LONDON: Raoul Moat, the fugitive gunman snared by British police after a massive manhunt, has died, a source told AFP, after apparently shooting himself Saturday in an armed siege.

A well-placed source confirmed that the 37-year-old, on the run for a week following a deadly shooting spree, was dead.

BBC television, Sky News television and the domestic Press Association news agency also cited sources saying Moat was dead.

Police said it appeared that "the suspect shot himself" and was "in hospital receiving treatment for his injuries".

He was rushed by ambulance from the village on Rothbury in northeast England to Newcastle General Hospital, where he was carried in on a stretcher, with a blanket covering his head.

BDST:0918 HRS , July 10, 2010