Witnesses have told of "Wild West" scenes as armed police pursued a suspected gunman across rooftops in Hackney.
Firearms officers were in a stand-off with the suspect - who is no longer suspected to be carrying a weapon but has since gone missing - in the Mayville Estate, Newington Green.
Emergency services raced to the scene at about 8am on Wednesday. Police were carrying out a search warrant, but a man made his way onto the roof of the block: reported to be Congreve House.
However, no weapon was found or sighted and the Met said it was "no long treating it as a firearms incident".
Armed officers left the scene at about noon, but the Met admitted it was still trying to find the suspect after he came down from the roof.
One witness told the Standard: “There were loads of armed officers chasing a guy. It was something out of the Wild West or a film. It was surreal.
"The police dropped into a flat across a balcony. It was very dramatic. I saw one man arrested, another was running across the roof.”
An officer at the scene had said the situation was under control.
He said: “It’s all in hand”.
Another witness said: “We are in total shock, there were loads of cops with guns.
"Not what you expect at breakfast time in Hackney.”
Firearms officers, as well as paramedics, were called to the scene. No injuries were reported.
One man was initially detained at the property subject to the search warrant, but was not arrested.
The chaotic scenes forced the diversion of the 236 bus route, which was unable to serve stops between Kingsland High Street and Newington Green due to the closure of Matthias Road.
The stand-off came two days after a man was shot during an armed police raid in Wimbledon, south-west London.
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