Residents 'terrified' after disturbance on quiet Bradford street

An incident on Ariba Avenue in Barkerend saw the street cordoned off and become the subject of a massive police presence throughout a day.

Residents reported hearing gunshots and smashed windows, but police have yet to confirm if a firearm was discharged.A car with a smashed window was seen behind a cordon on Ariba Avenue (Image: Newsquest)

A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police said: "At 11.02 today, officers were called to reports of an ongoing disturbance at Ariba Avenue, Bradford. 

"Officers are currently at the scene to establish exactly what’s happened. 

"One person has been arrested."

Ariba Avenue was cordoned off by police due to a disturbance (Image: Newsquest)

One local resident reportedly heard two shots outside the home.
"I was shocked to hear shots fired," said the resident.

He said up to eight police cars were called to the scene, including a firearms unit.

"Ariba Avenue is only a really small street,” said Cllr Hassan Khan (Lab, Bowling and Barkerend), who has been speaking with residents this afternoon.

“They’re really terrified,” said Cllr Khan. “They’ve never seen gun violence on this street. They don’t feel safe.

“They’re really worried and asking why something like this happened. They don’t know what to do."

When the T&A arrived at the scene, a car could be seen with a shattered rear window. A broken window was also visible on a door of the home.

A mixture of plain clothes and uniformed officers were on the scene, along with at least three marked police cars.

"I heard what sounded like a gunshot and the smashing of windows," said one woman.

"There were some people in a car and they sped off.

"You can see a window on the house was damaged, as well as the windows on a car.

"A lot of police showed up including firearms officers and police dogs."

One man added: "There was a lot of commotion.

"I thought it was fireworks at first. 

"You don't normally get that around here."

Another man said: "I heard the smashing of windows, swearing and a gunshot.

"I thought somebody had been shot.

"It's shocking."

A worker at KEZ Autos on Ariba Avenue said: "We didn't see or hear anything but there have been a lot of police around and people have been talking about it."

"I didn't have a clue about what happened because I was sleeping," one person told the T&A. 

"But I've seen a lot of police cars coming and going.

"It's quite shocking. I've lived here three years and we've never had anything like this before. This is a quiet area."

“I think the police are handling this situation,” added Cllr Khan.
He also spoke about the importance of police tackling gun and knife violence in Bradford.

“Bradford is a peaceful city,” said Cllr Khan. “Criminals shouldn't bring guns or knives here.

“We shouldn’t tolerate this in Bradford.”