A bystander has told of his concern for his young daughter after he witnessed police officers dramatically stopping a car carrying teenagers allegedly wielding dangerous weapons on a busy Dulwich street.
Mark Irving was about to pick his daughter up from an after-school class in Dulwich Village on Friday evening (October 1) when he said he saw four police cars, including an unmarked vehicle, “hem in” a car at speed.
“Armed police leapt out with bulletproof vests and machine guns, pointing at the windows and shouting get out,” he told the News this week.
Mr Irving said that three young men got out of the car and one dropped a large bladed weapon – what appeared to be some kind of sword or large knife that he thought was “at least two feet long”. Another appeared to be carrying some kind of weapon too, he added.
“The first man was told to drop it, and it fell to the tarmac,” Mr Irving said. “The two other occupants of the car were pinned against the fence on the other side.”
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Officers then took the men into custody. Police later confirmed that two teenage suspects had been charged with a weapons offence on Monday and have been bailed to appear before magistrates at the weekend.
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Mr Irving said he was worried for his daughter’s safety as her group class with other children was taking place very close by to the dramatic stop.
“As the guys were being put in the [police] van, I got my daughter and shielded her face,” he said. “I put her in the car and quickly drove away. She was pretty shocked.”