Armed police stopped a car after reports of a man allegedly in possession of a firearm in a park.
Officers received a report today at around 2.50pm that a man was allegedly in possession of a firearm in Picton Park in Wavertree. Armed officers attended and detained a man in a vehicle at the junction of Picton Road and Carno Street.
Eyewitnesses said they saw three marked and one unmarked police car in the park and a helicopter was also circling above. Flight tracking website ADS-B Exchange also showed the helicopter circling the park.
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A 38-year-old man from Wavertree was arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm. On arrest, he was reported to have directed racial slurs at one of the officers and was further arrested on suspicion of a Section 4a, racially aggravated public order offence.
He was taken into custody and will be questioned by police. No injuries were reported. The park and surrounding area have been thoroughly search by police and no firearm has been recovered, a spokesperson for the force said.
A spokesperson for Merseyside Police said: "Police have arrested a man in Wavertree this afternoon, Thursday, March 24. At around 2.50pm we received a report that a male was allegedly in possession of a firearm in Picton Park.
"Armed officers attended and detained a man in a vehicle at the junction of Picton Road and Carno Street. The 38-year-old man from Wavertree was arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm.
"On arrest, he was reported to have directed racial slurs at one of our officers and was further arrested on suspicion of a Section 4a, racially aggravated public order offence He was taken into custody and will be questioned by police.
"No injuries were reported. The park and surrounding area have been thoroughly search by police and no firearm has been recovered."
Anyone with any information on this incident is asked to contact @MerPolCC on Twitter or ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’ on Facebook or call 101 with reference 626 of 24 March.
You can also call Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800 555 111, or their online form here.
