A knife-wielding man, who was holding a number of staff hostage at a Job Centre Plus facility in Newcastle, was arrested by the police on Friday, Huffington Post reported. All the hostages were released unharmed, reported BBC.
The police said the man was known to the Job centre and were treating the matter as an isolated incident. Officials of the Northumbria Police said they had no concrete proof yet on if the matter was terror related. The Northumbria Police tweeted: “We want to confirm at this time there is no information or intelligence to suggest the incident in Byker is terror related.”
A bomb disposal squad was also present at the scene as earlier police reports had suggested that the man might have been in possession of an explosive device. The man had entered the premises on Clifford Street in Byker at about 8 am BST and held several members of the staff hostage for about two-and-a-half hours. The hostages were released at about 10.20 BST, police said.
Roads around the premises and the Byker metro station were also closed by the police, who advised members of the public to avoid the area, reported BBC.
On Thursday, Scotland Yard had arrested three men, believed to be plotting a terror attack in the United Kingdom, from East London. The arrests were said to be unrelated to the investigation into the London Bridge attack.
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