- Title: Neighbours shocked after raid on south Manchester residence
- Date: 23rd May 2017
- Summary: MANCHESTER, ENGLAND, UK (MAY 23, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ARMED POLICE OUTSIDE ROYSTON COURT BLOCK OF FLATS POLICE LINED UP OUTSIDE CORDON POLICE CORDON VARIOUS OF MANCHESTER RESIDENT, MUSSAB AMARI, WHO WAS IN BLOCK OF FLATS WHEN RAID HAPPENED, AND WHOSE SISTER LIVES IN ROYSTON COURT, SPEAKING TO REPORTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) MANCHESTER RESIDENT, MUSSAB AMARI, WHO WAS IN BLOCK OF FLATS WHEN RAID HAPPENED, SAYING: "I was just in that block of flats over there, in front of a door where they came in you know, all what I see is that I woke up and everyone was running inside and everyone was armed and they just broke into the door and went inside. I was a bit terrified, what's going on? First time something happened like that around here you know. Never see police around here." POLICE TALKING TO PEOPLE ON STREET (SOUNDBITE) (English) STUDENT TIERNAN DRASDO, 17 YEARS OLD, LIVES ON ROAD NEXT TO CARLTON ROAD, SAYING: "Really shocked, really, like....I can't believe it was someone so close, could have just walked past him in the street. So surprised." VARIOUS OF POLICE OUTSIDE ROYSTON COURT (SOUNDBITE) (English) MAN WHO LIVES IN ROYSTON COURT, ZAHER ISSA, 31 YEARS OLD, MOVED TO MANCHESTER FROM JORDAN TWO YEARS AGO, SAYING: "I see the special forces coming into the Royston Court and coming to the building behind you - maybe 15, 20 Special Forces and after that I stopped. I was shocked at what happened, what I see. Then we wait outside for maybe 10 minutes and after that we hear loud noises, they tried to open the door or something like this - I still shocked and still outside to just know what happened. This is the first time I've seen something like this." (SOUNDBITE) (English) RESIDENT ON STREET AND MANCHESTER CONSERVATIVES CHAIRMAN, DAVID SEMPLE, SAYING: "People come in and out (of the block of flats), I thought it was just drug dealers and things but the other thing is there are a lot of people from the Middle East here of course all in this one block of flats and I thought maybe the council has brought in refugees and put them here you know that sort of thing, and it certainly changed the street. The amount of dodgy people coming in at night and that sort of thing has changed the street in the last couple of years." PEOPLE WALKING INTO ROYSTON COURT POLICE IN ROYSTON COURT POLICE CAR / POLICE OUTSIDE ROYSTON COURT
- Embargoed: 6th June 2017 17:00
- Keywords: reactions raid police security UK Britain Manchester
- Location: MANCHESTER, ENGLAND, UK
- City: MANCHESTER, ENGLAND, UK
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice
- Reuters ID: LVA0016I29JD3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Eyewitnesses described the moment armed police raided a newly-built apartment block on a usually quiet tree-lined street in south Manchester on Tuesday (May 23), a day after a suicide bomb attack that killed 22 people in a crowded concert hall.
The block of flats in the Whalley Range district remained cordoned off by police in the afternoon.
Mussab Amari was asleep in his sister's flat in Royston Court when the raid took place, and described feeling "a bit terrified".
He said he had never seen police in the area before.
A man whose wife and children were still inside the block of flats said he was shocked and had never seen anything similar on the street before. Zaher Issa added that his family inside the residence were safe.
One local resident who is chairman of the Manchester Conservatives said the block of flats had been there for two years.
The northern English city remained on high alert, with additional armed police drafted in. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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