Armed police seal off street in murder probe
Armed police stormed a block of flats last week as a man was arrested on suspicion of murder.
Around 10 officers surrounded the back and front of a three storey block of flats in Hartnup Street, Barming last Wednesday.
One eyewitness described the scene in the residential road as “terrifying” as police arrived around 5.45pm.
A 29-year-old from Cardiff was arrested at the scene and later charged with the murder of Malaciah Thomas who suffered multiple stab wounds in the Welsh capital on Monday, July 23.
Christopher Griffiths is one of four men jointly charged and remanded in custody.
Officers assisting colleagues from Wales closed Hartnup Street and neighbouring Western Road, which sits opposite the flats, to everyone except residents during the raid.
Neighbours saw two armed police officers access a locked garden off Acorn Road to get behind the apartments, while the remaining officers were either inside or at flats’ entrance.
One neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: “I was getting the house ready for a dinner guest when I heard the loud bark of a dog outside.
“You can imagine my surprise when I saw a police dog, armed police, three police cars and a man being arrested.
“A young boy who lives on the road is always playing ball games, his ball rolled towards the police.
“The young boy went to go and get it and the police stopped him - they shouted for him to stop and go back inside and the policeman said he would retrieve it later.
“It was quite terrifying at the time for us all.”
Bar manager Richard Bradford, 50, from Western Road said: “There were probably about nine armed officers wearing masks which I hadn’t seen before and some of them were pointing guns up towards a block of flats.
“One was with a dog crouching down by the entrance to the flats, where I think there was another team of officers inside.
“It was all quite calm really - there was no shouting, people were still sat drinking on their balconies.”
Following the 29-year-old’s arrest, police began to leave the scene, though a single patrol car remained at the scene on Thursday morning.