Police shoot man dead in Cheshire village of Culcheth - The Guardian

Police shot one man dead and took two others into custody during a shootout in the village of Culcheth, Cheshire on Saturday night.

Local people watched in horror as armed police engaged in what was described as a "pre-planned operation", thought to be linked to a violent robbery two weeks ago in which a thief wearing a balaclava punched one shopkeeper in the face and threatened others with a machete.

The police watchdog, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), is now investigating events surrounding the death of the man after the vehicle he was in was stopped by police at about 7.20pm.

Jessica Brown, a local schoolgirl, described how the shopping precinct in the quiet village turned into "the set of a horror movie" just prior to the fatal shooting.

Brown was enjoying a night out in a pizza restaurant in the centre of the village when, she said: "A couple ran in and said there was something going on. They told us to stand back against the wall. The people in the shop got down on the floor to make sure they could not be seen.

"There were loads of bangs from guns and people were running around outside screaming … I saw three men in gas masks with guns running … followed by two other men.

"Loads of police vans were parked across the road in the car park," she said. "There were undercover police with guns walking around."

Brown was picked up by a friend's father and as she was driven away, she saw a black van. "As it drove past I heard bangs coming out of it," she said. "There were two or three people in the van.

"I didn't believe it was happening. It was like an action film or the set of a horror movie. It was unreal."

Jessica's father Anthony said his daughter only found out someone had been killed when she arrived home "crying her eyes out".

BBC News reported that the shooting was linked to an investigation into armed robberies in the north-west and that the operation had been planned "for some weeks".

Deputy Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: "I understand there will be a lot of anxious people both in the Cheshire community where this happened and across Greater Manchester itself. I also understand there will inevitably be speculation about what happened and the events leading up to this man's death.

"Because there is an IPCC independent investigation, I cannot go into the specific details of the operation but equally I do want to provide some reassurance to people."

A spokeswoman for Cheshire police added that the shooting was an isolated incident and there was no risk to the community as a whole.

An IPCC spokeswoman confirmed they had investigators at the scene and working with officers from both Greater Manchester and Cheshire police.