London, Jan 5 (IANS) A 49-year-old gun-wielding man was arrested for opening fire inside a shop owned by an Indian national before going on a rampage outside a packed cinema in England's Liverpool city.
The Merseyside Police said they were called to the News and Booze store, known locally as Sangha Newsagents, on Lower House Lane, Norris Green, at around 8.30 p.m. (local time) on Wednesday.
It was reported that a man had entered the shop at about 8 p.m., threatened the store assistant and demanded cash before opening fire and leaving the store empty handed.
The store assistant was not injured in the incident, but was left extremely distressed by the ordeal, the Merseyside Police said in a statement.
No damage was caused to the shop, which is owned by Indian national Harjoodh Kular, according to the UK Companies House.
The video of the man surfaced on social media in which he could be seen wearing a hoodie, black trousers and flip-flops, firing shots inside the shop.
Just before the man attacked the shop, the police received another call that shots had been fired outside the Showcase Cinema at the Stonedale retail park in Croxteth.
It was reported that a man armed with a gun entered the cinema complex and threatened two members of the staff in the foyer, before leaving.
When he got outside, he fired a number of shots in the air before escaping in a car. No one was injured in the incident and no damage was caused either.
At the time of the incident, majority of the people in the cinema were watching film screenings and they became aware of the incident when officers arrived at the scene and the complex was put into lockdown.
Following these two incidents, further reports were received that at about 10.20 p.m. the same day, gunshots were heard at a property on Malpas Road. No one was injured in the incident.
The man was arrested by the Armed Response Officers at 4.46 a.m. on Thursday when raids were carried out at a property in Fazakerley.
Assistant Chief Constable Jenn Wilson said: “The shocking and distressing impact these incidents will have on the shop assistant, the staff at the Showcase Cinema and those filmgoers who found themselves in a lockdown situation in the complex after shots were fired outside the cinema, and the residents of Malpas Road cannot be underestimated."
"Thankfully, incidents like this involving a single offender in three separate shootings in close proximity and in quick succession are extremely rare and this is the first time we have had to deal with an incident of this nature on the streets of Merseyside," Wilson added.
According to the police, when the officers arrested the man, he was aggressive and a Taser had to be deployed.
He has been taken into custody on suspicion of possession of Section 1 firearm with intent to endanger life and robbery, and has been taken to a police station in Merseyside.
The police said that high visibility patrols will remain in the area to reassure the members of the local community.
