Three boys arrested as armed cops swoop on ‘gunman’
THREE teenage boys were arrested after armed police were scrambled to ‘really frightening’ reports of a gunman in the street.
A member of the public called police to report a ‘group of individuals with a gun’ on Phoebe Street in Salford.
Specialist armed officers rushed to the scene and started an intensive search amid the alarming report, which could have had ‘grave consequences,’ say police.
The incident came less than 24 hours after an alleyway in Swinton was combed by police for evidence following a separate report of a shooting.
Three boys – all aged 15 – were arrested before being released under investigation.
One teenager was arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm or imitation with intent to cause fear of violence, and possession of cannabis.
Another was arrested on suspicion of firearm or imitation with intent to cause fear of violence, and possession of an offensive weapon.
The third boy was arrested for possession of a firearm or imitation with intent to cause fear of violence.
Two suspected guns were found during the search, later discovered to be ball bearing (BB) guns.
Chief Insp Chris Boyd, of GMP’s Specialist Operations team, said: “This was a really frightening incident for members of the public and one that meant we had to deploy a lot of specialist resources to the area swiftly.
“Whilst we have now confirmed that the weapons were BB guns, this does not alter how seriously we must take reports of this nature and just goes to showcase the variety of incidents we get called out to across the force on a day to day basis. This was a real and serious incident which required the deployment of armed officers and numerous other resources.”
Chief Insp Boyd said the incident serves as a stark reminder of the demand on officers when the force is facing an ‘unprecedented’ number of 999 calls. He said: “I would ask people to really consider this context when next picking up the phone. It’s absolutely imperative that people only call 999 when in an emergency.”