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| Taxi driver tells of city gun drama http://www.taxi-driver.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10706 |
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| Author: | captain cab [ Tue Feb 10, 2009 5:48 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Taxi driver tells of city gun drama |
Taxi driver tells of city gun drama A taxi driver has spoken about the terrifying moment he was confronted with a man wielding a gun at pedestrians near his car in the middle of a busy city centre street. Steve Bartram, 37, a taxi driver who regularly works around the Guildhall area of Norwich, was parked in St Peter's Street opposite City Hall when he spotted the man, who was holding a gun and pointing it at a man next to his taxi yesterday just after 1pm. Although police later found the gun to be a replica, Mr Bartram said he was fearful for what the man might do after he suddenly started pointing the weapon at passers-by. He said: “He was pointing the gun at everyone. He was running around like a mad man. I've seen some things in Norwich having been a taxi driver here for 13 years, but never that.” The father-of-five who lives in the city said he was shocked by the events that unfolded in front of his eyes. He said: “The gunman started pointing the gun at this man near my taxi. The man looked scared and obviously didn't know what was going to happen - he thought he was going to shoot him. The man was crouched down and had his hands covering his face. “Then he suddenly turned on these women, pointing the gun at them. “I didn't know it was a replica so I was thinking it was a real gun all by this point. Mr Bartram said as soon as he saw what was happening he made a call to the police, and as he was doing so, he saw the man flee towards St Giles Street, still holding the gun before heading off to Pottergate. Mr Bartram said: “The next thing I saw was the police go down and follow where then man had just been, and there was a police helicopter overhead as well. Then a few minutes later a police car came back up and past my cab and the man who had been holding the gun was in the back.” “It is scary to think of the people that could have been hurt. “It is not something you see every day, to be confronted with someone like that holding the gun.” A spokeswoman for Norfolk Police said: “At about 1pm yesterday, Norfolk Constabulary received several calls from members of the public regarding their concern around a man who appeared to be in possession of a handgun in the Pottergate area. “Officers subsequently arrested the offender and recovered a replica handgun.” In October last year the Evening News reported how plans to redevelop the Guildhall Hill area had been drawn up in a bid to curb anti-social behaviour in the area. Police teams prioritised Guildhall Hill for patrols because of the anti social drinkers who have frequented the area for years. Hackney carriage drivers who operate from the rank near Guildhall Hill have complained about the high levels of violence in the area. In August last year they urged police to put more resources into clearing up Guildhall Hill claiming they were losing trade and working in fear of being attacked by gangs congregating in the area. They spoke out after a taxi driver was assaulted in Guildhall Hill and left with a gashed eye after refusing to take home a man he believed to be drunk. They also warned that the problems which used to be associated with Prince of Wales Road appeared to have migrated to Guildhall Hill and expressed their frustration by putting up a sign which read Welcome to Dodge City Saloon. It is also the area where father-of-two Frank McGarahan was killed in September last year. Mr McGarahan, a millionaire banker from Much Hadham in Hertfordshire, died after trying to break up a fracas on Guildhall Hill in Norwich on Sunday, September 28. |
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