Man with crossbow threatens members of the public in Barnsley town centre

It happened at around 1.30am this morning, police say a 31 year old man has been arrested.

Author: Edward BreslinPublished 9th May 2021

Police have made an arrest, after a man with a crossbow was spotted threatening members of the public in Barnsley town centre.

They were called at around 1.29am, and located the man on police CCTV on Peel Street.

Armed response officers were immediately deployed to the scene.

Superintendent Paul McCurry of South Yorkshire Police said:

“Prior to their arrival, unarmed officers on routine public order duty approached the man using their shields to protect members of the public.

“Their actions resulted in the man dropping the weapon, which was safely recovered.

“The man then ran from officers, climbing onto the bridge on West Way. Due to the skills of officers at the scene, he was swiftly detained and brought to safety.”

A 31-year old man from Barnsley was arrested on suspicion of Section 3 Public Order Act Affray and remains in police custody at this time.

No-one was injured during the incident.

Supt McCurry continued:

“This was a serious incident which was distressing for those who saw it unfold.

“Our officers showed their absolute commitment to public safety this morning, they responded very quickly with limited protection to safely resolve the incident.

“Clearly our investigation into this incident is continuing and it is vital that anyone who saw what happened gets in touch with us. If you have any information, photos or video footage that might help us, please contact 101 quoting incident number 75 of 9 May.”

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