Residents who witnessed and heard a man being shot and arrested in Inverness today have spoken about the incident.
Police confirmed that they attended an address in Polvanie View, which was on fire just after 3pm on Thursday.
According to one neighbour at around 8.30pm, the power to the street was cut off due to a potential risk of an electrical fire in the damaged block of flats.
It is understood that the power company will need to wait until the area is deemed safe to then restore power to residents.
Social media reports suggest a man was involved in a stand-off with armed police before being reportedly shot.
Those living in close proximity to the incident were evacuated from their homes, but police have since said there is no threat to the wider public.
Locals living in and around Polvanie View have spoken about the incident that happened on their doorsteps.
‘There are loads of kids round about’
Neil, a 36-year-old joiner, was worried to have his two young children so close to the chaos.
“We got back from picking the wee man up from school and there was police and fire brigade everywhere,” he said.
“All we heard was that the guy had set his house on fire, and climbed out the window.
“I’ve got two kids, one that’s not even a week old. It’s a little bit unsettling. It’s not something you expect to be going on round about.
“There are loads of kids round about here so you don’t really expect that to be happening on your own doorstep.”
‘I couldn’t believe what was happening’
55-year-old Caroline heard about the incident whilst at work and felt for those living in the flats where the fire occurred.
She said: “You just don’t expect that. It’s a shame for all the people in the flats.”
Kasia, a nearby resident was shocked to see smoke from her window: “I picked up my son from school and I came back after 4pm and everything was blocked. The street was blocked. I have seen the smoke from my window at the back. I was very, very surprised.
“My neighbour was texting me and sending me some pictures and I couldn’t believe what was happening.”
One resident who was evacuated said there are still multiple emergency services on the scene and that residents have been asked to leave their cars outside the vicinity.
