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UK: gunman holds hostages

UPDATE: 2:45 p.m.

A gunman who reportedly held two employees hostage at a central England bowling alley was arrested Sunday night after armed police moved in. He was treated at the scene and taken to a hospital for treatment.

The two workers held for roughly four hours were released unharmed, police and ambulance officials said.

Details about the gunman's condition were not released. He has not yet been charged or identified.

Warwickshire Police Superintendent Alex Franklin-Smith said specialist firearms squads and police negotiators rushed to Bermuda Park, the shopping centre where the bowling alley is located, when reports of a possible hostage situation came in.

"We are pleased that we were able to bring this incident to a peaceful resolution and that there were no injuries," he said.

The bowling alley's operations director, Chris Clegg, said the two hostages were checked by medical personnel and appeared to be fine.

Earlier, Warwickshire police had warned the public to stay away from the shopping centre in Nuneaton, about 7.5 miles north of the town of Coventry, but said the problem was not terrorism-related.

Mehdi Amshar, chief executive of the MFA Bowl bowling alley chain, told Sky News that he was informed the two employees were being held at gunpoint at the company's Nuneaton branch.

Amshar said he believed the gunman was an ex-husband or former boyfriend of an employee, but he couldn't be sure. Police did not confirm those details.

All customers were able to leave the premises and were unharmed, Amshar said.

 


ORIGINAL STORY: 9:11 a.m.

Police in central England are warning the public to stay away from a shopping centre where British media report a man with a shotgun has taken hostages at a bowling alley.

The Warwickshire Police department said on Twitter that its officers were dealing Sunday afternoon with an "ongoing incident" in Nuneaton, near the city of Birmingham. It did not provide details about the nature of the incident.

Citing an eyewitness from a nearby restaurant, Sky News says the shopping centre is on lockdown. The witness, Sarah Fleming, says she had been told a man with a gun had taken an unspecified number of hostages.



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