‘Knifeman’ in gas mask and camouflage shot by police after house set on fire

Man shot by armed police during incident in Inverness

A man has been arrested followijng the incident in Scotland (Peter Byrne/PA) (PA Wire)

A man allegedly armed with two knives and wearing a gas mask and camouflage clothing has been shot by armed police during an incident in Inverness after officers arrived to find a building on fire.

Police were called to a house at 3pm on Thursday following a report of concern for a person.

Arriving officers found the building ablaze and during the incident a 40-year-old man was shot by the police, reportedly in the leg.

He was arrested and taken to Raigmore Hospital for treatment where he remains with serious injuries.

No-one was injured as a result of the fire and it was extinguished but a number of neighbouring residents had to be evacuated.

Images shared on social media showed a man dressed in camouflage and wearing a mask in an apparent stand-off with police officers outside the burning property.

Chief Superintendent Conrad Trickett said: “We want to reassure the public that this incident is contained and there is no threat to the wider public.

“There will be extra patrols in the area over the coming days and anyone with any concerns should contact police.

“We would also ask anybody with any information or footage from the incident to get in touch.”

The circumstances of the incident have been referred to the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC).

Anyone with any information should contact police via 101, quoting incident number 0793 of Wednesday 30 March 2022.