A man shot dead on a traveller site near Swindon has been named and pictured.
Jimmy Ward suffered gunshot wounds at a permanent council-approved Gypsy pitch in Calcutt, just outside Cricklade, on Sunday morning (2 August).
Emergency services, including armed police, swarmed the scene – but he was pronounced dead.
It’s understood the man, aged in his 30s, was married and had several children.
The site at Calcutt, just off the A419 slip-road at Cricklade, was first occupied illegally by travellers in 2009.
Temporary planning permission was granted in 2010, allowing them to remain while a long-term decision was considered.
Wiltshire Council later approved permanent permission for 14 residential pitches, saying the site met an identified need for Gypsy accommodation in the area.
At around 8.15am on Sunday, Great Western Air Ambulance was deployed alongside specialist paramedics from the Hazardous Area Response Team (HART).
Firearms officers secured the area ahead of their attendance, before leaving to visit a second traveller site – Four Acres Caravan Park in South Cerney.
A man aged in his 70s and a woman aged in her 40s have been arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm and assisting an offender.
In a statement after the shooting, Detective Chief Inspector Phil Walker, from Wiltshire Police’s Major Crime Investigation Team, said: “This is an incredibly serious incident, and my thoughts are with the victim’s friends and family at this devastating time.
“Enquiries are ongoing at the site and in the wider area to establish the circumstances which have led to this incident and locate all the people involved.
“A cordon is in place at the site and the road leading to it has been closed to allow for enquiries to be conducted and I would ask that this is respected.
“Those in the area will see an increased policing presence throughout the evening as enquiries continue.
“We are really keen to hear from anybody who has any information or witnessed anything suspicious this morning.
“If you can help, please contact us on 101 quoting log 95 of today’s date.”
