Tributes were paid to the son of a village postmaster shot dead in a robbery by a gang of masked men.
Craig Hodson-Walker, 29, was shot in the chest during the raid at his parent's business in Fairfield, north Worcestershire.
His father Ken was shot in the leg as raiders armed with a handgun and a sledgehammer targeted Fairfield Post Office and Stores.
Witnesses told police three men wearing balaclavas raced away from the Stourbridge Road store in a silver VW Golf at about 8.20am. The car, which was stolen from Solihull on New Year's Eve and had false number plates, was found abandoned nearby.
More than 100 officers, including specialist search teams, dog handlers and a helicopter team, are now involved in a huge manhunt.
Detectives appealed for witnesses who saw the car before the raid caught up in rush hour traffic near the post office to contact them.
Alice Raybould, 29, a close friend of Craig who lives across a field at the back of the shop, said he would have put up a fight to protect the business.
She said: "The minute he moved into the shop we made friends straight away. He is, I should say he was, the nicest and kindest person I've known in my life.
"We spent quite a lot of time together. He's just a really nice bloke."
Detective Superintendent Jon Groves said the robbers were "clearly dangerous" and should not be approached. Mr Groves said the gang travelled to the scene in a silver VW Golf, with the false registration W337 DDN.
