Witness appeal after man threatened with firearm in Bristol

We are appealing for information in connection with an incident in which a man was threatened in Bristol on Monday 27 July. 

Two men are understood to have ridden an e-bike from the St Paul’s area to Stapleton Road, in Easton, at approximately 11pm. One of the riders subsequently got off the e-bike and threatened a man with a firearm, before both men immediately left the scene on the same bike.  

We have had no reports of anyone sustaining a physical injury. 

Uniformed officers attended the area, but the men could not be located despite searches which involved the assistance of the National Police Air Service helicopter. 

Three men were arrested in connection with our enquiries on Wednesday 29 July. They have been released on conditional bail pending further enquiries. 

Chief Inspector James Clements, of the Bristol policing team, said: “A significant amount of work has been carried out over the past few days, including reviewing CCTV footage, to get a full understanding of what happened.  

“The detectives leading this investigation are keeping an open mind as to the motivation behind this incident, but we believe it is most likely to involve individuals with some knowledge of one another. 

“While arrests were made earlier this week, we would like to stress this remains a live investigation; we need to hear from anyone with information about what happened to help bring the offenders to justice.” 

We are releasing CCTV images and footage of two men that we wish to identify and speak to as we believe they may be able to assist our investigation.

The men are described as: 

• Person 1 – male, early 20s, Black or mixed heritage, of slim build, dressed in a black tracksuit, with a black balaclava. He was wearing dark trainers with a white sole. 

• Person 2 – male wearing a grey or black tracksuit and a balaclava. 

Ch Insp Clements added: “Even though there was nobody injured, we appreciate news of this incident will cause shock in the community and therefore uniformed patrols have been stepped up in recent days.  

“Please speak to those officers, if you have any concerns, who will be happy to help.”