Southend armed police incident in Bournemouth Park Road reaction

On Saturday, armed police officers attended Bournemouth Park Road at 4.30pm.

This was in response to an incident in Shoebury last Friday where there were reports of two people in a vehicle, one of whom was seen with a firearm.

Officers attended the incident, but no arrests were made.

Essex Police closed-off Bournemouth Park Road by shutting the road near South Avenue and Central Avenue, on Saturday.

There were three police cars in the road and armed officers in full tactical gear stood in the middle of the road.

Incident - armed officers in Bournemouth Park Road on Saturday (Image: Public) A man and a woman were both arrested and remain in custody for questioning. 

Clare James, 49, of Eastwood, was running errands and had dropped off her 24-year-old daughter who lives in Southend.

On the way home to Eastwood, she got stuck in Bournemouth Park Road due to the closure.

She said: It was a surreal experience.

“I had just dropped my daughter off, we had seen the police vehicles driving with sirens and said ‘here we go again’ expecting another stabbing, another day in Southend.

“On my way back, I got stuck in the road where the police were and saw the armed police and called her to tell her, it wasn’t nice to see.

“It was alarming, it looked like something from a film.

“I felt sorry for the people living in the houses surrounding, it must have been really scary for them.

“Every weekend there is something, last week a stabbing outside my son’s school in Rayleigh Road! It’s just nonstop and getting worse, it is not safe anymore.”

Street - Bournemouth Park Road between South Avenue and Central Avenue (Image: Google Maps)This incident follows on from violence in Southend across the last few months.

Live facial recognition was deployed in Southend following a shocking machete attack on September 15.

Officers were called to Southchurch Road at around 1.40am on October 6 after reports of an incident involving a group of people.

Residents claimed to have seen one man "running around with a huge knife".

Councillor Martin Terry, responsible for community safety, is confident in Essex Police’s work and has reacted to Saturday’s incident.

He said: “Following recent incidents, the chief inspector of Southend Police Dave Browning, gave a clear undertaking that police will be pursuing anyone connected with violent behaviour in a robust way.

“I am glad to see they are following that.

Southend Councillor Martin Terry (Image: Archive) “The police and Southend Council want to make Southend as safe as possible

“It is disappointing to hear of an alleged firearm incident.

“But I am pleased police are dealing with these incidents in a robust way to make Southend a no-go-area for violent behaviour.

“Residents should be reassured that police are keeping their promise and dealing with these incidents.

“The police took all the necessary precautions to protect the public as they shut the road yesterday.”

The force - a police officer (Image: UGC)

Chief Superintendent Stuart Hooper said: “We appreciate the policing presence in the area this afternoon will have caused concern.

“This was not a live incident, and our assessment was – and remains – that there was no threat to anyone in the area.

“A man and a woman have been arrested and will be questioned on suspicion of firearm offences.

He added: “The incident reported to us remains under investigation and the victims in that case were not injured but understandably shaken.

“At this stage, we are able to say that our current belief is that the incident in Shoebury was contained and took place between people known to each other.

“I know there might be natural concerns, given previous reports in the city over the last months.

“I do want our community to know that this incident is not connected to them in any way.”