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| Dale Cregan 'lured PCs to their deaths', court hears | Dale Cregan 'lured PCs to their deaths', court hears |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A fugitive lured police officers to him before shooting them repeatedly and then throwing a grenade at his victims, a court has heard. | A fugitive lured police officers to him before shooting them repeatedly and then throwing a grenade at his victims, a court has heard. |
| Dale Cregan, 29, had evaded a nationwide manhunt when he set the trap, Preston Crown Court heard. | Dale Cregan, 29, had evaded a nationwide manhunt when he set the trap, Preston Crown Court heard. |
| Mr Cregan denies killing PCs Nicola Hughes, 23, and Fiona Bone, 32, in Hattersley, Greater Manchester last September. | |
| He also denies the murders of David Short, 46, and his son, Mark, 23. | He also denies the murders of David Short, 46, and his son, Mark, 23. |
| Mr Nicholas Clarke QC, prosecuting, said PCs Hughes and Bone were killed as they responded to a report of a burglary on the morning of 18 September. | |
| Mr Clarke said: "He lay in wait with a Glock firearm with an extended magazine that was fully loaded. | |
| "Pc Fiona Bone and Pc Nicola Hughes attended. As soon as they arrived Cregan, who was on the run, shot the officers repeatedly, until his magazine was empty. | |
| "As he left the scene he again threw a grenade towards the victims." | |
| 'Son died in his arms' | |
| Four months earlier, former amateur boxer Mark Short was shot dead at the Cotton Tree pub in Droylsden, Greater Manchester on 25 May. | |
| His father David was found dead on 10 August following a shooting and grenade attack at a house in nearby Clayton. | |
| "At the time that his son Mark was shot, David Short, the head of the Short family, was using the toilet," said Mr Clarke. | |
| "Otherwise he himself would have been a target. His son died in his arms." | |
| David Short visited his son's grave at Droylsden cemetery every day following the murder, the court was told. | |
| 'Victim chased' | |
| But on the morning of August 10 he was at home - when his killers came calling. | |
| Mr Clarke said: "He was chased through the house and shot many times," | |
| He added: "He tried to run around the side of the house to escape. His injuries were already unsurvivable and then a grenade was thrown on to him. | |
| "Its explosion had devastating consequences for his torso." | |
| Mr Clarke continued: "It is the first time in this country that a military grenade has been deployed in this way." | |
| The trial continues. |