DYFED-POWYS POLICE sealed off a large section of Carmarthen town centre on Wednesday night (Aug 1) after reports of a male suspect with a gun.
Lammas Street, Catherine Street and Water Street were cordoned off during the incident. There were eight police vehicles at the scene, as well as a fire engine and ambulance. Some of the officers responding to the incident were armed and carrying helmets and shields.
BBC reporter Aled Scourfield has described the incident as ‘some kind of siege’.
A 24-year-old man, Hafod Jones, was arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm and affray, and a 35-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of attempting to commit arson with intent to endanger life. Both will appear in Llanelli Magistrates’ Court today (Aug 3).
A firearm was also recovered from the scene.
The action was caught on camera by a resident in a flat across the road, who filmed the incident on his mobile phone for over an hour and posted it to Facebook. The video has been watched by nearly 30,000 people.
Armed officers were seen speaking to a man through a window and the negotiations went on for over an hour and a half. An officer kept repeating: “Just come to the window please so I can see you are okay, I want to try and help you.”
Then referring to a female who was also inside the property, the officer shouted: “Can you get her to show her face at the window please. Can you let me know that she is okay too.”
He added: “We just want to know that she is alright. Can you ask her to come to the window to show me that she
is okay as well please?”
At 8:40pm loud bangs were heard coming from the street, which many assumed were the police discharging stun grenades.
About 45 minutes later, a person was brought out of the property on a stretcher to the waiting ambulance and taken to hospital. The ambulance was followed by a police van under blue lights.
A police spokesperson told The Carmarthenshire Herald: “Dyfed-Powys Police received a report of a man in possession of a firearm at the Blue Boar public house, Water Street, Carmarthen shortly after 5pm yesterday (Aug 1).
“Officers attended the scene within a few minutes and a search commenced to locate the man. A short time later officers established the man was inside a flat at Water Street, with a woman.
“When officers tried to engage, threats were made to officers and the door was subsequently blocked. Specialist armed response units were deployed, along with fire and ambulance.
“A cordon was set up and the road was closed to keep members of the public safe. Around 30 houses were evacuated to the leisure centre as a precaution.
“At 8.25pm a 24-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm and affray. He remains in police custody.
“At 9pm a 35-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of attempting to commit arson with intent to endanger life. She was initially taken to hospital last night (Aug 1), but is now in police custody.
“Nobody was injured during the incident. A firearm has been seized and the investigation is ongoing.
“Police are appealing for witnesses, anyone with information that can help officers with their investigation is asked to report it by phoning 101. If you are Deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired text the non-emergency number: 07811 311 908. Alternatively, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously by calling 0800 555111, or visiting crimestoppers-uk.org. Use reference: DPP/0078/01/08/2018/01/C”
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