Who is Croydon police shooter Louis De Zoysa?
GUN fanatic Louis De Zoysa was jailed for life for killing Met Cop Sergeant Matt Ratana while in police custody.
The 25-year-old was still handcuffed when he pulled out a hidden antique revolver and fired four shots - two hitting Mr Ratana.
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The third bullet struck a wall, with the fourth hitting De Zoysa in the face causing brain damage during the September 25, 2020 horror.
He was jailed for life on July 27, 2023, for the "cold blood" killing at Croydon Custody Suite.
Who is Louis De Zoysa?
The killer who shot Sgt Matt Ratana was described as a reclusive young man.
Details emerged of De Zoysa’s upbringing in a large end-terraced house in Norbury, South London, on September 27.
His yoga teacher father Channa, 55, posted snaps of his supple frame online while his mother Elizabeth is a local Green Party activist and former election candidate.
Louis lived with the couple at their home in Norbury with his Oxford University student brother John and his sister.
Sri Lankan-born Channa appeared before magistrates in March 2015, where he was made the subject of a restraining order against his British wife, who worked as an interpreter.
But the order was withdrawn at Camberwell magistrates’ court in March 2019, after the pair reconciled.
A childhood friend told : “I knew he was a troubled kid, very awkward, very serious for some reason.”
De Zoysa was also been branded a “loner who lived with his parents”.
He was described as having a “respectable but unstable upbringing”.
A nearby resident of the 23-year-old, said he was “always very awkward, always to himself”.
One said: “I don’t think he had many friends. He was probably a bit of a loner."
He was flagged to the Home Office’s Prevent de-radicalisation programme two years ago over claims he had extreme Islamist and right wing views, but was assessed as posing no threat.
De Zoysa is said to be autistic and of Sri Lankan heritage.
What happened in the Croydon shooting?
In the early morning hours of Friday, September 25, 2020, De Zoysa was stopped and searched by two special constables for possession of ammunition and class B drugs.
He was arrested outside Anderson Heights, Norbury, as he walked towards Streatham at about 1.44am.
He was then taken to the custody centre in Windmill Lane where he remained handcuffed until a door was opened for him to be searched with a metal detector.
A source said: “He was cuffed behind his back and given a pat down.
“It would appear the suspect has somehow managed to conceal the gun on his body.
"However, there are rules preventing any intimate body searches on the street. It can only be done when a suspect is booked into a custody suite."
The source added: “The sergeant opened the door to admit him and take his temperature to comply with Covid rules. But the suspect shot him at point-blank range.”
The gunman blazed off more shots, five in all, in a fierce struggle in the corridor at 2.15am.
One hit himself in the neck, leaving him critical and still under armed guard in hospital on September 28.
De Zoysa now uses a wheelchair and has a whiteboard to communicate.
Medics performed open heart surgery on Sgt Ratana at the custody centre in Croydon, South London.
He was airlifted to hospital but later pronounced dead.
Who was Sgt Matt Ratana?
Sgt Matt Ratana was shot dead while on duty in South London the morning of September 25.
The 54-year-old veteran officer and father of one worked at the Croydon Custody Centre.
Originally from Palmerston North in New Zealand, he travelled to the UK to start a new life in 1989.
He has one grown-up son aged 26 and a partner, Sue Bushby, he had been with for six years.
Sgt Ratana tragically died after being shot in the chest as he was booking a suspect in over alleged possession of ammunition and dealing cannabis.
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The suspect pulled a revolver from his trousers while cuffed behind his back and fired at Sgt Ratana before two other cops jumped on him.
The 54-year-old dad was just months from retirement - he was going through Covid protocol while doing the "meet and greet" for all new detainees.