Grandfather sparks major incident after entering police station with shotgun A GRANDFATHER caused a major incident alert when he walked into a police station with a loaded, sawn-off shotgun, a court was told. Roads around the office in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, were closed and the public was asked to remain indoors as armed negotiators spent two hours persuading Michael Stuart, 54, to surrender. A tearful Stuart had separated from his wife and wanted to provoke the police into shooting him, the High Court in Edinburgh heard. Stuart, of Cumbernauld, admitted having the weapon, a Benelli 12-bore self-loading shotgun, in public places without reasonable excuse on 12 February, and other breaches of the Firearms Act. He was jailed for five years. The judge, Lord Jones, said officers involved with Stuart must have feared for their lives and had shown commendable presence of mind. The advocate-depute, Hugh Olson, said Stuart had fallen out with his wife and they were living apart. He walked into the police station about 10:30pm and asked to speak to a senior officer. He was taken into an interview room and produced a shotgun from the side of his body. As he moved back into the public entrance area, a constable activated an emergency button. Officers went to the entrance, and Stuart told PC Michael Reynolds: "If you don't want shot, keep walking." He was talked into putting down the weapon by Sergeant Gregg Banks, who asked what he wanted. Stuart replied: "For them to shoot me...the police, they'll come and shoot me." He said he had split from his wife and could not go on, and talked about his children and grandchildren. Stuart heard movement outside and saw officers with shields approaching the building. He picked up the gun. Armed officers spent more than two hours engaging Stuart in conversation, and he eventually gave himself up. At various times during the negotiation period, he became visibly emotional and began to cry. He again stated that he wanted to be shot by the police, although no threats were made to officers," said Mr Olson. The gun was loaded with a single cartridge but, as Stuart had known, had been incapable of being fired. This was a major incident which caused serious disruption to the surrounding area. Roads were closed, members of the public were advised to stay indoors, and a police helicopter and the emergency services placed on standby," said Mr Olson. The court was told that Stuart had a record which included a seven-year jail term for drug-dealing. The defence counsel, Kevin McCallum, said Stuart had gone into a downward spiral after the split from his wife. He fell off the wagon and resorted to the abuse of alcohol and controlled drugs. In the state he was in, he came up with this desperate plan that he would take the item to the police station with a view to either effectively provoking the police into shooting him, or at the very least arresting him and putting him in prison," said Mr McCallum. He added that the couple was now reconciled.