A man is dead after police opened fire on his car in a “fast-moving incident” near Bristol, in south-west Britain.
Avon and Somerset police confirmed that the man died after the encounter on the A369 road near the M5 motorway at Portishead, which is just outside of Bristol.
A police statement said:
“We can confirm a man died earlier this morning in an incident involving police firearms on The Portbury Hundred (A369) in Portishead.
“We have referred the incident to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
“This has been a fast moving incident and is now under investigation by the IPCC.”
A report from BBC Radio Bristol said witnesses saw police firing at the car. It described armed officers firing between six and 10 shots from the passenger window of at least one patrol car.
Dave Ellison told the station: "They surrounded it. They shot maybe five, six or ten times. Then they dragged a man from the car to resuscitate him. It came off the roundabout towards Portishead and then was boxed in by cars."
The image below, adapted from footage broadcast by Sky News, shows six bullet holes in the car, a red Suzuki Swift.
There were what appear to be bloodstains on the road next to the car (which Business Insider blurred in the above photograph). A covered body could also been seen next to it:
According to MailOnline, the car's drive had been wearing a pale blue tracksuit and white trainers.
An air ambulance was dispatched to the scene but was not able to save the man.
A spokeswoman for the Independent Police Complaints Commission said: "We are investigating an incident involving police firearms this morning on the A369 near Portishead in which a man has died.
"IPCC investigators are at the scene gathering evidence and are attending the post-incident procedures. Our investigation is in its very early stages."
Somerset and Avon police declined repeated requests from Business Insider to explain why the man had been shot.
