Police using rifles to tackle down black “preachers”. Photo by Bryan Silva

Two preachers were pinned to the floor by armed policeman after they were seen waving a fake gun around and recreating a murder scene, causing passersby by to panic.

The men were allegedly illustrating an anti-violence speech by pretending to be a shooter and a victim when armed police arrived.

The gun has been confirmed to be a replica by police. However, given the man’s emotional delivery and the confusion at the scene, police tackled the two black men to the floor and held them at gunpoint sparking panic.

Rob Sharland, a witness at the scene, said: “One guy was lying on the ground and the other one with the mic was waving a fake gun around and shouting into the mic. People were standing around so it was very busy”

He added: “The men put themselves and people round them in danger as it caused a lot of panic. I believe this is why the police took it so seriously”

Bryan Silva also saw the incident. He said: “I got off my bus and saw four police cars and many police officers with rifles pointing at two black men, which I immediately thought to be another race motivated arrest”

He  went on to say that “it looked as if the police officers thought the gun was real”.

Some witnesses criticised the police for their response. David Clapson, another witness ,said: “It wasn’t great to set the armed police on a black guy with his heart in the right place.”