UK: MP urges for calm after M62 police shooting

LONDON (AA) – A Muslim MP urged community members in Bradford to keep calm after protests were sparked by the death of Mohammed Yasser Yaqub in a police operation on Jan 2.

“I urge our community to remain calm and respect the wishes of the family who have lost their loved one and have appealed for calm and privacy during this very difficult time,” Labour MP Naz Shah said on her Facebook account.

Some 100 people staged a peaceful protest Tuesday evening in Bradford, temporarily blocking roads after reports of the fatal shooting of Mohammed Yasser Yaqub by West Yorkshire police teams in his car during a “pre-planned” operation on M62 motorway near Huddersfield.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) was urged to launch an investigation over the incident by Nadeem Murtuja, the chair of the JUST Yorkshire - an NGO promoting racial justice, civil liberties and human rights in the North of England.

The IPCC said in a press release that an investigation continued on the incident.

It said: "Yasser Yaqub, aged 28 from Crosland Moor, was shot by a West Yorkshire Police firearms officer during a planned police operation at Junction 24 of the M62 motorway shortly after 6pm on Monday 2 January. He died at the scene.”

“I understand that West Yorkshire Police are working fully with the IPCC’s independent investigation into the circumstances of the shooting and there is due process to follow which may mean certain information cannot be provided in the way that communities feel they need,” Shah said.

“What appears to be a non-police issue firearm was discovered in the vehicle in which Mr Yaqub was travelling, and is being further examined,” the IPCC added.​