Man sparked bomb alert at town hall wedding
AMAN has been convicted after threatening guests at a wedding party gathered outside Stockport Town Hall - shouting words including ‘bomb and ‘Muslim.’
Khalid Mehmood, 50, was detained by armed police who were scrambled to Wellington Road South as part of a major response to reports of a man stating he had a bomb.
The town hall and Stockport Library were evacuated and a section of the A6 was cordoned off by police in September last year.
Wedding guests said that Mehmood had entered the town hall in a ‘confused’ state before saying the word ‘bomb’ in broken English.
He was escorted from the venue by members of the party who called police, after concerns were raised about the contents of a satchel worn by Mehmood.
The satchel - which was later searched by police did not contain a bomb or any other suspicious items.
Mehmood, who lives on Wellington Road South, denied using threatening behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress.
During a trial at Stockport Magistrates’ Court, he said he had come across the town hall “by mistake” and said he only approached guests to ask whose wedding it was.
Magistrates convicted Mehmood of the Section 4 Public Order offence, stating they were satisfied he had used the words ‘bomb’ and ‘Muslim.’
They said that using these words whilst entering a public building would have caused ‘alarm’ or ‘distress.’
PC David Brown from Greater Manchester Police responded to reports that a male had left a building stating he had a bomb.
In a statement read to the court, PC Brown said: “On arrival I saw a male matching the description and made the decision to detain him right there and then before he could walk back towards the busy town centre.
“I arrested him on suspicion of making a false bomb threat and waited for firearm officers who then took hold of the male.”
Mehmood was detained and interviewed by police where he gave a prepared statement denying that he had used the word ‘bomb.’
CCTV footage from Stockport Town Hall showed Mehmood entering the building before engaging with two male guests.
He claimed he had been out in Stockport having his watch repaired and had stopped at the town hall to ask who was getting married.
He told police he had never used the word ‘bomb’ and denied being a member of a terrorist organisation.
After his conviction Mehmood was released on bail and will appear before Stockport magistrates for sentence on February 13.