Oxford armed stand-off accused Duncan Shearman pleads guilty

An area of Oxford was cordoned off by police and people were evacuated

A man who exchanged shots with police during a 14-hour armed stand-off that began after a row with his neighbour has pleaded guilty to firearms charges.

Duncan Shearman, 25, brought parts of Oxford to a standstill when he began firing shots from the balcony of his home on Paradise Square on 7 May.

The weapons were later found to fire blanks but his actions had "terrified" people at the time, police said.

Shearman admitted possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.

On Monday, he also pleaded guilty at Oxford Crown Court to possessing a prohibited weapon and damaging property. He will be sentenced on 15 April.

Shearman had been involved in a short verbal altercation with a neighbour before pointing a gun at his head from his Paradise Square balcony, police said.

Firearms officers, who were called after witnesses heard gunfire, fired a live round at Shearman before knocking him to the ground with a plastic bullet.

He refused officers' offers of medical help and eventually gave himself up to police shortly before 03:00 the following day.

Paradise Square, Paradise Street and part of Norfolk Street were closed and nearby residents were evacuated from their homes.

It was later discovered the firearms were blank-firing revolvers, pistols, and air weapons.

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During the incident, Shearman threw a number of items from the balcony, including a vacuum cleaner, a coat stand and paint, which damaged some of his neighbour's property.

Det Ch Insp Stuart Blaik, of Thames Valley Police, said: "This firearms incident brought parts of Oxford city centre to a standstill on a busy Bank Holiday Monday.

"Thankfully this incident was safely resolved, however, its impact will long remain in the memories of those who were left terrified by Shearman's actions that day."

Armed police were deployed to the scene after shots were fired