“scarlet, you sound as though you know this person but you obviously don't know all the facts. Before you make an opinion worth listening to then maybe you should find out the whole story. You say he is mentally ill, if he is then is it wise to believe everything he tells you and as a friend have you offered him help and support ? You also say that his family (who you know nothing about) have all turned their backs on him, this couldnt be further from the truth !
If he does have mental issues then now he will get the help he needs. If not, then he will have to face up to his actions. Sometimes life is hard but it is about making choices. Spare a thought for his family as this is affecting them too and maybe you should get to know people a litle better before you put your trust into them.”

“and scarlet you're talking absolute rubbish, you seem to know him so why didnt you step in and do something? bet you wouldnt be blaming yourself if he got killed?”

“I think this guy is an idiot, no matter how ill someone is they can still sort their lives out if they really want too, they just need to try, maybe now he'll learn to be grateful for waht he's got.”

“Thankyou Janet for adding your comments, the man in question is mentally ill, his intention on that night was to be shot dead by the police. He has been trying to get help for his mental health issues for over 5 years, unfortunataly our system will only step in and offer help when someone either harms someone else or themselves, therefore too late the damage is done. This man had no intention of harming others just himself. Thankfully he didn't suceed but will he now get some help? That remains to be seen but I wouldn't hold my breath.
You were correct in stating he's lost his home, his job and his family who have all turned their backs on him. Unless he is offered some long term support i'm afraid his future looks bleak. We can all have our opinions and add our two pennies worth but the mind is a complicated thing and who knows when we all may need a little help. Nobody wants to be mentally ill, it's not a choice or an excuse it's a lonely illness that alienates those around you are eventually destroys your life unless your lucky enough to have people around you that recognise what is happening and step in to help.”

“From what I understand these guns have turned out to be guns used to play 'Airsoft' a sport similar to paint balling.
Unlike some of the other comments I do think the police did the right thing, after all if they didn't take it seriously & they turned out to be real we would all be making different comments.
The problem is how an incident like this is reported so sensationally in the press without having the facts. This just frightens people & makes them jump to conclusions.
I also am of the understanding that this young man has been thrown out of his home, & no doubt lost his job due to the events.
Yes I guess he may have himself to blame by being seen with a gun & we do not know the circumstances, however reporting the incident as if he has held up a post office with a replica gun, makes everyone believe this person is a bad guy.
I don't think it will be easy if at all possible for this man to get a job or a house once all this has been cleared up, so what course of action can he take now, he may as well have held up a post office at least he would have a place to live (prison).
I don't totally blame the reporters of these kind of stories, after all would we buy a paper if the headline was "Man does something silly, Armed police respond, but its alright now it's all turned out to be a bit of a mix up.

I just wish the press & us as readers were a little more interested in the true facts of a case, & I hope this young man does not end up turning to a life of crime because he can't get a job etc.

"The truth is out there", if only we were interested!”

“The taxi driver reported seeing the gun at 11:45 and armed police were at the scene by 12:30. That was quick!”

“Under the circumstances, an armed response was probably justified. But they could have got an accurate eyewitness description of the suspect from the taxi driver,so why arrest all of the residents at gunpoint? One of them was in his seventies!”

“Perhaps some unarmed plod or PCSO should have called at the house first to ask if the guns were real, if so then they could have called for the armed police.

Does that sound like a better idea?”

“Indeed, Paul. Well it wasn't a toy brick I had thrown at me while I was walking along the street. Where were the boys in blue then?
My point is, they arrested ALL the occupants of the house, even though they were probably unaware of Rambo's gun collection.
There but for the grace of God go I.”

“Yeah right Paul. Standard police response, it wasn't exaggerated at all!”