Terror as man brandishes crossbow and threatens members of the public in South Yorkshire

The shocking scenes unfolded on Peel Street, in Barnsley town centre, during the early hours of today, Sunday, May 9.

A video circulating online shows the man pointing the weapon at people and shouting unintelligibly.

At one point he can be seen placing the crossbow on the pavement, only to pick it up and direct it at police as they rush to retrieve the weapon. He is then heard to shout what sounds like ‘I hope you ******* die’.

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Police eventually got him to drop the weapon when they bravely approached the man using their shields to protect members of the public.

He ran off, climbing onto the bridge on West Way but was swiftly detained and brought to safety.

Police said a 31-year old man from Barnsley had been arrested on suspicion of Section 3 Public Order Act Affray and remained in police custody this morning.

Officers were called at around 1.29am to reports of a man with a crossbow who was located on police CCTV and seen to be threatening members of the public on Peel Street.

Armed response officers were scrambled to the scene but before they arrived, Superintendent Paul McCurry told how unarmed officers on routine patrols had bravely approached the man to protect members of the public.

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“Their actions resulted in the man dropping the weapon, which was safely recovered,” he said.

"The man then ran from officers, climbing onto the bridge on West Way. Due to the skills of officers at the scene, he was swiftly detained and brought to safety.”

He added: “This was a serious incident which was distressing for those who saw it unfold.

“Our officers showed their absolute commitment to public safety this morning, they responded very quickly with limited protection to safely resolve the incident.

“Clearly our investigation into this incident is continuing and it is vital that anyone who saw what happened gets in touch with us. If you have any information, photos or video footage that might help us, please contact 101 quoting incident number 75 of May 9.”

No one was injured in the incident.