Armed police hae fired weapons during an arrest of a suspect on the A27. Witnesses say that police in unmarked cars forced a Mercedes to stop by targeting its tyres with ‘Hatton’ rounds — bullets that are designed to destroy what they hit, before dispersing into a powder.
At the scene, a man was arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm, and was led away in handcuffs by officers.
The operation was led by the Trident Gang Crime Command, and took place at around 4:30pm. Trident Gang Crime Command is a division of the Metropolitan Police tasked with gang violence and shooting incidents.
A police spokesperson said that “MPS detectives and armed officers from the MPS Specialist Firearms Command stopped the car at around 15:30hrs in relation to firearms.”
According to the police spokesperson, there were no reports of any injuries, but “a suspected firearm was recovered.” The man who was arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm has been taken into custody at a local police station.
Whilst the operation was carried out, traffic on the main south coast road had to be halted. One lane of the dual carriageway also remained closed for an extended period afterwards.
The closure then affected rush-hour traffic, causing tailbacks of up to five miles.
Were you at the scene or effected by the incident? Let us know what you saw by posting in the comments below.
Image: Flickr
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