AN ex-squaddie was shot in the back during an armed police drugs raid gone wrong, his friends have claimed.

Sean Fitzgerald, 31, was shot by cops during an "intelligence-led" operation in Coventry at around 6.20pm on Friday.

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Police said Mr Fitzgerald was pronounced dead at the scene and two others were detained.

Friends paid tribute to Mr Fitzgerald, who lived locally, as the police watchdog opened an investigation into the shooting.

Friend Cory Brown, 28, said: "He was my friend. All of the lads inside the house were my friends. I used to be in the army and so did Sean."

He claimed police raided the property because cannabis was allegedly being grown inside.

Mr Brown, who found out what happened from a neighbour, said: "From what we can gather, they have ran away out of the house because the police raided it.

"The police climbed up ladders and went through windows, almost like it was World War 3.

"Obviously any person in their right mind would've been scared and ran away.

"They've ran and Sean has allegedly been shot in the back by an officer."

Mr Brown claimed none of the men in the property were armed.

Neighbours speculated it was a warrant that had gone wrong.

When asked about that by Sun Online, a West Midlands Police spokesperson said they couldn't comment as it was now being investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

A pal, who gave his name as Ali, said he had been with the "very, very good guy" shortly before he visited the home in Burnaby Road where he was killed.

A family member wrote online that she was "absolutely gutted" by the death of Mr Fitzgerald, who another friend described as a "one of a kind" who "would be there for anyone".

West Midlands Police said the raid took place in Burnaby Road at about 6.20pm on Friday.

Witnesses said described seeing a large number of officers in the area, including a significant number of police vehicles.

Residents were told to go indoors as a section of the street was closed and "over 17 police cars armed police" arrived.

Neighbours said about “four” armed police vehicles were present and gun shots could be heard.

Fire engineer Karl Lolley, a father-of-two who lives behind the police cordon, said he heard "four or five" gunshots after witnessing officers descend on the home.

"I saw three or four armed police cars turn up. Five to six armed officers got out and they went in the front door. There was some gunshots," the 39-year-old said.

"The next thing you know there's more police arriving and they cordon off the area.

"They carry a person out on a stretcher, they put him in an ambulance - the lights on the ambulance were flashing for about half an hour as they were working on him.

"Then they turned the lights off and they drove off slowly. Obviously they pronounced him dead."

A resident who wished to remain anonymous said: “It was crazy. I heard gun shots going off and didn't know what to think.

“I live on the road and I just remember seeing about three or four armed police van turn up.

“I think it was about seven officers who came out and went into the property.

“More police arrived shortly after and cordoned off the road. They told us to stay indoors.

“I managed to see someone being carried out on a stretcher - they put them into the back of an ambulance - they must have been there for an hour and a half trying work on that person.

“It was scary to know this could happen on your road.”

Adam Court, 26, owner of the local media network Complete Traffic based nearby, said: "We heard a lot of sirens heading towards the far end of the street and traffic coming to a swift halt.

"The road is plagued with a history of serious collisions so this was nothing out of the ordinary.

"But it was the sheer number of police officers at the scene that caused initial concern."

The area around the scene remained cordoned off on Saturday morning.

Burnaby Road is a largely residential street north of the city centre.

West Midlands Police said the incident had been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, the forces watchdog.

The IOPC confirmed it opened an inquiry after the force reported the fatality during a “pre-planned operation”.

IOPC regional director Amanda Rowe: “Our investigation is in its very early stages and we will be working hard to establish what happened.

"My thoughts are with the man’s family and all of those affected by this incident.

“The next steps will be to view the body-worn video footage and establish if there are any local CCTV recordings. At this stage we are looking at the circumstances of the incident and all officers remain witnesses to our investigation.”

The man’s next-of-kin have been informed.