A biker killed by a single bullet to the head on a busy motorway was a "man of good character", police said today.

Detective Superintendent Ken Lawrence, of Warwickshire police, said there was nothing in Gerard Tobin's past to indicate why anyone would want to murder him.

Mr Tobin, 35, a Canadian national living in south London, was shot dead on Sunday as he returned home from a biker festival.

Mr Lawrence, who is leading the murder hunt, said the shooting appeared to have been well planned rather than a random attack.


"It seems likely that this was a pre-planned event and this was not a random attack on Gerard," Mr Lawrence said. "The reason why it should be planned and took place I don't know. That is clearly a key line of investigation that we are pursuing."

Mr Lawrence added: "It certainly appears to have been reasonably well planned in that, if that car in the layby was in fact there waiting for him to pass ... if that was waiting for him, expecting him to take that route, then of course, that does indicate some prior knowledge."

He said formal identification was taking place this afternoon, but said he was satisfied that the victim was Mr Tobin, who had been living in Britain for at least 10 years.

Mr Lawrence said: "Mr Tobin was a hard-working man. He had a job and a partner. He was a man of good character. He has not come to the attention of the police in any way."

He did not directly confirm that Mr Tobin was a Hells Angel, only going so far as to say he was "certainly a biker".

Asked if the attack could be gang-related, he said: "Clearly the events I have described to you suggest some planning and coordination. Clearly, it does form a major part of the investigation to establish whether there were any events prior to this."

Shot biker was 'man of good character' | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited