Watch the shocking moment Raunds Asda knife-point assailant arrested by armed police

This is the shocking moment armed police arrested a man who had threatened people with a knife at a supermarket.

At about 9pm on November 19 last year a number of 999 calls began coming into Northants Police's control room from terrified members of the public who had been threatened at knife-point by 22-year-old Mantas Auryla at the Asda store in Raunds.

And bodyworn video footage released by police today (January 11) shows the moment officers entered the empty store on the hunt for Auryla.

They swiftly located him, disarmed and arrested him, before he was subsequently charged with two counts of having a blade/article which was sharply pointed in public place and public affray.

Following the arrest, officers can be seen doing a sweep of the supermarket to make sure there were no other offenders or potential threats present.

This month Auryla was jailed for 18 months. Fortunately no-one was injured during the incident.

Lead investigator, DC Katy Tyrrell, said: “This was a terrifying experience for the staff and customers at Asda as it was unclear what motives Auryla had.

“I would like to pay tribute to the staff at Asda in particular for the way they ensured their customers were evacuated and kept safe throughout the incident.

“This was a great response by my uniformed colleagues and those in the Force Control Room.

“I’m really pleased it has concluded with Auryla sentenced to eighteen months in prison – showing the gravity and seriousness of his offence.”

Chief Constable Nick Adderley said: “As this video footage shows, this was a very dramatic incident and is an excellent example of the bravery our police officers show every day when they walk towards danger, into unknown situations, to protect the public.

“An incident of this nature is exceptionally rare, however I hope the level of response we provided at the time, including our ability to quickly deploy specially trained firearms officers, reassures the community that we are always ready and equipped to react to a variety of scenarios in order to keep them safe.

“We have the bravest police officers in the world in this country and I am proud to lead a force that consistently demonstrates courage, dedication and commitment of the highest level.

“Finally, I want to take this opportunity to commend DC Katy Tyrrell for a thorough investigation which gave Auryla no choice but to plead guilty to the offences at court.”