Seven arrests in total after men seen with weapons

We’ve now arrested a total of seven people as part of our ongoing investigation into an incident involving men with weapons in Stoke-on-Trent.

Officers were called at 5.45pm on Saturday (11 May) when the group were seen on Rochester Road, Longton.

Firearms officers searched the area but no-one was found and no-one was reported injured.

We’ve been looking over CCTV, speaking to people in the area at the time and progressing our lines of enquiry to find out more about what happened.

The first arrest was a 25-year-old man, from Stoke-on-Trent, on suspicion of violent disorder. He was questioned and released on conditional police bail.

Three further arrests were made:

• A 64-year-old man, from Stoke-on-Trent, on suspicion of possessing a firearm without a certificate
• A 31-year-old man, from Stoke-on-Trent, on suspicion of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life or enable another to do so
• A 29-year-old man, from Stoke-on-Trent, on suspicion of possessing a firearm without a certificate

They have all been questioned and released on bail while enquiries continue.

Today (15 May), we’ve arrested a further three men believed to be involved in the violent disorder, aged 18, 19 and 23, all from Stoke-on-Trent.

They remain in custody at this time.

We’d like to thank everyone that has come forward with information so far to help with our investigation. We still want to speak to people who were in the area at the time or those with information that can help with enquiries.

Get in touch by calling 101, quoting incident 670 of 12 May, or by messaging on Live Chat.

You can also call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.