Raoul Moat Manhunt: Britain Breathlessly Awaits Bloody Shoot-Out

Correction, July 7, 1 AM ET: An earlier version of this story included information from a false report from another site. We've updated to correct the record and explain what happened.

(July 6) -- Forget the World Cup action between Uruguay and the Netherlands -- news outlets all across the United Kingdom are turning their coverage to a small town for what promises to be a far bloodier confrontation between a fugitive and the officers he has vowed to kill.

For the past four days, the tragic trail of violence left by shooting suspect Raoul Moat has gripped the attention of a nation's media, specifically those on the island of Great Britain, where the suspect remains armed, at large and on the run from police.

The 37-year-old former bouncer and recently released prisoner is suspected of shooting his ex-girlfriend, her new boyfriend and a police constable over the weekend. The boyfriend is dead, while the constable and girlfriend remain hospitalized.

Now in its fourth day, the manhunt for Moat has narrowed to Rothbury, a village on the eastern shore of England, which is presently under siege by police.

While residents of Rothbury have been described as scared and worried as the police continue their search for the accused killer, the situation is far different than what we reported in an earlier version of this post, which relied on false information from what turned out to be a satirical news site.

The Surge Desk quoted News Grind in part as follows, "Families have been collecting children from schools and nurseries throughout the day so they could watch together, as expectations reached fever pitch that a violent firearms confrontation was imminent. Over 800 schools have closed across the country as a result."

However, as the author of the satirical post, Robin Brown, and others including the New York Observer quickly noticed and pointed out, we bought the quote as authentic -- hook, line and sinker. We deeply regret the error.

Meanwhile, there seemed to be little to laugh about as Moat's manifesto made the rounds in British media. "The public need not fear me," he wrote, according to the Telegraph. "But the police should as I won't stop until I'm dead... I'm a killer and a maniac but I ain't no coward."

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