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Armed officers called after reports of gunshots

Neve Gordon-Farleigh
BBC News, Essex
Essex Police Police officer wearing black shirt and trousers and black cap with white and black braiding. The word POLICE is on the back of the shirt. He has his back to the camera and is walking on a block-paved path towards a group of two-storey terraced houses. There is a grassed area immediately in front of him and a tree, the branches of which are hanging above the pavement.Essex Police
Police officers searched the Seabrook Rise area following reports of gunshots

Armed police have responded to reports of gunshots in a residential area after a confrontation between two groups.

Essex Police was called to the Seabrooke Rise area of Grays due to numerous reports from members of the public after 19:00 BST on Saturday.

They reported a confrontation between two groups of people with witnesses also hearing gunshots.

The force said it found no injuries consistent with a gunshot, but it was treating the reports extremely seriously and "a number of armed units arrived on the scene very quickly".

Essex Police Upper body and head of a police officer with his back to the camera. He is wearing a black shirt with POLICE in white letters on a blue background. He is also wearing a black cap with white and black braiding. He has very short dark hair and a beard. He is looking at a wide road on which a red car is visible. To his left are a tall building, trees, a stone fence and parked cars.Essex Police
The search did not result in any arrests or anyone with gunshot wounds

Reports also said a dark-coloured vehicle was being driven suspiciously in the area.

The force said officers carried out an extensive search of the area, but no-one matching the descriptions given was identified.

Ch Supt Scott Egerton said: "No victims with injuries in any way consistent with a gunshot have come forward to us or otherwise been identified.

"Nonetheless, I of course recognise this incident may have caused concern in the area and it's likely you'll see officers patrolling the Seabrook Rise area – as well as in the town centre."

The force appealed for anyone with information which they had not reported yet to come forward - particularly dashcam and doorbell footage.

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