St Leonards: Man arrested and firearm seized after reports of gunshots
- Published
Specialist officers from neighbouring forces and the National Police Air Service helicopter assisted armed units
A man has been arrested in connection with an armed incident in St Leonards-on-Sea on Tuesday evening.
Sussex Police received multiple reports of shots being fired towards a vehicle in Theaklen Drive at about 19:10 GMT, followed by a report of a man with a firearm at Churchill Court in nearby Stonehouse Drive.
Armed units responded to the scenes of both incidents.
Police said nobody was hurt and they have recovered several blank rounds.
Specialist officers from neighbouring forces and the National Police Air Service helicopter assisted the armed units.
A man was arrested in connection with the incident and remained in police custody on Wednesday morning. A firearm was seized.
The incident is not being treated as terror-related, Sussex Police said.
There was a large emergency service response to the incident
Det Supt Till Sanderson said: "A number of bullets have been recovered from the scene and these have been confirmed as blank rounds. Component parts of a firearm were also found in the area and are being forensically assessed.
"Reports also indicate a number of people were involved throughout the incident and therefore a Section 60 order remains in place for the Hollington area of St Leonards on Wednesday night.
"This provides officers with the power to conduct stop searches on anyone in this area and we appreciate the support of the public as we carry out these searches."
Local residents told BBC Radio Sussex they heard a police helicopter overhead for about three hours and described the incident as "frightening".
Ch Insp Jayantha Mendis-Gunasekera said: "Due to the nature of the reports we received, it was imperative that we responded accordingly, and this included calling upon our neighbouring forces for support."
"I appreciate this will have been of significant concern to the local community, who can expect to see an increased police presence in the area in the meantime."
Any witnesses are urged to come forward.
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