Neighbours caught up in a 10-hour armed siege on a housing estate have spoken about how the drama unfolded.
One man, stuck behind the police cordon for five hours as he tried to get home, was walked past the scene protected by five armed officers.
Another has told of how she heard shots from an air rifle being fired.
Police were called to Manston Close, off Barkbythorpe Road, on the Leicester-Thurmaston border, at 5.11pm yesterday after reports that a firearm had been discharged outside a home in the street.
Armed officers arrived at the scene to find a man had locked himself inside a property.
After negotiations lasting about 10 hours, a man came out of the property at 3.04am and was arrested on suspicion of making threats to kill. Nobody else was in the property during the negotiations.
A number of shots, believed to be from an air rifle, were fired at officers during the incident.
Vicky Jones, whose Coleford Road home overlooks the scene, said: "I was just making tea when three police cars pulled up and they got out with their guns.
"We locked the door and went upstairs. We didn't know what was going on for ages.
"More and more police arrived and they were telling people to get back inside their homes.
"Only police in body armour were going near where it was all happening. Other officers without the flak jackets were throwing things to them."
Linda Taylor, 42, also of Coleford Road, said: "All of a sudden loads of police came into the streets and we saw armed police going into a section of houses on Manston Close.
"We heard shots being fired. They sounded like they were from an air rifle. We heard the police telling the man to 'put it down'.
"We heard loads of swearing and shouting and it continued for quite some time.
"They told us we couldn't go outside and we couldn't event let our Jack Russell, Jack, out in the garden.
"The man smashed a window and we heard police say he had hurt himself and they got their First Aid kit out.
"My nine-year-old daughter, Francesca, was petrified, she was beside herself, crying and couldn't sleep. She ended up sleeping with us."
Jinesh Patel, 36, of Manston Close, said: "I was driving home at about 10 past six but I was stopped by a police car blocking the road off. I just sat in the car. There wasn't a lot else I could do.
"I could hear a chap shouting.
"What looked like a SWAT team arrived at about 10.30, dressed in full body armour and wearing metal helmets and were carrying what looked like machine guns.
"People were coming out of their homes with water, tea and coffee for those stuck behind the cordon. There was a real community spirit.
"It was all a bit surreal, and then at about 20 to one this morning, five of them walked me past where it was all going on and walked me right to my front door."
Sageena Thakur, 37, of Manston Close, said: "We tried to get out to go to the shops, but we couldn't.
"You could hear shouts and I saw something in the man's hands, but I'm not sure what it was.
"The police were telling him to let it go and that they were not going to hurt him."
Martin Boyce, 32, of Bleasby Close, said: "There were a lot of armed police about and there was a lot of shouting.
"The man seemed very agitated and the police negotiators were telling him they wanted to speak to him face-to-face.
"Later on, just as it was getting dark, a SWAT team arrived in two vans. At that point the cordon was widened. I heard police tell him it was his last chance to come out."
The man has received minor medical treatment.
Superintendent Jez Cottrill said: "Situations like this are thankfully rare but I know some residents have had a disrupted night.
"I would like to thank everyone living near the property for their patience and support during the lengthy negotiations.
"It has been a very long night for some officers who have all acted with the greatest professionalism.
"A 37-year-old man is currently safely in custody at Keyham Lane police station and no one else has been hurt during the incident."
Extra patrols were put in place this morning to reassure local residents.
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