Police shoot man ‘with chainsaw, wearing a gas mask’

Zac SherrattBBC Information, South EastPhil HarrisonBBC Information, HollingbourneUKNIPAn explosive ordnance disposal staff has additionally been on the sceneA man brandishing a chainsaw whereas sporting a gasoline masks and physique armour was shot by police who believed he could have had a bomb, investigators have mentioned.Officers attended a property in Hollingbourne, Kent, at about 19:15 BST on Monday to arrest a person on suspicion of assault.Police bodycam footage reveals a person wielding a chainsaw and holding one other merchandise, which officers believed on the time to be an improvised explosive system (IED), in accordance with the Unbiased Workplace for Police Conduct (IOPC).Kent Police confirmed a firearm was used to shoot the person and mentioned the incident was not associated to terrorism.Armed officers had been deployed throughout the tried arrest when the person refused to come back out of the home, in accordance with the IOPC.The company mentioned police fired a baton spherical on the man earlier than he took cowl behind a hedge.”Officers moved in and a police canine was deployed,” a spokesperson mentioned.”The person ignored orders to place down the chainsaw and a second baton spherical was discharged after which, seconds later, he moved in the direction of officers and was shot by an officer with a traditional firearm.”UKNIPOfficers had been known as to the incident in Ashford Street, close to The Park Gate Inn, in Hollingbourne on Monday night The person, aged in his mid-30s, was taken to hospital with accidents to his arm and stomach. His accidents usually are not considered life-threatening, however life-changing, the IOPC mentioned.Weapons had been discovered on the deal with and the bomb squad “made a tool protected”, the IOPC mentioned.IOPC director Amanda Rowe mentioned: “Police shootings are luckily uncommon, nevertheless, given a person has been injured after being shot by police, our position is to independently examine all the circumstances surrounding this incident together with the actions and choices taken by the police.”Primarily based on evaluation of proof gathered to this point, no police officer is beneath investigation for both misconduct or criminality – they’re being handled as witnesses.”We recognize that the neighborhood will need solutions rapidly and our investigators are working onerous to ascertain the info and piece collectively what occurred.”Our ideas are with everybody affected.”A Kent Police spokesperson mentioned the drive was supporting the IOPC’s inquiry.