Investigative update on incident in Bath city centre
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Officers have issued a public update into ongoing enquiries following an incident in Bath city centre earlier this week.
Police, fire and ambulance crews attended Stall Street, and a cordon was put in place on Monday 29 July after we were informed a woman in possession of a plastic bag had approached members of the public, who then felt ill.
A 73-year-old was arrested that same day and has since been released under investigation.
Chief Inspector Scott Hill, of the Bath Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “In the early stages of this incident it was unclear what had happened. Emergency services have extensive plans for responding to such incidents and these were carried out to make sure treatment was available to anyone who needed it, and the wider public were kept safe.
“One person needed to go to hospital after experiencing breathing difficulties and itchy eyes. We were pleased to learn she was well enough to return home a few hours later.
“The arrested woman was questioned and property searched as part of our usual enquiries seeking to establish whether any crime had occurred.
“We will always be evidence-led, and at this stage of our investigation, it would appear this was an isolated incident and there was seemingly no intentional attempt to harm anybody.
“We are aware there has been speculative comments published, particularly on social media, suggesting this incident was a deliberate act seeking to cause harm and therefore wanted to be transparent about the status of our investigation.
“Further enquiries will be carried out, but we hope updating the public of the current investigative progress helps reassure anyone with concerns about what happened. Officers carrying out regular patrols in Bath will be happy to stop and talk to anyone if there are any ongoing concerns we can assist with.”