A police cordon remains in place on Stanley Road between Great Mersey Street and Latham Street
11:24, 09 Jan 2026Updated 11:27, 09 Jan 2026
Police at the cordon near the junction of Latham Street, Kirkdale(Image: Andy Teebay)
A man fired an imitation gun at police as they chased him through Kirkdale. Merseyside Police officers were called to reports of a “domestic-related incident” in the area at around 3.40am today, January 9.
The man tried to escape on foot, resulting in a “brief pursuit” in which he shot an imitation firearm at the officers, Merseyside Police said. No one was injured in the incident. A 25-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possession of an imitation firearm in a public place, two counts of assaulting an emergency worker and harassment. He has been taken into custody where he will be questioned.
A police cordon remains in place on Stanley Road between Great Mersey Street and Latham Street. Further closures were put in place on Great Mersey Street from Edmonton Close to Stanley Road, Heriot Street, Lemon Street and St Alphonsus Street.
Multiple police officers and vehicles remained at the scene this morning, January 9. A van from Merseyside Police’s Matrix unit, dedicated to tackling gun crime, was spotted arriving at the scene at around 9.50am. This was followed by a forensics van, which arrived at Heriot Street, off Great Mersey Street, at around 10.30am.
Police on Stanley Road, Kirkdale, January 9 2026(Image: Andy Teebay)
Motorists are advised to avoid the route while police continue to investigate and gather evidence at the scene.
Arriva North West bus services reported on social media: “Due to police incident on Stanley Road between Boundary Street and Lambeth Road Services 47, 300, 52, 52A and 55 will operate via Lambeth Road, Smith Street and Scotland Road in both directions. Services will be subject to delays and short notice cancellations.”
Assistant Chief Constable Alex Goss said: “This was an extremely challenging incident for officers to deal with, but thankfully no one was injured and a man has been detained.
“Officers would have initially thought that the suspect was in possession of a viable firearm and they showed immense bravery to pursue him and make the arrest.
“To the untrained eye, an imitation firearm or a BB gun can cause fear and harm to people who wouldn’t know the difference between them or a more dangerous weapon if confronted with one.
The forensics van on Heriot Street(Image: Jamie Greer)
“To use one of these imitation firearms against officers is completely unacceptable. Officers put themselves in harm’s way to protect the public from people intent on causing harm in our communities but this will never be tolerated.
“They go to work each day knowing that they might have to step into a situation that most people would run away from, but it will never be acceptable to use violence, aggression or abuse. When members of the public cross that line, they can expect to face justice for their actions.
“We rely on information given to us by the public and this makes a huge difference in identifying suspects, seizing weapons and removing suspects who would bring weapons onto our streets.
“Where people are willing to support the police, we will ensure every possible avenue is progressed to them.
“And if you don’t feel comfortable coming directly to the police call the independent, anonymous, Crimestoppers hotline on 0800 555 111, we need to know who is involved in gun crime and where those guns are being stored.”
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call 101 or DM @MerpolCC on social media, quoting log number 090 of 9 January.