A man has been shot dead by police responding to reports of a person carrying a firearm at Milton Keynes railway station.
Thames Valley police (TVP) officers were called to the station by members of the public at 12.55pm on Tuesday. The man was shot by police in the station square outside the building and died at 1.44pm.
At 2.26pm, about an hour and a half after TVP officers arrived on the scene, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) launched an investigation into the incident after being contacted by the force.
The force said: “Officers from Thames Valley police and British Transport Police were called to reports of a man carrying a firearm at Milton Keynes railway station, Elder Gate, Milton Keynes, at 12.55pm today.
“Armed officers from Thames Valley police responded and challenged the man, before shots were fired by police. Life-saving actions were immediately taken at the scene, but the man was pronounced dead at 1.44pm.
“There is not believed to be any further risk to the public at this time. We will provide more details as soon as we are able to.”
A spokesperson for the police watchdog, who described the investigation as being “in its very early stages”, said: “We were notified by TVP shortly after the incident and IOPC investigators have been sent to the station and the police post incident procedure to begin gathering information.
“Our thoughts are with the family of the man who died and all those who have been affected by this incident. Our role in these circumstances is to independently investigate all of the circumstances surrounding this incident including the actions and decisions taken by the police.”
Shivani Sharma, a reporter from LBC, said a witness told her “he heard screaming back and forth for around 30 minutes and the man refused to drop to the ground”.
British Transport Police officers were also on scene. A spokesperson said: “BTP received a report from Thames Valley police at 1pm today, of a man carrying a firearm at Milton Keynes station.
“Armed officers from Thames Valley Police responded and he was shot and pronounced dead outside of the station. BTP officers are on scene to assist our colleagues from TVP, and the station is open as normal.”
A witness told the Daily Mail they would have nightmares after seeing the “shocking” scene outside the station.
“I was having my coffee and I saw a police Volvo arrive, they said. “I heard a pop – I used to work with firearms in private security, I knew it wasn’t a car backfiring or anything.
“When I went out people were crowding around and I could see the hole in his stomach and blood gushing out. They turned him to look for an exit wound and then laid him flat and started doing compressions. I heard him gasping.”
Police put a cordon in place around the area and several entrances to the station were closed off. London Northwestern Railway said there had been no impact on services.
