Police release description of suspects involved in gunpoint raid on Ipswich home

The police road block on Hawthorn Drive Ipswich

Police were called at 8.30pm to reports of an incident in Manchester Road, where three men forced their way into a house and demanded money from the occupants, threatening them with a handgun.

The men then left the house, taking a quantity of money and making off in what is described as a black BMW 1 Series towards Tesco, pursued by the victim.

The two vehicles were then involved in a collision on Hawthorn Drive, where the victim reported the offenders fired the gun before driving off. No one was harmed.

A police cordon was put in place in Hawthorn Drive at the scene of the collision and alleged gunfire while officers searched for evidence of gunshots fired.

The road was closed at the junction with Bridgwater Road until noon and the search team did not find any casings or other evidence of gunfire.

Description of the three male suspects

- Man one; black, 6ft tall, of slim build, aged in his mid 30s, with a beard and short Afro hair. He was wearing a high-visibility jacket

- Man two; mixed race, 5ft 9in – 5ft 10in tall, of stocky build, aged in his 20s. He was wearing a rolled-up balaclava covering his forehead and a black hooded top

- Man three; black and wearing a full balaclava

‘I don’t feel safe at all now’

People living in the area have told of their shock at the news and said they don’t feel safe.

Jacqueline Butler, 44, of Hawthorn Drive, said her husband, Richard, thinks he heard the gunshot.

She added: “My husband seems to think he may have heard a gunshot. He used to help out at the Army Cadets so he would recognise the noise.

“I don’t feel safe at all now, I’m shocked that it was as bad as they said but I’m assuming it was drug related.

“I didn’t hear anything, I came out at about 8.35pm and there were police cars but I was none the wiser until 9.40pm when a police lady knocked at my door at said there had been a road rage incident.

“It does worry me, and I’ve said to my husband that the house move needs to move forward now.”

Colin Wicks, 70, of Bridgewater Road, said he had lived in the area for 41 years and it had always been a safe place to live.

He said: “The first time I saw any police involvement was when I went to bed about 10.40pm. I went to the hall and saw blue flashing lights and saw the road was closed, but I didn’t know what was going on until I heard about it this morning.

“It does worry me but I think that’s society today, it’s certainly getting worse.”

Teresa Harrison, 75, of Hawthorn Drive, said she was at home all night but didn’t hear anything suspicious.

She added: “I came out and I was amazed that I hadn’t heard anything and I gather it must have been really big incident.”

Peter Baldwin, 67, of Manchester Road, added: “We never heard anything, it’s normally a quiet road.

“You just don’t know what’s going on these days, there’s quite a turnover of people in this area.

“I think we do live in some strange times but wherever you live that’s the way things are.”

One female resident of Manchester Road said: “I’m surprised of course, we have children and we sometimes go out on walks so of course it’s worrying.

“We didn’t hear anything, it’s shocking as it’s quite a quiet neighbourhood.”

Police believe the incident was targeted

Detective Inspector Matthew Connick, of Ipswich Criminal Investigation Department, said: “This was clearly a very distressing incident for the victims and we are currently pursuing a number of lines of enquiry to identify the suspects.

“I would like to reassure local residents that we are treating this as a serious isolated incident, which we believe to be targeted, and as such do not believe there is any threat to the wider community.

“Reports of hearing gunshots fired are understandably alarming, but we have not as yet found any proof that live ammunition was involved.

“Anyone who believes that they saw or heard anything that may assist with our enquires, and in particular the black BMW, should contact police immediately.”

Any witnesses to this incident, or anyone with any information, is asked to contact Ipswich CID on 101 quoting reference 15452/16 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.