Park Square siege: Everything we know about police incident at flats after nearly 24 hours
Almost 24 hours into the siege on Broad Street in Sheffield city centre here’s everything we know so far.
Negotiators
Negotiators continue to talk to a man claiming to have “weapons and explosives" in The Gateway flats on Broad Street.
Armed police
Armed police were initially called at 7pm on Monday evening. At 4pm on Tuesday South Yorkshire Police said Sheffield Parkway between Park Square roundabout and Derek Dooley Way remained closed in both directions “while specialist officers continue to negotiate with the man.”
Congestion
It means congestion is set to build as rush hour approaches, especially on Derek Dooley Way which is now the main route out of the city to the Parkway. Thousands of commuters were affected by the closures this morning with some spending three hours trying to get to work.
At 5pm on Tuesday, Supertram posted: “Due to the ongoing police incident in Sheffield city centre we are still unable to provide a full service across the network....Thank you for your continued patience.”
Cordon
Star reporter Alastair Ulke, reporting from the scene, said it was the largest police cordon he’d ever seen and Sheffield was “at a standstill.”
Evacuated
The Gateway residents were evacuated and spent the night at Pond's Forge sports centre
The incident also affected students living in the Pinnacles flats, which neighbours the Gateway apartments.
A spokesperson for Sheffield Hallam said: “The university is actively working with our accommodation partners to support those Sheffield Hallam students directly impacted.
“We would urge anyone affected to follow the latest advice of South Yorkshire Police during this ongoing incident."