Gunman shoots himself after 16-hour stand-off with police - Mirror.co.uk

For hour after hour, through the night and into the next morning, police officers patiently tried to talk this desperate man into giving up his firearm.

But this is the moment when their efforts over 16 hours come to nothing as he shoots himself in the head.

Thought to be in his 30s, the man died just before noon yesterday on a football pitch at Leagrave Park in Luton, Beds.

The stand-off began at about 8.30pm on Sunday when the man was challenged by armed police.

He stood in the middle of the pitch and watched as officers cordoned off the large open space surrounded by high-rise flats, woods and a children's play area.

Then he sat cross-legged close to a set of goalposts with a sawn-off shotgun wedged under his chin and waited.

Through the night trained negotiators behind protective screens tried to persuade him to give himself up. They set up lights and brought him a McDonald's meal, but he stayed out.

Dawn broke, still nothing happened and then police threw a mobile phone close to where he was sitting.

He walked a few paces towards the phone as negotiators shouted: "Point the gun at the ground as you walk."

Suddenly, he sat back down, looked left and right and pulled the trigger.

Advertisement - article continues below »

Mirror photographer Gavin Fogg, who witnessed the stand-off, said: "He splayed his legs and appeared to put the shotgun on his lap briefly, possibly to check he had a round in the gun's chamber.

"Then he pulled the gun back up to his chin and I heard a loud bang.

"Nearby on the edge of a police cordon a young woman screamed hysterically.

"He was thrown back and police ran towards him, he was still moving."

Medical crews tried to save him, but he was pronounced dead at 3pm.

Yesterday, a woman, who didn't wish to be identified, told us: "The man told the police his name is Steven and it's all to do with his girlfriend not letting him see his children.

"He was telling officers he wouldn't budge and was prepared to stay there for the next two days."

A police spokesman said: "The man involved in the shooting incident has been pronounced dead.

"It would appear at this time the man discharged a weapon on himself, a shotgun has been recovered.

"The incident has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission and Bedfordshire Police are co-operating fully."