Briton shot dead by gunman in US

A British man has been shot dead in the US by his girlfriend's estranged husband, who then killed himself.

Lee Scott Carter, 33, was shot on the porch of his home in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday, then dragged inside and fatally shot in the head.

Gunman Ray Estrada, 26, then shot himself in the head.

Mr Carter, from Barrow-on-Humber, North Lincolnshire, had worked in the US for 18 months. The identity of his girlfriend has not yet been released.

A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department spokesman said the killing had been the result of a "domestic situation".

This was a very sad and tragic situation and it is a very big loss Rick Kipp, BSN Medical

"The estranged husband came by and she had had a restraining order on him and there had been different problems that she'd had with him," he said.

"He shot him, took him into his house, shot him again, killed him and then turned the gun on himself."

Both men were pronounced dead at the scene.

Mr Carter's father flew to the US on Tuesday, and met police representatives.

Domestic violence

His son had worked in Charlotte as a business analyst for BSN Medical, a medical devices company co-owned by UK-based Smith and Nephew.

He had previously worked for the same company in Brierfield, Lancashire. Rick Kipp, vice-president of human resources, said colleagues were "absolutely shocked."

"This was a very sad and tragic situation and it is a very big loss. We are assisting the family at this time."

Court records showed that Estrada had been charged in January with violating a domestic violence protective order, but that the case was dismissed last week.