A MAN WHO barricaded himself into an Accessorize store on London’s Regent Street and threatened to blow himself up has been arrested.
The Guardian reports that the suspect gave himself up following a four hour standoff, which brought large parts of Central London to a standstill.
The siege began just after midnight, when police were notified that a man had locked himself inside the store and was threatening to hurt himself.
A cordon was set up around the shop, which is close to Oxford Circus underground station, while police negotiators attempted to resolve the situation.
At around 5am, eyewitnesses described seeing a man walking out of the shop with his arms outstretched and was then made to strip naked in the street before being arrested by armed police.
A statement from the police said:
Police were called to a commercial premises in Regent Street shortly after 12.20am today following an alarm activation. On arrival officers saw a man inside the building purporting to have an explosive device. Officers surrounded the building and cleared the area while attempts were made to make contact with the man. At 05.15am, following negotiation, a man left the building voluntarily and was detained. He is currently in custody at a central London police station. Inquiries into the incident continue and police cordons remain in place at this time.
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