POLICE have made a fresh appeal for witnesses following allegations that a man was threatening people with a gun in the centre of Petersfield last week.
The incident happened on August 29 outside the Market Inn in The Square, at 9-45pm.
Pc Mick Hurst, who is investigating the incident, said: ÒFour people were arrested in the town centre after two people claimed to have been threatened by a man brandishing a handgun during an argument.
ÒDespite the main suspects being arrested close to the scene very quickly by local officers, it is not clear whether the weapon alleged to have been seen was real, an air weapon, a toy, or an imitation, and we have not been able to find it. The ÔgunÕ was not fired and no-one was injured.Ó
Police conducted a detailed search of the area, including St PeterÕs Road, using a sniffer dog trained to locate recently- discarded items, but no weapon was recovered.
Armed police were also deployed to assist Petersfield officers, but were not required.
Pc Hurst said: ÒAs with all alleged firearms incidents, the police are taking this matter very seriously. We have spoken to a number of witnesses, but there were a lot more people in the street who saw or heard this argument, and we would like to hear from them and get a clearer picture of what happened.Ó
Two of the arrested men, one from Petersfield and one from the Portsmouth area, were released on police bail. A further two Petersfield men were arrested in the town but were later released without charge.
Any information can be passed to the police crime desk on 0845 045 45 45, or left anonymously with Crime-stoppers on 0800 555111.