We do not think that this was the result of anything that happened at the Bulldog Bash, but believe its origins may date back further. “We are checking for any other incident that might explain a possible revenge attack against this individual or his gang.” A police spokeswoman said this morning detectives had ruled out a road rage type attack and were treating it as murder. Officers want to trace a green Rover 620 car seen travelling south on the M40 close to a group of motorcyclists at around the time of the incident. Police would like to speak to the driver and occupants of this car. A post-mortem examination will be carried out today and the victim has not been formally identified. The spokeswoman said the force was opening inquiries into whether or not the biker had been specifically targeted. After the shooting at 2.20pm, cops cordoned off the motorway in both directions between junctions 12 and 13 near Banbury, causing chaos for drivers heading home after a weekend away. Sarah Park, 31, from Chester, was caught up in the jam. She said: “Everything came to a complete standstill. “We were sitting there for two hours. Eventually the police guided us off on a sliproad.” The Bulldog Bash, which ran from Thursday, attracted 25,000 visitors for a line-up that included Status Quo, The Damned and The Wurzels. Hell's Angel shooting may have been gang murder 13.08.07 A Hell's Angel shot dead on a motorway after leaving Europe's largest biker festival may have been murdered in a dispute between rival motorbike gangs, police said yesterday. Gerard Tobin, 33, was shot once in the head at close range while riding in the middle lane of the M40 minutes after leaving the event on Sunday afternoon. Believed to be Canadian, he had lived in London for a number of years and was returning home from the Bulldog Bash festival at Long Marston Airfield, near Statfordupon-Avon, Warwickshire. The motorway was closed north and south between junctions 12 and 13 Last night, as a police search of the motorway drew to a close, Hell's Angels were vowing revenge against the hitman on Internet biker chatrooms. The murder followed a similar incident on the same stretch of the south-bound carriageway near Leamington Spa after the 2001 festival when a biker - also Canadian - was shot in the leg. He survived, but in both cases the gunman pulled alongside a group of three motorcyclists in a dark car. The M40 was closed for more than 24 hours while police made a fingertip search of the road Warwickshire Police are appealing for information about a green Rover 620 seen close to the group on Sunday. Mr Tobin was riding just ahead of two Polish bikers, who stopped at the scene and are being treated as 'significant witnesses'. Detective Superintendent Ken Lawrence said: "It is a feasible possibility that there could have been some rivalry between different motorcycle gangs and we will be looking to see if that has played a role in the murder. "We need to investigate this man's background to see if he may have upset anybody." He said the killer could have used the Bulldog Bash as a means of tracking down their victim. "The event gathers huge numbers of people from across Europe, and if someone was seeking revenge, the event would be a good place to find someone," he added. Yesterday an officer involved in the case said witnesses had reported seeing a car pull alongside the biker. "A passenger in the vehicle opened fire", he said. "He was hit once at close range. "We do not think that this was the result of anything that happened at the Bulldog Bash, but believe its origins may date back further." Burly bikers show off their machines at the festival

Hells Angels Bikers' feud could hold key to M40 motorway murder

· Police rule out road rage as possible motive
· Detectives trying to trace occupants of green Rover

Duncan Campbell and Matthew Taylor
Tuesday August 14, 2007

Guardian

Police were last night examining the possibility of a motorcycle club feud as they hunted for the gunman who shot dead a member of the Hells Angels on the M40 on Sunday afternoon. The man was killed with a single shot from a handgun as he was returning home on his motorcycle from the Bulldog Bash festival, attended by bikers from across the world.

The police have ruled out road rage as a motive, but are looking at other potential motives, including the possibility of a row between members of different groups. Six years ago, another biker leaving the festival was also shot on the motorway, but not fatally.

Although Warwickshire police have yet to confirm his identity, the dead man is understood to be Gerry Tobin, 35, who worked for a Harley-Davidson dealer in south London.

After a postmortem yesterday afternoon by a Home Office pathologist, Dr Edwin Tapp, a police spokesperson said the victim had died from a single shot to the back of the head.

He was hit as he and two companions, both understood to be Polish, travelled south on the M40 between junctions 12 and 13, near Leamington Spa. He was certified dead at the scene by paramedics.

No one at the Hells Angels premises in Hackney, east London, would comment on the murder yesterday and there was no reference to the victim on the In Memoriam section of the club's website. A spokeswoman for Harley-Davidson also said the company had no comment.

Police investigating the murder appealed to the public for information as about 50 specialist officers searched for evidence on a stretch of motorway either side of the crime scene. The motorway was finally reopened to traffic yesterday afternoon.

Detectives are also seeking information about a green Rover 620 car which was seen travelling close to the motorcyclist at the time of the shooting. They would like to hear from any motorists travelling on the A46 near to junction 15 with the M40, and anyone travelling on the M40, who may have seen the car and who could describe the driver and any of the passengers.

Detective Superintendent Ken Lawrence, who is heading the inquiry, said: "We are not aware of any incidents at the Bulldog Bash event which could be directly linked to the death."

The Bulldog Bash, which was celebrating its 21st anniversary with music from Status Quo, the Damned, the Sensational Alex Harvey Band and the Wurzels, bills itself as "the safest festival in the land". Apart from the music, there were also motorcycle stunts, exhibitions, competitions and topless bike washes. There was no evidence of any clashes at the event.

Backstory

A squadron of world war one fighter pilots is credited with coining the Hells Angels name, but a breakaway group from the Pissed Off Bastards of San Bernadino, California, formed the first club in 1948. Now there are more than 100 chapters in more than 30 countries, including Croatia, Liechtenstein and South Africa.

In Britain, the club has a fairly low-key reputation and raises money for charity. In the US, members became notorious after a fatal stabbing during a Rolling Stones concert in 1969 at Altamont, where they had been hired to handle security. They were responsible for more drug trafficking than any other gang in the US, according to a 2005 FBI report.

The 4,000-strong Mongols biker gang has chapters in California, Nevada, Oklahoma, Colorado, Arizona and Montana, while the Bandidos is now reputedly the fastest growing US gang.

Eight people are awaiting trial for one of Canada's worst mass killings - in 2006 eight Bandidos members were shot dead, allegedly part of "an internal cleansing" of the gang.

In Australia, groups such as the Nomads, Outlaws, Hells Angels, Rebels, Comancheros and Bandidos are heavily involved in organised crime. In Europe, three dominant groups, Hells Angels, Bandidos and the Outlaws, are said to be involved in crimes ranging from drug smuggling to contract killings. They are particularly prominent in Nordic countries and in Germany and Belgium.

In Sweden, conflict between the Hells Angels and the Bandidos from 1994 to 1997 resulted in 11 people being killed.