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Canadian Hells Angels member shot dead in U.K.

Adrian Humphreys, National Post

Published: Wednesday, August 15, 2007

A Canadian member of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club living in England was shot in the back of his head as he drove his motorcycle along a busy highway near the historic town of Stratford-Upon-Avon.

Yesterday police identified the man, who died immediately after Sunday's shooting, as Gerard Michael Tobin, 35, a Canadian citizen who has lived in England for the past 10 years. Mr. Tobin, a skilled and enthusiastic motorcycle mechanic known as "Gerry," was a popular biker who socialized with Hells Angels from around the world. He had Hells Angels tattoos and decorated the gas tank of his Harley Davidson FXSTB Night Train bike with the winged skull logo of the world's largest and most notorious biker gang.

He was riding that bike on Sunday afternoon after visiting the Bulldog Bash, a large festival hosted by Hells Angels that is billed as both "Europe's #1 biker party" and "the safest festival in the land."

He was riding with two biker friends, each on their own motorcycle, when they roared along the A46 highway, almost 80 kilometres from the site of the annual bash, held in an area known for its thatched roof cottages and as the birthplace of Shakespeare.

Police believe a green or darkcoloured Rover 620 waited at the side of the road for Mr. Tobin's convoy to pass before pulling in behind them.

The bikers were moving fast -- more than 115 kilometres per hour -- after turning south on M40 toward Mr. Tobin's South London home. The car sped up, apparently passing two of the bikers until it reached Mr. Tobin, who was riding in the lead. The car moved close to Mr. Tobin's motorcycle.

A shot from a handgun struck him low in the back of the head, just beneath his helmet, sending him sprawling to the road while his bike careered on for hundreds of metres, police said.

As Mr. Tobin lay dead on the asphalt, the Rover continued along the highway. "I need further witnesses to this car," said Detective Superintendent Ken Lawrence of the Warwickshire Police, who said the motive for what appears to have been a premeditated attack on Mr. Tobin is a mystery.

"He hadn't come to the attention of the police in any at all," he said. "Mr. Tobin was a hard-working man. He had a partner, a job as a mechanic and, we believe, was a man of good character."

Police have asked Canadian authorities to help them trace Mr. Tobin's roots in Canada as part of their investigation, looking for a possible motive for the killing in his past. "We are still trying to trace where in Canada he originates from," said Kate Turner, a police spokeswoman.

"Bilbo," a 56-year-old Hells Angel who organized the Bulldog Bash and who declined to provide his real name, said the killing is a shock to the biker community.

"We are used to deaths as bikers, because people die in accidents. But we don't expect someone to get shot. We have no idea why this happened. We're just devastated," he said. "I knew the man and you couldn't have wished to meet a more genuine or better person," he said of Mr. Tobin.

Members and supporters of the Hells Angels from around the world expressed sympathy and outrage through the Web site of the Hells Angels London chapter, where Mr. Tobin was a member.

My beloved brother, a part of me has died as well. Killed by cowards," says a post from a supporter who described Mr. Tobin as "a true gentleman, one of the very best."

"He was and will always be a true Hells Angel," wrote a mourner from Portugal. And from another supporter from England: "Hope the Rover people suffer!"

The slaying is uncannily similar to an unsolved shooting in 2001 that also targeted a Canadian biker on the same road as he left the same party.

A 31-year-old biker from Quebec was on the M40 with two other bikers when a dark-coloured car pulled alongside and an occupant open fired with a handgun.

That biker, who was not identified by police, required hospital treatment but survived the attack.

Police said the similarities cannot be ignored and it will be a part of the current investigation.

© National Post 2007

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=239c653a-6e51-4ddc-b72f-76a3a02f4349&k=91333

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