Man shot by police during armed robbery in Swindon

A man has been shot in the leg by police
PA
Ellena Cruse17 June 2020
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A 50-year-old man was shot by police as officers responded to an armed robbery in Swindon.

Wiltshire Police were called to Rivermead Industrial Estate, Westlea, on Tuesday just after 5pm to reports that a lorry was being stolen.

Officers arrived at the scene and found a man armed with what police say looked like a handgun.

Armed police swooped around a lorry and a man was shot in the leg. He was airlifted to hospital and his injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

Forensic officers at the scene in Swindon
PA

Resident Corey Battacchio, 17, was in his room when he heard “a loud bang”, but he assumed it was a firework as “nothing like that ever happens around here”.

After hearing helicopters and police sirens, he looked outside and saw a man being stopped by an unmarked police car.

“He was shouted at many times by police to ‘put the gun down’ and therefore was shot. He was airlifted to hospital shortly after,” he said.

Police were called to an industrial estate in Swindon on Tuesday
PA

A passerby, who did not want to be named, also said he saw two armed officers shouting “put the gun down” and pointing their weapons at a man in a lorry.

He added: “They got either side and they both managed to get close enough to open up the left side of the lorry.

“As he (the police officer) opened the door you could hear a bang. I am pretty sure that is the shot they him.”

Superintendent Phil Staynings said: “I want to reassure the community that this incident was dealt with swiftly. Nobody else was injured and the incident is now contained.

A forensic officer working at the scene
PA

“However, people living in the area will have seen a heavy police presence, which will continue throughout the evening.

“Due to the fact that a police firearm was discharged, we have automatically referred the incident to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).”

The force did not confirm if there had been any arrests.

A spokesman for the IOPC, which has launched an independent investigation into the shooting, said: “We understand, at this time, that officers from Wiltshire Police were called to a disturbance shortly after 5pm today following reports of an armed robbery in Rivermead Industrial Estate, Westlea.

“During the incident, the man, in his 50s, was shot in the leg by a firearms officer. His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

“We have sent investigators to the scene and to the post-incident procedures.”

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