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| Wednesday, August 20, 2008 |
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| TOMB RAIDER NEWS CHANNEL - NEWS STORY |
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Armed police raid UK home after mistaking Lara Croft dummy for gunman
Copyright: | Story by:
Date: May 26th, 2008
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A UK Computer shop owner was arrested last week, for his life-sized model of Lara Croft was mistaken for a gunman.
When police spotted a gun-wielding suspect in the shadows of a suburban room, their response was fast.
Armed officers bursted into the house, shouted at the owner to lie on the floor, and ordered him to surrender his weapons.
But efficiency turned to embarrassment when the "gunman" turned out to be a life-sized model of Lara Croft, complete with trademark outsized pistols.
The Computer shop owner had taken the dummy home to put it up for sale on the auction site eBay.
"It would have been laughable if it hadn't been so terrifying," the shop owner said. "One of the police held a gun and yelled,
'Where's the weapon, where's the weapon?'
"I didn't have a clue what was going on, I assumed they'd got the wrong house. I couldn't believe it when I
realised they'd mistaken a Lara Croft dummy for someone with a gun."
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said officers peered inside after the home owner failed to answer his front door.
"They believed they saw a silhouette of a person pointing what appeared to be a firearm inside the house," she said.
They followed "correct procedure" by withdrawing to await armed officers, she added. "Officers then went into the house and found a
mannequin holding a toy weapon."
The Computer shop owner is speaking to lawyers about a possible claim for wrongful arrest, as he was held for 13 hours before being released.
Also he will hear whether he faces further action when he answers his bail next month.
The life-size Lara Croft model remains impounded as evidence.
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