A counter-terrorism investigation has been launched after a man carrying a firearm and a suspect package was arrested inside the grounds of St James’s University Hospital in Leeds.
The 27-year-old was arrested close to the maternity department at around 5am on Friday on suspicion of firearms and explosives offences.
Late last night he was re-arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.
Part of the hospital had to be evacuated and bomb disposal teams from the Army were drafted in.
A police spokesman said: “Counter-Terrorism Policing North East has now taken responsibility for leading this investigation.
“Extensive enquiries are under way to establish the full circumstances of the incident and any potential motivation.”
It is understood the weapon was a BB gun and the arrest took place just outside the hospital’s Gledhow wing, which houses the maternity department, respiratory unit and bereavement services. It is also close to the Lincoln Wing, where the hospital’s intensive care unit is based.
Shortly after the alarm was raised, the hospital declared a critical incident, with patients moved out of wards and into corridors away from windows.
Specialist officers from Counter-Terrorism North East attended, and the suspect was arrested and taken into custody for questioning.
Bomb disposal experts from the Royal Logistics Corp, based at Catterick, North Yorkshire, were scrambled to the scene and officers wearing protective cladding were seen in the hospital grounds.
Specialists were seen examining a red holdall which was lying on the ground next to a bench just yards from the entrance to Gledhow wing. Forensics specialists were also spotted examining a car parked in the grounds close to the scene.
Police confirmed that a number of addresses in the Leeds area believed to be linked to the suspect were being searched on Friday night.
Counter-terrorism detectives, along with the security services, said they were urgently trying to establish any potential motivation around the incident. Police were understood to be scouring the suspect’s devices and checking his social media for clues.
The location of the incident will cause concern, coming just over a year after a terrorist attack at a maternity hospital in Liverpool in which a suspected jihadist blew himself up in a taxi outside the building.
Emad al-Swealmeen, 32, who came to the UK from Iraq as an asylum seeker, died when the device he was carrying went off on Remembrance Sunday in 2021.
One security source said on Friday night: “The investigation is still in its very early stages, but any suggestion of the presence of a firearm is extremely concerning indeed.
“The fact the arrest took place in the grounds of a hospital is also very worrying, and the police will want to establish as quickly as possible what was going on here.
“Within hours of the suspect being arrested, it was confirmed that the investigation was being led by counter-terror police, and that is significant because in other incidents it has taken some time for that to happen.”
Detective Chief Superintendent Jim Dunkerley, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, said: “This is being treated as an isolated incident and there is no evidence to suggest there is any heightened or ongoing risk to the public.
“Nevertheless, the UK threat level remains at Substantial and we would always encourage the public to be vigilant and to report any suspicious activity or behaviour to police in confidence."
A spokesman for Counter-Terrorism North East said: “At approximately 5am this morning, a 27-year-old man from Leeds was arrested on suspicion of firearms and explosives offences after being found in possession of a suspected firearm and a suspicious device in the hospital grounds.
“He was detained for questioning and remains in custody at this time. There is not believed to be any ongoing risk to public safety. A cordon remains in place as a precautionary measure, but has now been reduced to facilitate greater access to the hospital.
“Specialist teams continue to work at the scene. Searches of a vehicle and a number of premises are ongoing.”
St James’s University Hospital, affectionately known as Jimmy’s, is Europe’s largest teaching hospital and has almost 1,000 beds.
The hospital set up a helpline to answer queries and concerns from patients and their families. Steve Bush, the medical director, posted a video online to reassure people worried about the developments.
It is thought counter-terror procedures at all hospitals were reviewed in the wake of the Liverpool incident.
A patient in his 70s who was housed in a ward on the first floor of the Lincoln unit said: “I was woken up at 5am and told there was a suspicious package. We were taken to what they call the departure pod and had to stay there. There were about six of us. We heard there was a device in the back of a car.”
A nurse added that patients were moved into departure lounges to free up beds for those evacuated.
The hospital’s busy Accident & Emergency unit remained open throughout the incident, but some hospital appointments had to be cancelled.
In a statement once the incident had been stood down, Mr Bush said: “Patients who were evacuated are being moved back to their wards. It may be some time before we are back to business as usual in these areas, so please bear with us.
“Unfortunately some patient appointments were cancelled as a result of today’s incident, and we would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused. These will be rearranged as soon as possible.”
On Friday night a cordon remained outside the Gledhow wing while the police investigation continued.
