A man shot dead by police after running towards them with a knife rang 999 himself to report ‘a man with a gun’ at the train station he was at.
David Joyce, 38, had only been out of prison a matter of months, having been jailed for possession of firearms and making his own gun three years ago, when he was fatally shot outside Milton Keynes Central Rail station.
Mr Joyce, who lived in Milton Keynes but was originally from Galway in the Republic of Ireland, was at the railway station armed with a 12cm steak knife.
He died of a single gunshot wound to his abdomen after an armed officer fired at him when he ran at two officers.
Today an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) revealed police had been alerted following a 999 call at 1.04pm from a phone used to call the force before – and linked to Joyce.
The man, understood to be Joyce, reported ‘there is a man with a gun down at the train station in Milton Keynes’ before hanging up.
The call handler rang back and spoke to the man again who said the man with the gun was acting suspiciously, looked like he was about to do something bad and ‘definitely’ had a gun.
CCTV footage shows Joyce making a phone call at a time which matches with when the 999 call to police was made.
David Joyce, 38, had only been out of prison a matter of months having been jailed for possession of firearms and making his own gun three years ago, MailOnline has learned
He was shot dead by armed police officers after running at them with a knife outside Milton Keynes station
Officers were called to Milton Keynes Central following reports of a man carrying a firearm just before 1pm on April 1 (picture from the scene)
MailOnline previously reported that cannabis-smoking Mr Joyce had become agitated and paranoid just hours before he was gunned down telling a neighbour ‘the police are out to get me’.
The neighbour said: ‘He was a quiet lad, didn’t say much but I think he had some mental health issues.
‘On the day he was shot, he came to my gate and started talking to me.
‘He was very paranoid and said ‘Can’t you see them? The cameras…they’re following me everywhere. The police are out to get me.’
‘It was a bizarre conversation but a few hours later he was shot dead by armed police.
‘He had a knife apparently and ran at them but I wonder if they could have handled it differently because he was clearly unwell.
‘He admitted that he’d been sentenced to five years in jail and told me he was some sort of engineer who built his own gun.
‘He had a fascination with firearms and weapons but I remember he told me he had made a big mistake making the gun saying ‘I did something very silly’.
Joyce, originally from Galway in Ireland, had made his own gun and had only just come out of jail for firearms offences
Joyce was shot at close range and was treated by officers at the scene before being rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead nearly an hour later
Residents living above the station in Milton Keynes reported hearing a loud ‘bang’
‘The fact he’d been inside and his mental health issues meant he didn’t have a job. I just used to see him going from his flat to the shop.’
Another neighbour added: ‘He’d only been out of prison a few months.
‘I used to see him smoking weed outside the block. The smell would drift up to my flat. He kept to himself and didn’t have much family in the area.’
In photographs posted on his Facebook page Mr Joyce is seen taking aim with a rifle and bow and arrow in a woodland.
He also posted a snap of a Taser he had crafted himself from a ‘200,000 voltage ignition coil’ and boasted of making a ‘burning laser’ which would cut through plastic and ‘blind you instantly’.
Mr Joyce, lived with his partner, who were engaged in 2013, in a ground floor flat in the Hodge Lea area of Milton Keynes.
In a chilling premonition outlining his fate, Mr Joyce wrote on Facebook in 2016: ‘Keep having the same kind of mad dreams over and over, getting shot at, having gun fights, being attacked by creepy weirdos and being in jail.
‘Not to mention getting stabbed and oh yes, my favourite, the poltergeist I always dream of being locked in a house with. Telling you I do wake up full of adrenaline expecting something or someone to be there. This is every night.’
Joyce also bragged online about making his own taser and was pictured posing with deadly bow and arrows
He was jailed in 2022 after being charged with two counts of possession of a firearm, two counts of possession of an offensive weapon and one count of possession of an article for use in connection with conversion of imitation firearms.
Following his shooting police revealed that Mr Joyce had ‘moved at speed towards officers’ with a knife in his hand outside the rail station’s main entrance
He was shot at close range and was treated by officers at the scene before being rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead nearly an hour later.
IOPC Director Derrick Campbell said: ‘We again extend our sincere condolences to the family and friends of David Joyce and all those affected by this incident.
‘We continue to keep his family informed of our progress.
‘Our investigators are working hard to piece together the circumstances leading up to Mr Joyce being shot by a police officer and have already carried out a significant amount of enquiries.
‘As part of our enquiries, we have taken accounts from the police officers involved, gathered a large volume of CCTV including from inside and outside the station, obtained the officers’ body-worn video and police vehicle dashcam footage, completed house-to-house enquiries at nearby properties and taken statements from members of the public who witnessed the shooting.
‘We previously issued a witness appeal which identified more witnesses who have been contacted to obtain statements.
Matthew Barber, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley Police said the shooting had been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct over the incident which led to Joyce’s (pictured) death
‘We have also shared our investigation’s terms of reference with Mr Joyce’s family, TVP and HM Coroner.
‘In line with investigations following a fatal police shooting, we will look at the decisions and actions of TVP officers prior to and during their interaction with Mr Joyce – including the medical care they provided at the scene; if the lethal force was necessary, justified and proportionate; and whether the officers followed policy.
‘All officers who attended the incident remain as witnesses in our ongoing investigation as there is no indication that any of them may have committed a criminal offence or breached police professional standards of behaviour.’
A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said: ‘Our officers and those from British Transport Police were called to reports of a man carrying a firearm at the station on Elder Gate at 12.55pm this afternoon.
‘Our armed officers responded and challenged a white man who was carrying a knife outside the station. He moved at speed towards officers with the knife before a shot was fired by police.
‘Life-saving actions were immediately taken at the scene, but the man was pronounced dead at 1.44pm.’
Following the incident, Matthew Barber, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley Police said the shooting had been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
He said: ‘This is of course a shocking incident there is no ongoing risk to the public.
‘Of course it is right that the IOPC review this incident, but from what I understand at this early stage I am confident that the officers should be praised for their actions to protect members of the public.
‘As a society we ask the police to put themselves in harm’s way every single day on our behalf, most of those officers are unarmed.
‘The small number of armed officers often face even greater risks and carry a still greater responsibility.
‘Whilst it is right that yesterday’s incident is independently reviewed, it is important that we also recognise exactly what we are asking of our armed police officers.
‘It is tragic that a man died in yesterday’s incident, but I am thankful to the police officers who responded bravely and acted decisively in order to protect the public. If they had not done so the outcome could have been much worse.’
