Endgame: the police led a man into the street at Bramblewood Close after a tense six-hour stand-off. Photo © InsideSutton
INSIDE SUTTON EXCLUSIVE: 4PM UPDATE: A man is seen being led away by police, apparently hand-cuffed, after a tense six-hour incident on a residential street
A tense, six-hour siege of a house on a usually quiet residential street in suburban Carshalton appeared to have come to an end by mid-afternoon, as police emerged with a man in hand-cuffs, under arrest.
According to the Metropolitan Police, they responded to reports this morning of an assault, and called in specialist support when a suspect appeared to be armed. By 3pm, a man was arrested, with no reports of serious injuries, and what is believed to be an imitation firearm taken away for examination.
An estimated 20 specially trained police, many of them armed, some accompanied by police dogs, had been surrounding a house on Bramblewood Close, just off Buckhurst Avenue, since not long after 9am.
Other emergency services, including London Ambulance and London Fire Brigade, were also present at the scene.
Serious incident: armed police surround the house in Carshalton. Photo © InsideSutton
Buckhurst Avenue and Bramblewood Close are normally quiet, suburban residential streets.
Eye-witnesses suggest that some kind of hostage situation was unfolding before them this morning, as police were overheard calling for a specialist negotiator.
Ready for action: armed police assemble on the usually quiet suburban street in Carshalton this morning. Photo © InsideSutton
By lunchtime today, near the scene, there were more than a dozen police vehicles (including four unmarked police cars).
One eye-witness said: “There seems to be some kind of stand-off, and it’s been going on for hours.”
Then, at just around 3pm, there was a significant development as police officers, wearing stab vests and carrying weapons, emerged on the street with a man in hand-cuffs.
The man was of east Asian appearance, wearing spectacles, with black hair and of medium height, dressed in a black zip-up nylon jacket and black cargo trousers.
In a statement issued to Inside Sutton, a Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “Police were called at approximately 08:45hrs on Thursday, 30 January after reports of a person assaulted inside an address in Bramblewood Close, Carshalton were received.
“Officers who initially responded to the scene requested specialist armed officers attend after a male at the address produced an apparent firearm.
“Following a period of negotiation, at around 14:50hrs the suspect was arrested on suspicion of firearms offences.
“A firearm, which is believed to be an imitation, was recovered from the scene and will be taken away for examination. There are no reports of any serious injuries.
“Cordons will remain in place for the time being while the investigation is underway.”
*This rolling news report was updated at 3pm to include news of an arrest, and again at 4pm to include the Metropolitan Police statement
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There’s been a stabbing at Wrythe Green. It may be something to do with that.
It isn’t. Which is why we did not include it in our report.