Plain clothes police officers tackled London Road gunman to the ground

Police cordon in London Road during Tuesday morning while the scene was being searched Pic: Blog Preston

Two plain clothes police officers tackled the London Road gunman to the ground after a chase, it has been revealed.

British Transport Police shared in a thread on X how their officers, who were in an unmarked car in a traffic jam on London Road when they saw the gun fired four metres from their vehicle.

A man then ran in front of their car with a pistol visible. Preston Police say blanks were discharged from the gun during the incident on Tuesday (27 February) around 9am.

One of the BTP officers followed the man while a second called for back-up.

The man ran into a housing estate off London Road with the gun and the officers lost sight of him until members of the public pointed out where he ran.

A spokesperson for British Transport Police Lancashire said: “As the officers rounded a corner the male was seen crouched down behind a vehicle, with his back to them, and he appeared to be reloading the gun. The officers made the decision to tackle him and arrest him, thereby preventing him from reloading. Upon being tackled the firearm has fallen from his hand and a bullet has fallen to the ground.”

The man was arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm and searched at the scene and the transport police officers handed over the man to Lancashire Police.

A British Transport Police spokesperson said at this stage the names of the officers involved was not being released.

In an update during Thursday (29 February) a police spokesperson said the 42-year-old man has now been detained under the Mental Health Act. Police continue to appeal for witnesses, dashcam footage and CCTV footage from the area at the time of the incident.

Anyone with information which could assist with enquiries, contact 101 – quoting log 0231 of 27th February 2024.

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