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NatWest bank in Birmingham sealed off amid reports of 'armed man' inside Gunman arrested as police seal off Natwest bank branch in Birmingham
(35 minutes later)
A Birmingham branch of NatWest Bank has been sealed off by police amid reports of an armed man inside. A man has been arrested at a Birmingham branch of Natwest which was sealed off by police after an emergency call reported a gunman in the building.
Negotiators have reportedly arrived at the scene. Witnesses said the man burst into the bank armed with a pistol.
More follows... Before the arrest a West Midlands Police spokesman said: “Police received an emergency call at 11.45am reporting a man with a firearm inside NatWest bank in Bristol Road South, Northfield.
“Response and armed officers have contained the building and police negotiators are on the scene.”
The service later tweeted that “a man has now been arrested by officers at NatWest in Northfield”.
According to the Birmingham Mail, which spoke to witnesses, customers at the bank were allowed to leave, while staff were locked inside.
One witness said: A man had what looked like a 9mm pistol, he pulled it out before he went in.
“There were civilian hostages in the bank.
“The first armed police turned up within minutes.
“The police were using an air vent to talk to him.”
A woman, who did not want to be named, told the paper prior to the arrest: “Armed police are lined up around the building and the roads are cordoned off.
“It’s on lockdown.
“The police have told us to stay inside and away from the windows.
“There is what looks like riot police outside the bank at the moment and it’s on complete lockdown.” A lady has just told us that they let the public out of the bank, but the staff are still in there.
“It’s so scary, I just really feel for the staff inside the building.”
A spokesperson for NatWest said: “We are aware of an ongoing incident at Natwest in Northfield, Birmingham and we are working with the police to solve this as soon as possible.”