Man charged with possession of firearm in Watford

A man has been charged with possession of a firearm following an incident in Watford.

On Tuesday (24 September), police were contacted by CCTV operators at the Atria shopping centre to report an incident between three men. It is reported that two of the men, one of whom was believed to be in possession of a gun, pointed the weapon towards another man. The victim made off from the scene.

Officers arrived in the area, where the victim, a man aged in his 20s, flagged down officers. They took him to a place of safety.

Following further CCTV enquiries, officers attended Sainsbury’s car park in Albert Road South, where they located a suspect and arrested him on suspicion of possession of a firearm. They also located a gun which had been discarded under a vehicle.

Mohammed Al-Saadi, aged 23, of Eltham Avenue, Slough, was subsequently charged with possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear or violence and possession of a knife/bladed article.

He appeared at Hatfield Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (26 September), where he was remanded into custody. Al-Saadi will next appear at St Albans Crown Court on 24 October.

Detective Sergeant Sarah Hern, from the Watford Local Crime Unit, said: “Thanks to the swift report from Atria staff and the quick response of our officers, we were able to rapidly trace a suspect and locate a discarded weapon. We have now seized this firearm, taking another weapon off the streets and will continue our efforts to keep everyone safe. Our enquiries are ongoing to identify the second suspect.”

If you have information you can report this online at herts.police.uk/report, speak to an operator in our Force Communications Room via our online web chat at herts.police.uk/contact or call the non-emergency number 101, quoting crime reference 41/B2/19899/24.

Alternatively, you can stay 100% anonymous by contacting the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via their untraceable online form at crimestoppers-uk.org.