Armed police surrounded the group near The Brewery in Romford just after 1.30pm yesterday.
They arrested one of the boys on suspicion of possession of an imitation firearm.
The fake gun was first seen by terrified shoppers in Ilford when a youth allegedly pointed it at a shop.
The gang then got on a TfL Rail train to Romford and the weapon was seen by terrified passengers who alerted police.
Firearms officers then intercepted and searched the train at Gidea Park but the suspect had already got off.
The incident caused hours of delays on both TfL Rail and Greater Anglia services.
A Met Police spokesperson said the group of youths were then seen with the imitation gun near The Brewery in Romford.
The spokesperson added: “A description of the suspects was provided. In the interests of public safety in the busy area, they were quickly traced, detained and searched by armed police.”
Other members of the group were found to be empty-handed and were not arrested.
More imitation handguns seized this weekend, 1st in #WestNorwood where @Lambeth officers spotted it in a car they’d stopped, 2nd was pointed at shops in #Ilford by a group who then took it on the train to #Romford where #SCO19 arrested them. Consequences are real not imitation. pic.twitter.com/R3Fpu6IuvW
— MPS Firearms Command (@MPSFirearms) January 7, 2019
“We acted quickly based on information provided to police by multiple sources reporting that a group of youths were behaving suspiciously and were in possession of a firearm in a busy and crowded area,” said Inspector Barrie Beyler.
“Armed police acted decisively in the best interests of public safety. Thankfully no live firearm was found.
“Naturally the youths stopped were very startled by the armed stop but we will always act on information received about firearms or indeed any other weapons as part of our job to keep the public safe.
“I would like to thank members of the public who called police with information about what they saw. Information like this is vital for us to respond quickly and effectively to protect communities.”
Tags: Romford, Havering
