A police officer was shot in an "unprovoked" attack in an incident detectives are linking to a shooting in which a man was killed and his partner critically injured, police said today.

The officer was approached by an armed man and suffered a gunshot wound, in East Denton, Newcastle, at around 12.45am.

He is currently being treated in hospital where his condition is described as "serious" but is not thought to be life-threatening.

A Northumbria Police spokesman said: "Police strongly believe that this shooting is linked to the incident in Gateshead in the early hours of Saturday morning during which a man was killed and a woman seriously injured."

Police have been hunting for Raoul Thomas Moat, 37, who they believe shot his ex-girlfriend before killing her new partner in Gateshead on Saturday.