Manchester Arena Inquiry: Call raised 'active shooter' concerns after bombing

Fears of an "active shooter" were raised by the ambulance service in the aftermath of the Manchester Arena bomb, the inquiry in the attack has heard.

The inquiry was told a call from North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) to fire control referred to "reports of people being shot" minutes after the blast.

Police then began a protocol used in cases of a marauding armed terrorist.

The inquiry was told that saw firefighters kept away from the area, in accordance with national guidance.

Twenty-two people were murdered and hundreds more injured when Salman Abedi detonated a bomb in the foyer of Manchester Arena as fans left an Ariana Grande concert at 22:31 BST on 22 May 2017.

On Monday, the inquiry into the attack was told firefighters did not arrive at the arena until two hours after the bombing, only one paramedic entered the blast scene in the first 40 minutes, and Greater Manchester Police (GMP) did not declare a major incident until the following day.

During Tuesday's hearing, the 12-minute call between NWAS and North West Fire Control (NWFC) played to the inquiry.

In it, the NWAS caller could be heard requesting assistance, before adding: "We are getting reports of people being shot".

He was told by the NWFC responder that his reports of a bomb explosion, 60 casualties and an "active shooter" would be logged, though later in the call, she said she had an update coming through which indicated the injuries were caused by shrapnel, rather than shots.

The inquiry also heard other recordings of conversations between emergency services in the aftermath of the bombing.

During a call between NWAS control and its tactical department at 22:43, one woman stated that "we've got a marauding terrorist incident at Manchester Arena", before adding that British Transport Police had reported 50 casualties, but had "nothing regarding an active shooter, so it may be a bomb".

Three minutes later, another short clip of audio confirmed NWAS had declared a major incident.

The inquiry heard that minutes later, Insp Dale Sexton, the force duty officer at GMP HQ, declared Operation Plato, pre-agreed emergency response to a suspected marauding armed terrorist.

Following the playing of the audio, counsel to the inquiry Nicholas de la Poer QC asked GMP's Det Insp Michael Russell, who had been helping the inquiry outline the sequence of events, if it was "unmistakably the case" that as a result of the calls, Insp Sexton had had "in mind the possibility of whether there is more than one person involved".

Det Insp Russell replied that that was "correct".

The inquiry continues.

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