Police evacuate London block of flats after ‘paint grenade’ discovered

  • london
  • August 14, 2020
  • Comments Off on Police evacuate London block of flats after ‘paint grenade’ discovered
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A whole block of flats in east London was cleared out after police found what they suspected to be a grenade.

Officers were carrying out a firearms search discovered the explosive device at around 1.45am this morning.

An eyewitness said ‘the whole block was awoken by police’ banging on people’s doors telling them to get out.

The device was removed for examination and was disposed of by specialist officers, who on initial inspection believed it to be a paint grenade. Residents were allowed back in at around 3am.

Two men, aged 62 and 37, and a 52-year-old woman were arrested at the scene on suspicion of possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply, possession of a firearm (a Taser) and possession of an offensive weapon.

They were taken to a police station in east London for questioning where they remain.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman told Metro.co.uk: ‘Where there is any indication of possible danger or risk of injury to a member of the public, we will always take every possible precaution to prevent people coming to harm.

‘Although this incident was dealt with quickly, we are grateful to the residents at the venue for their understanding and cooperation in leaving the building at such an inconvenient hour.’

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