A masked gunman has died after being
pinned down and restrained by customers
during an armed robbery at a bookmakers
in Plymouth.
The man, in his 50s, entered the Ladbrokes
branch in Crownhill Road at 18:45 GMT on
Friday wearing a gas mask and holding a
pistol.
Police arrested the man, who was already
unconscious, but he died a short time later
at the scene.
The Independent Police Complaints
Commission (IPCC) is investigating.
The man has been identified but next of kin
have not yet been informed, a spokesman
for Devon and Cornwall Police said.
The spokesman said when the man entered
the shop, he was "immediately tackled" by
customers and "held down still wearing his
gas mask".
Ch Insp Ian Drummond-Smith said:
"Customers and staff tackled the man,
overpowered him, disarmed him and
restrained him and when police officers
arrived they found him being restrained but
noted that he was unresponsive and wasn't
breathing."
He said the police and ambulance service
attempted to resuscitate him but he was
declared dead about 20 minutes later at the
scene.
Ch Insp Drummond-Smith added: "We have
recovered a firearm of sorts, it hasn't been
fully examined yet so I'm unable to confirm
whether its a replica or a genuine firearm.
"This is a very serious incident. We cannot
speculate on what has actually taken place
here today."
A spokeswoman for the IPCC said it had
"received a referral from Devon and Cornwall
Police following the death of a man in
Plymouth".
It added: "A full assessment of the
circumstances will now take place and a
decision on the level of IPCC involvement will
be made in due course."
A spokesman for Ladbrokes said the
company was assisting police.
Eyewitness David Marfleet said it was a
surprise the incident had occurred in such a
"nice quiet area"
David Walker, 55, from West Park, Plymouth,
said he walked into the bookmakers about
five minutes after the incident.
He said: "When I went in there, they were
scuffling on the floor, I just thought it was
just a fight or something.
"There were the two men, customers I think,
on top of him, and the bloke on the floor.
"I didn't see their faces, as they were
holding the guy down at the back of the
shop. I couldn't see any mask and there
wasn't any physical movement, they were
just holding him."
Ivor Green, 67, also from West Park, said he
was not surprised that customers had tried
to defend the staff.
He said: "The staff become your friends, it's
a little family, and it's no different to a
member of your family being threatened. He
shouldn't have been doing that in the first
place."
David Marfleet said: "As I drove past you
could see that Ladbrokes was absolutely full
of policemen at that time.
"[There were] easily 10 police cars and then
two riot vans and then the ambulance that
turned up on site as well.
"We don't normally have any trouble around
here, it's quite a surprise it being such a
nice quiet area."

source- m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-21208674

Those people that held him down don buy market. It is now a murder case.

pDude: Those people that held him down don buy market. It is now a murder case.

lol....dey are supposed to be Super heros naw........dey saved d day!!..lol
...bt actually i'm nt sure dy'll be charged to court

manslaughter

A masked gunman who died after being
restrained by customers in an armed
robbery at a bookmakers was using what
"appears to be an imitation pistol", police
have said.
Alan Levers, 50, from Plymouth entered
Ladbrokes in Crownhill Road, Plymouth at
18:45 GMT on Friday, wearing a gas mask
and holding the weapon.
Police described the customers who tackled
him as "extremely brave".
It has been referred to the Independent
Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).
No charges have been made.
'Unresponsive'
Levers, from the Honicknowle area of the
city, was pinned down by customers before
police arrived, when he was found to be
unconscious.
He died a short time later at the scene.
In a statement Ch Supt Andy Bickley said: "I
can share with you that the firearm has
been initially examined by a police firearms
officer and it appears to be an imitation
pistol, though this still needs to be verified.
Ch Supt Andy Bickley said it would have been
difficult to recognise the firearm as imitation
"I would like to add however that there
would have been no way of knowing this at
the time of the incident.
"The actions taken by members of the public
in the shop were brave and showed a
disregard for their own safety."
After he was restrained Levers was
resuscitated by the police and ambulance
service but he was declared dead about 20
minutes later.
Earlier, Ch Insp Ian Drummond-Smith told
the BBC: "Customers and staff tackled the
man, overpowered him, disarmed him and
restrained him and when police officers
arrived they found him being restrained but
noted that he was unresponsive and wasn't
breathing."
A spokesman for Ladbrokes said the
company was assisting police.


Na wa oo!!! Fake Pistol!! So he just died like dat!!