Matt Ratana murder: Man arrested over firearm used in fatal shooting of police officer

Suspect in custody in south London

Police officers leave tributes to Sergeant Matiu Ratana outside Croydon Custody Centre (Getty Images)

A man has been arrested in Norwich on suspicion of supplying a firearm, police investigating the fatal shooting of sergeant Matt Ratana have said.

Scotland Yard said the man had been apprehended at around 2am on Sunday and was in custody at a south London police station.

Officers have still not been able to speak to the man suspected of Sgt Ratana's murder because he remains in a critical condition in hospital, a Metropolitan Police spokesperson added.

The 54-year-old was shot dead by a handcuffed suspect in a holding area in a Croydon custody suite, who opened fire as officers prepared to search him with a metal detector.

The suspected gunman, 23, had been arrested during a stop and search for possession of class B drugs with intent to supply and possession of ammunition.

As questions were raised about how the individual was able to produce the weapon, Metropolitan Police deputy assistant commissioner Stuart Cundy said investigators are working with “a determination to find justice”.

Sgt Ratana's death had marked a “dark and sad day for the police family”, he said, adding: “Everyone working on this investigation, from the forensic specialists to the local officers holding the cordons, does so with a heavy heart but a determination to find justice for our colleague and his family.” 

Police were  "painstakingly" searching four crime scenes in connection with the killing on Saturday. 

Forensic searches were also carried out in an area of London Road in Pollards Hill where the gunman was initially arrested by officers. These had been concluded by Sunday, the Met said.

Meanwhile, tributes have poured in for Sgt Ratana, who is survived by a partner and a grown-up son.

Jacinda Ardern, prime minister of his native New Zealand, said she was “incredibly sad” to hear about the  murder, writing on Facebook: “Sergeant Ratana worked in Auckland City and Counties Manukau until 2008, before returning to the UK. To all Matiu’s whanau [extended family] across the world, we share your sorrow and have all our condolences.”

On Sunday, members of East Grinstead Rugby Club paid tribute to Sgt Ratana, describing him as an “irreplaceable figure” in the community and a “role model to many”.

Pc Sarah D'Silva, 26, who works at Croydon police station and plays for the club's women's team, laid a signed Met Police jacket alongside the other tributes, and told the PA news agency that coming down to the club for the memorial silence was especially “poignant” for her.

"He was an absolutely fantastic character, full of life with the biggest smile you've ever seen and a fantastic mentor on the rugby field and for the police as well," Pc D’Silva said.

"Any question was never too much for Matt and it's deeply saddening to know from such a deeply tragic event has resulted in the loss of Matt's life.

“I can't put into words how shocked I am and also the colleagues that are beside me in the blue line family. It's a completely tragic event.”

The sergeant is the seventeenth police officer to be fatally shot in the UK since the Second World War, and the first to be murdered with a firearm in the line of duty since PCs Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes in September 2012.

Additional reporting by PA