It took police around three hours to defuse a “critical incident” in a suburban neighborhood in East London after a man barricaded himself inside a flat and threatened to blow up the building.

Residents residing in Earlsdown House in Barking have been told to return to their flats after police managed to detain a male suspect who threatened to burn down an entire block.

Police began clearing the building of residents at around 10.20pm local time after a man barricaded himself on the 7th floor of the 12-story tower block, threatening to "blow the flat up and burn the block down."

#Barking BREAKING: Met Police negotiators are dealing with an incident at Earlsdown House on Wheelers Cross where a man has barricaded himself into a flat on the 7th floor threatening to blow it up and burn the block down.Residents have been evacuated. pic.twitter.com/oogBVPalni — London 999 Feed (@999London) August 20, 2019

The force spent the next few hours negotiating the surrender of the suspect as the fire department and ambulances stood by. By 1:30 am, everything was cleared. "The male has been safely detained by police and is now receiving medical attention," Barking and Dagenham Police said in a tweet, without providing further details.

Update: The incident is now slowly concluding. The male has been safely detained by police and is now receiving medical attention from @Ldn_Ambulance - Local residents can now return to their homes. Police will remain on scene for the foreseeable. https://t.co/iInCaOk5xP — Barking & Dagenham Police (@MPSBarkDag) August 21, 2019

If you like this story, share it with a friend!