Thames Valley Police said a man carrying a knife “moved at speed” towards officers
Police officers at Milton Keynes train station after a man was shot dead by armed police officers(Image: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire)
Thames Valley Police have issued an update after a man was shot dead by armed officers outside a train station on Tuesday.
The force said the man “moved at speed” towards officers with a knife after they were called to reports of a man carrying a gun at Milton Keynes train station shortly before 1pm.
Thames Valley Police said a shot was fired after armed officers challenged a white man carrying a knife outside the station and he moved towards them. The man was pronounced dead at the scene at 1.44pm.
The incident has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
In a statement on Wednesday, Matthew Barber, the police and crime commissioner for Thames Valley, said he was “confident that the officers should be praised for their actions”.
He said: “Early yesterday afternoon Thames Valley Police received a report of a man carrying a gun at Milton Keynes railway station. When challenged, the man moved at speed towards officers with a knife and was shot by the police.
“Despite attempts by police officers to provide life-saving first aid, the man was pronounced dead at the scene. Whilst this is of course a shocking incident there is no ongoing risk to the public.
“Of course it is right that the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) review this incident, but from what I understand at this early stage I am confident that the officers should be praised for their actions to protect members of the public.”
Police at the scene in Milton Keynes(Image: PA)
He added that it was “important that we also recognise exactly what we are asking of our armed police officers”.
“It is tragic that a man died in yesterday’s incident, but I am thankful to the police officers who responded bravely and acted decisively in order to protect the public,” he said. “If they had not done so the outcome could have been much worse.”
Thames Valley Police said the man was not carrying a firearm in addition to the knife.
A spokesman for the IOPC, who described the investigation as being “in its very early stages”, said: “We were notified by TVP shortly after the incident and IOPC investigators have been sent to the station and the police post-incident procedure to begin gathering information. Our thoughts are with the family of the man who died and all those who have been affected by this incident.”
Officers from Thames Valley Police and British Transport Police were called to reports that a man was carrying a firearm at the station(Image: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire)
Residents in flats above Milton Keynes station reported hearing a single loud noise before a large police and ambulance presence arrived on Tuesday.
Alan Brockbank, 70, said: “All I heard sounded like something heavy had been dropped, it didn’t sound like a shot or anything.”
A large police presence attended around 10 minutes later, he said, adding: “Then, of course, they were all around the front of the building, actually we could see the person lying on the floor and they were trying to resuscitate him.”
He saw a man receiving CPR chest compressions who was partly obscured by the awning at the station exit.