Belfast pensioner in custody after being shot by baton round

A pensioner shot twice with police baton rounds after allegedly refusing to drop a suspected firearm remained in custody tonight.

The 75-year-old man required hospital treatment for minor injuries after the incident in the Ballybean estate in east Belfast in the early hours of this morning.

He was hit with AEP (Attenuating Energy Projectile) rounds fired by the newly-formed PSNI Armed Response Vehicle Unit.

The pensioner had originally called the police in an agitated state to tell them he had a gun.

The suspected weapon has been taken away for tests while a forensic examination of the scene has been conducted.

A PSNI spokesman said the use of the AEP was ‘an appropriate and proportionate tactical option, to bring the matter to a safe conclusion’.