Sixty-year-old man pulled weapon from bag before holding employee in interview room, say West Midlands police

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

A man has been arrested after police were called to reports of an armed man inside a branch of NatWest in Birmingham.

Police marksmen sealed off the bank in the Northfield area of the city after receiving an emergency call at 11.45am on Friday.



A number of bank staff were believed to be inside the building at the time.



The 60-year-old man was understood to have pulled the weapon from a bag before holding a female employee in an interview room, according to West Midlands police.

A spokesman for the force said: “Police received an emergency call … reporting a man with a firearm inside NatWest bank in Bristol Road South … Response and armed officers have contained the building and police negotiators are on the scene.”

Pictures of the scene show shoppers huddled behind a police cordon.

B31 Voices (@B31Voices) Bristol Road South, Northfield is CLOSED between the Post Office and B&M due to police incident at Natwest Bank. Please AVOID at the moment pic.twitter.com/vnOCmygubs

The man has been taken to hospital for assessment and is expected to be questioned on suspicion of firearms offences.



Ch Insp Shaun Phillips said: “Officers quickly surrounded the bank, set up a street cordon and established phone contact with some staff members who were hiding in a back room.



“It’s understood the man was with one female staff member while other staff were lying low in another back room. No customers were caught up in the incident and no one was hurt.



“The man’s motive is unclear at this stage but it doesn’t appear this was a robbery attempt. Staff did exactly the right thing in remaining calm, and I’d like to praise their actions in what was undoubtedly a scary situation. Thankfully we managed to bring it to an end very quickly.”