Arrest of two men near Aldi in Leeds linked to shooting as police recover loaded gun

West Yorkshire Police says officers found a loaded gun, ammunition and a knife at the scene of the armed swoop, near Mushroom Street in the Lincoln Green area on the edge of the city centre.

The force has now revealed it was part of an investigation by its Firearms Prevent Team into gun crime across Leeds, including the shooting of a man in the leg in Meanwood on November 20, a robbery of a shop in Chapeltown on Saturday in which a gun was fired and an aggravated burglary at a house in Woodhouse on Wednesday in which a gun was again fired.

Two men, aged 28 and 24, were arrested on suspicion of firearms offences yesterday.

The 28-year-old was Tasered at the scene during his arrest.

He was treated in hospital for minor injuries before being transferred to custody.

Distraction devices, which make loud bangs and flashes, were also deployed by specialist officers during the operation.

Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Inspector Jaz Khan, who heads the Firearms Prevent Team, said: “The criminal use of firearms on the streets is something that we will always treat very seriously and these arrests are a significant development in our ongoing investigations into recent firearms offences.

“We have a number of scenes currently in place to undergo specialist searches and we will be interviewing the men arrested as our enquiries continue.

“Highly-trained specialist firearms officers have used necessary and appropriate tactics to safely detain these men without incident, resulting in the recovery of a loaded firearm and ammunition.

“We recognise that these tactics may have caused some initial concern in the community but we hope people will now understand and support our actions as part of our investigation into very serious offences.

“Specialist detectives from the Firearms Prevent Team and Homicide and Major Enquiry Team will be continuing to conduct thorough and comprehensive enquiries into these incidents, and we are liaising closely with our neighbourhood policing colleagues to assist them in reassuring the community.”