Public warned after officer shot during hunt for Malcolm Naden MICHELLE HARRIS AND ALISON BRANLEY 07 Dec, 2011 04:57 PM newcastle herald

Public warned after officer shot during hunt for Malcolm Naden

MICHELLE HARRIS AND ALISON BRANLEY

07 Dec, 2011 04:57 PM

POLICE Commissioner Andrew Scipione has warned the public to stay away from the state's most-wanted man Malcom Naden, who is believed to have shot a police officer in the shoulder during an attempted raid on his remote campsite this morning.The 33 year-old senior constable attached to the state protection group was shot in the right shoulder as police approached a campsite in dense bushland in the Nowendoc area, east of Tamworth. The officer was taken to the John Hunter Hospital in a stable condition and was a released a short time ago, Mr Scipione said this afternoon.
"I can indicate that after speaking to the officer whilst he was heavily sedated he was in very good spirits and understood that he was very, very fortunate," he said.
Mr Scipione said people in the area should be vigilant and call triple-0 if they believed they had seen Naden or anything suspicious.
"This offender is armed and he is dangerous, he is not the sort of person that we would want anyone in the community to engage, call us," he said.
"We have a lot of police in and around this specific area.
"I can indicate that if he was cornered I am sure he would be violent."
Acting deputy commissioner David Hudson said police had been involved in a search of the area for the past few days and were approaching the campsite in rough terrain when the shot was fired. Police did not return fire and did not see the offender but believed it was Naden.
"All indications are that he's travelling on foot at this stage," he said.
Naden is suspected of being involved in the disappearance of his cousin Lateesha Nolan in early 2005, and the murder of Kristy Scholes about six months later.
There is a $100,000 bounty on his head.
He is an expert bushman and former abattoir worker and evaded police capture at Dubbo Zoo in 2005.
He is suspected of breaking into more than 20 isolated properties across the Barrington Tops looking for non-perishable food, camping gear, torches and guns.

The reward for Naden’s arrest is effectively the first bounty granted by the State government since 1900.