An armed police officer thought he was 'going to die' as he was confronted by a gunman.
Jurors were shown a picture of Reed Wischhusen in a police-style uniform - he was not a police officerAn armed police officer thought he was "going to die" as he was confronted by a gunman, a court heard.
The officer shot Mr Wischhusen three times as the defendant rushed towards him with a firearm held aloft. Police officers had gone to Mr Wischhusen's house in Wick St Lawrence in November following reports of him converting blank firearms. Four officers carried out a brief examination of the semi-detached property, which was "cluttered, dirty and smelled of urine", and found several weapons, as well as body armour and a deactivated hand grenade. The two firearms officers, known only as P3 and L4, decided a comprehensive search was needed and Mr Wischhausen would be arrested.Officer L4, who had remained downstairs, told the jury: "After a short while I heard a loud bang, a loud noise, it sounded like a gunshot or an explosion."It was really quick, and I was concerned I didn't know where Reed was. "I shouted for him to come to the top of the stairs. After a short amount of time - it was so quick - he came to the top of the stairs.Police searched the defendants house and found an "armoury" of home-made weaponsPausing and sounding emotional, the officer continued: "I thought I was going to die. I can recall saying things like, 'Drop the gun, put the gun down, armed police'.""It happened so quickly. I fired a further shot and then he dropped to the ground." A neighbourhood officer, known as N8, said he felt "extremely vulnerable" after hearing the first shot because he was only carrying incapacitant spray. Asked how he felt, he told the jury: "It was a bit surreal to be honest. We expect risk in our job, and we obviously took precautions by having armed officers with us. "I stepped into the house and could see that they were restraining him, and he had been clearly shot.Jurors were told the defendant planned to kill teachers at his old schoolN8 said the two armed officers needed to remove the defendant's jacket to assess his injuries and when they released his handcuffs he tried to grab a converted Turkish pistol with his right arm.The jury has previously been told Mr Wischhusen was fascinated with mass shootings and infamous killers such as Dunblane gunman Thomas Hamilton and Raoul Moat. It is alleged he had drawn up plans to carry out a "hitman-style attack" on his former school in what he dubbed "revenge" but he claims this was "fantasy". Jurors heard phase one of Mr Wischhusen's alleged revenge plan was to kill 10 people using a converted pistol with a silencer while wearing disguised clothing and a wig. Mr Wischhusen denies charges of having an explosive substance with intent to endanger life, having an explosive substance, possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, possessing ammunition with intent to endanger life and possessing a prohibited firearm without a certificate.
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