This is arguably the blackest day in the history of the police service of England and Wales since three police officers were shot dead in west London in 1966. One of the killers, Harry Roberts, is still in jail.
It is believed to be the first time that two female officers have been killed in the same incident in the line of duty anywhere in the UK.
It provides a reminder - after the damage to the police's reputation from the Hillsborough report and the PC Simon Harwood case - of the unpredictable and dangerous nature of their work.
The shootings will inevitably spark a debate about whether police should have greater personal protection. They now routinely carry CS or pepper spray, and Tasers are also widely available.
However, it seems there is little appetite for routinely arming the police.
A Police Federation survey, conducted in 2006 of 47,000 officers found that 82 per cent were opposed to the idea.
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