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| Armed police in Merseyside Photo: Terry Kearney |
Cinemagoers were left in a panic on Wednesday night after a man armed with a gun entered the foyer of the Showcase Cinema in Stonedale Retail Park, Croxteth, and began making threats against two staff members. He then left the cinema and fired several shots into the air outside. Fortunately nobody was injured.
Police have now taken a 49-year-old man into custody on suspicion of firearms offences.
While people actually viewing films heard nothing and were initially unaware of what had happened, patrons in the foyer were ordered to remain where they were by armed police who attended the scene. They were not released for a further 45 minutes.
The motive behind the incident is currently unknown, though there are reports that the same man had entered a local newsagent shop 20 minutes earlier and attempted to carry out an armed robbery before fleeing the scene. Police have expressed concern about the traumatic effects of the incident on those who were caught up in it.
