The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Gunman arrested after hostage siege
Lockdown: Two staff members held for four hours at bowling alley
A gunman who held two members of staff hostage at a bowling alley in Warwickshire has been arrested.
Bermuda Park in Nuneaton was locked down when the suspect held two male employees inside MFA Bowl for more than four hours.
The hostage-taker was arrested and taken to hospital, and both staff members – a duty manager and a lane host – were unharmed.
Chris Clegg, operations director of MFA Bowl, said: “He (the suspect) has been arrested and the two staff are safe.”
People, including children, were evacuated from nearby properties in the retail park during the incident, which police confirmed was not terror-related.
Mr Clegg said the suspect was handcuffed and the two employees were checked over for shock.
He said: “Two people were taken to a safe place, they were checked over because obviously they might be in shock.
“It’s not an everyday situation. The ambulance, police were all checking them and making sure they were OK.”
Police said specialist firearms officers and police negotiators, along with other emergency services attended the scene at 2.30pm yesterday.
The force announced shortly after 7pm that the suspect had been arrested.
Chief Superintendent Alex Franklinsmith said: “We would like to thank local people for their patience and cooperation while officers dealt with this incident.
“We are pleased that we were able to bring this incident to a peaceful resolution and that there were no injuries.”
Shortly after 6.30pm a series of loud bangs could be heard and about 10 minutes later an ambulance was allowed through the cordon and two people got out.
The gunman had brandished his weapon above his head and yelled “game over” after arriving at the bowling alley, one witness said.
Chief executive of MFA Bowl Mehdi Afshar said he had been informed the suspect could be the ex-husband or ex-boyfriend of a member of staff.