A man in his 40s has been shot dead by police in Bedford following an armed standoff that lasted through the night and into the following morning.
Officers were first called to reports of vehicles being damaged at around 10.40pm on Monday. On arrival they found a man who had barricaded himself inside a property and was making threats. Armed officers, police negotiators and other emergency services attended the scene and spent several hours attempting to resolve the situation peacefully.
Despite those efforts, Bedfordshire Police said the man “presented a weapon” shortly after 9.30am on Tuesday, at which point officers fired. He was treated at the scene but died approximately an hour later.
Bedfordshire Police has made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which has launched an investigation into the circumstances of the shooting — standard procedure following any incident in which police discharge a firearm.
