Gunman arrested after opening fire inside Punjabi-owned shop and cinema in Liverpool
LONDON: Armed police arrested a man brandishing a shotgun nine hours after he opened fire inside a Punjabi-run newsagent’s shop in Liverpool on Wednesday, threatened the store assistant and then went on to open fire inside a cinema where families were watching ‘Wonka’.Police were called at 8.30pm on Wednesday to News and Booze (known locally as ‘Sangha’s’) on Lower House Lane after a gunman had entered the shop at 8pm and demanded cash before firing his gun within the shop and leaving empty-handed. The shop assistant was uninjured but extremely distressed, Merseyside police said.A CCTV video shows the gunman, in flip-flops, black trousers and a zipped hooded jacket, opening fire inside the shop. Two men can be heard speaking in Punjabi watching the CCTV footage on the TV screen, presumably from above the shop, saying the man is standing near the Stella and Budweiser (both beers) counter.
The shop remained closed and cordoned off on Thursday and no one answered the phone.According to Companies House, Sangha’s has been owned by Harjoodh Kular, (37) an Indian citizen, and Sharanjit Kaur Kullar, a British citizen (39), since 2015.The shop was one of three locations in Liverpool where the gunman opened fire on Wednesday night. Dozens of police cars, armed officers, detectives, and police helicopters, rushed to the area straight after the first incident.Twenty minutes after the newsagent attack, shots were fired outside the Showcase Cinema on Stonedale retail park. The gunman entered the cinema complex and threatened two members of staff in the foyer with his gun, before leaving.
When he got outside he fired a number of shots in the air before escaping in a car. Armed police arrived and the cinema went into lockdown.At about 10.20pm gunshots were heard at a property on Malpas Road. All three locations remained cordoned off and closed on Thursday.A 49-year-old man was arrested by armed police at 4.46am on Thursday on suspicion of possession of a Section 1 firearm with intent to endanger life and robbery after warrants were carried out at a property in Fazakerley.When officers attended he became aggressive and a taser was used.
He has been taken to a police station in Merseyside where he remains in custody.Watch Gunman targets UK Punjabi news agency, fires shots, arrested[1]
References
- ^ Watch Gunman targets UK Punjabi news agency, fires shots, arrested (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)