M62 shooting: Armed officer 'leant out of car and shot Yassar Yaqub'

Yassar Yaqub was shot dead by police on the M62

An armed officer leant out of a car window and fatally shot a man during a police stop on the M62 in West Yorkshire, an inquest has heard.

Yassar Yaqub was shot when the Audi car he was travelling in was stopped on the M62 near Huddersfield in January 2017.

An inquest at Leeds Crown Court heard a loaded pistol was found in the footwell under the front passenger seat, where Mr Yaqub had been when he was shot.

The inquest, before a jury, is expected to last eight weeks.

After the jury was sworn in, the inquest was told four unmarked police cars had been "tracking" Mr Yaqub and his "friends or associates" before they travelled from Bradford to Huddersfield.

The Recorder of Leeds, Judge Guy Kearl, said Mr Yaqub was the passenger in an Audi A4 being driven by Mohsin Amin.

Behind them was a VW Scirocco carrying Rexhino Arapaj and David Butlin.

The police cars - known as Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and Delta - were carrying armed officers.

Jurors heard that as the Audi and VW left the M62 at junction 24, known as Ainley Top, the four police cars "boxed them in" and came to a stop.

'Catastrophic blood loss'

Judge Kearl said: "The police officer in the front passenger seat of the Alpha car, who will be known by the code name B39, lowered the front offside window, and leant out of it as he was holding his police-issued firearm.

"He pointed it directly towards the occupants of the Audi. What was then said and exactly what actions were taken by the occupants of the Audi and Alpha cars, are matters which are at the heart of this inquest, matters which, therefore, you will need to determine.

"What is clear is that officer B39 fired his gun three times at Yassar Yaqub, who was seated in the front passenger seat of the Audi."

The inquest heard officer B39 was about 1.5m away from Mr Yaqub when he shot him with two of the bullets hitting Mr Yaqub in the chest and causing "catastrophic blood loss".

Jurors were told that a loaded pistol was found in the footwell, and a silencer and further ammunition were found in the glovebox.

The judge said: "It will not surprise you to learn that the event of stopping the Audi and Volkswagen did not just happen out of the blue.

"You will hear the police had been interested for some time in Mr Yaqub before January 2 2017."

The inquest heard from Mr Yaqub's partner Zoe Summers, the mother of his two children, who were aged six months and 11 years when he died.

Mohammed Yaqub, Yassar's father, said his son was "well respected in the community"

She said: "I always felt lucky to have Yassar in my life, especially as we got older.

"He had such a kind, loving nature and only wanted the best for people around him."

A tribute from the couple's daughter Jasmine said: "I miss my dad more than anything.

"His presence made me so happy, I wanted to be around him forever but now all I have are memories and pictures, which I will hold on to forever."

His father, Mohammed Yaqub, told the hearing his son was "well respected in the community and never out of employment".

He fought back tears as he said: "He was a natural father, he loved (his children) with his whole heart and taught them to be kind to others."

The inquest continues.

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