Dozens of armed police formed a ring of steel around Basildon Hospital after a traveller died there following a shooting at his campsite.
Detectives launched a murder hunt for the gunman, armed with a shotgun, still on the loose hours after the attack at the Oak Lane site, near Crays Hill, at about 11am on Saturday.
The victim has been named as 37-year-old Billy Williams, who lived at the traveller site. A post-mortem examination revealed a single gunshot wound to the chest killed the traveller.
On alert - armed police at Basildon Hospital, where fights broke out after a man was shot Picture: MAXINE CLARKE
Trouble flared when more than 60 travellers - many them believed to be from the same family - descended on the hospital.
Officers had to break up fighting between the group and disperse some of the troublemakers.
No arrests were made. Stunned visitors watched in disbelief as armed officers, clutching machine guns, guarded entrances to the busy building.
Around 50 officers - ten of them from the Essex Police armed response unit - were at the hospital at the height of the trouble.
A further 50 officers, some armed, kept a close eye on the travellers' site.
Sgt Nigel Lowe, of the Essex Police armed response unit, said: "This is a major situation and we are taking no chances. I have around ten armed officers who are ready for anything.
"A man was shot and later died. He was taken to Basildon Hospital and, as a result, many of the victim's friends and family followed.
"They are naturally very upset and their feelings boiled over into a series of fights."
Published Monday October 21, 2002
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