A leading detective has confirmed that armed police who attended two addresses in Carlisle were deployed as part of the probe into a murder in the city centre.
A number of armed police were called to the Whernside area of the city this afternoon, with two addresses searched. No arrests were made.
“It is something to do with this investigation and it is from information which has come in,” said Detective Chief Superintendent Dean Holden.
He reiterated that armed officers are deployed as a precaution in incidents involving offences of this nature.
“At the moment we have 60 dedicated officers comprised of detectives, armed officers, support and admin staff at any given moment,” said Det Chief Sup Holden.
Police were called to Carlyle’s Court at 8.48pm on Saturday and were joined by paramedics. After tireless efforts by medical professionals on the ground, Ryan Kirkpatrick was pronounced dead.
The detective described the hunt for the two suspects believed to be responsible for the immediate violence against Mr Kirkpatrick as a “manhunt”.
Explaining why one suspect was initially arrested on suspicion of murder, Det Chief Sup Int Holden said that officers must gather evidence “swiftly” and that they must act on the intel they have at the time.
“We now have a far better understanding of the particular offences,” he said.
He said, “he makes no apologies” for acting quickly to arrest suspects based on information gathered by officers.
Det Chief Sup Holden said he expected a “number of further arrests” to be made both for the ancillary offences such as assisting an offender and providing false information to police and for the two suspects involved in the immediate attack.
Anyone with information can submit this here: https://mipp.police.uk/operation/0301020118N53-PO1
You can also call 101.
Alternatively, you can call the independent charity Crimestoppers, completely anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Police have identified the man who was killed. Read his family’s tributes here.
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