The police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) have made a public appeal for witnesses after the fatal shooting of a man outside Milton Keynes Central station.

The IOPC have opened the investigation into the incident after a man was shot in an area outside the station around 1pm on Tuesday (01/04) last week.

As part of their appeal, the IOPC identified the man as David Joyce, 38, who lived in Milton Keynes.

His next of kin has been informed and he was formally identified at a post-mortem examination this morning (3 April). The provisional cause of death is a single gunshot wound to the abdomen. Joyce had been given first aid at the scene but died at the scene.

In a report of the day, the IOPC revealed they were advised that Thames Valley Police officers were dispatched after the report of a man with a firearm, which later turned out to be a man with a knife in his hand.

Their statement read, “We were advised by the force that firearms officers were sent to the station shortly before 1pm following a 999 call reporting that there was a man with a gun at the scene.

“We have viewed police officers’ body worn video footage and a substantial amount of CCTV footage and established that at around 1.04pm the man was just outside the railway station main entrance with a knife in his hand, and ran towards the officers.

“Shortly afterwards the man was shot at close range. We have established that a single shot was fired by one officer.”

As part of their investigation into the incident, the IOPC have said they have talked to officers who were present on the day. The watchdog have added they are also seeking to speak to members of the public who were also at the station when the incident happened and to recover CCTV from adjacent buildings.

The IOPC said, “We attended the police post incident procedures on Tuesday, where the officers involved provided their initial accounts of the incident. All officers who attended the scene are currently being treated as witnesses.

“We will be taking statements from members of the public who were at the station at the time and are looking to secure further CCTV from nearby public buildings.”

IOPC director Derrick Campbell said, “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of this man and all of those affected by this tragic incident.

“Given a man has died after being shot by police, our role is to independently investigate all of the circumstances surrounding this incident including the actions and decisions taken by the police.

“We appreciate that this incident outside a busy train station will understandably cause concern. We know the community will want answers quickly and our investigators are working hard to establish the facts as we piece together what happened and how.

“We have obtained details of some members of the public who witnessed the incident who we will be contacting, however we know there were many people near the station around the time of the shooting and we want to hear from anyone who may have seen the incident or has footage of it.

“We have contacted the man’s family and will meet with them soon to explain our role. We will keep them regularly updated throughout our investigation.

“Witnesses to the incident can contact us on 0300 303 5727 or by email at [email protected]”