Lisburn: Man remanded over gun incident at shopping centre - BBC News
Gregory Wallace, 50, is charged with 10 offences including carrying a firearm or imitation.
50-year-old Gregory Wallace is charged in connection with an incident at Bow Street Mall in Lisburn on Tuesday

A 50-year-old man who was arrested in a busy shopping centre allegedly with guns, a smoke grenade and a knife has been remanded into custody.

It follows an incident at Bow Street Mall in Lisburn on Tuesday.

Gregory Wallace is charged with 10 offences including carrying a firearm or imitation in public and possessing a handgun with intent to cause fear of violence.

The offences are alleged to have been committed on 22 and 23 February.

Due to mental health problems, Mr Wallace, from Howard Place in Lisburn, did not appear in court.

But a police officer said she believed she could connect him to the charges.

During a contested bail application, the officer outlined to the court how security staff at Bow Street Mall alerted police when the defendant approached staff at a coffee shop apparently "armed with a knife and a firearm".

Officers from the Armed Response Unit (ARU) found Wallace sitting at a table speaking with a member of the public.

The court heard that when he "reached his arm behind his back as if holding something in his waistband", he was "brought to the ground by ARU who felt that the members of the public were in immediate danger".

A knife and loaded air pistol were taken from Mr Wallace and the court heard that he also had a sports bag with him containing a handgun, a rifle and a smoke grenade.

The court heard that follow up searches were carried out at Mr Wallace's home and police seized a further 20 firearms including five handguns and 12 assault rifles.

When asked by the judge if the weapons were real or fake, the police officer said they had to be sent for examination but were "possibly air soft weapons".

Another knife was recovered when the accused was taken to the Ulster Hospital in Belfast, where he was found to have sustained a punctured lung and "several broken ribs".

During police interviews Mr Wallace confirmed he left his house with the bag that morning, claiming he had the guns "for air soft" and that he had the knives "for his own protection" as he is under threat.

The officer added that Mr Wallace told interviewing police he could not recall having a gun or knife in the waistband of his trousers and could not recall reaching for it before he was arrested.

A defence lawyer said Mr Wallace had been having an "annus horribilis" but conceded that had the incident occurred "in other parts of the world" he may well have been shot.

The judge remanded Mr Wallace into custody and made an order that he be psychiatrically assessed on an emergency basis.

The case was adjourned to 24 March.