PUBLISHED ONMarch 22, 2026 6:06 AMBYSean LerA man's routine efforts to stay healthy amid diabetic and heart conditions nearly turned into a nightmare on Friday (March 20) when armed police and snipers descended on him at a park in Greater Manchester, England.
The incident reportedly happened at about 11.52am in Salford's Mandley Park.
Footage and images of the incident circulating on social media show the man, who is in his 40s, with his hands placed over his head as he kneels on the ground.
In the distance, a police officer in prone position, perched atop a van, had a rifle trained on him.
Greater Manchester Police said they received reports of a "suspicious male" spotted wearing a vest and carrying what some people thought were wires in the park.
Across social media, several early posts also falsely claimed that the man was wearing a "suicide bomb" or "bomb vest". Some of these posts have since been removed.
The man, a father in his 40s, told Manchester Evening News that he had been using his skipping rope and weighted gym vest to exercise after his doctor advised him to work out.
He added that he has a type 2 diabetes condition and problem with his heart.
"So I train. I go to the gym. I go to the park to exercise. But yesterday was one of those days. I wear that vest everywhere when I exercise. It's not just me, I see many people using that vest," the regional daily newspaper reported the man, who requested anonymity, as saying.
He recalled hearing a police officer saying to another to "shoot him if he moves" and seeing a helicopter overhead.
Given the circumstances, he said he complied with officers' instructions to leave his phone on the floor and lie down. "I did whatever they told me to do," he reportedly told the paper.
"They asked me to take the vest off, I took it off and moved to the right side. They put me in handcuffs. They took me to the police station and kept me (there) for a couple of hours, then I was free to go."
The father, who reportedly moved from Albania to the United Kingdom 25 years ago, was however quite understanding despite what happened.
"I said to the police, 'it's better safe than sorry," he said, noting that it is a Jewish area and that the police were "very nice" with him.
@asiaone Anxieties in the Jewish settlement in Greater Manchester has been high, following the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue attack in October 2025. #news #UnitedKingdom #Park #Police #Exercise ♬ original sound - AsiaOne
Taking to Facebook on the same evening, the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester and Region said it is thankful that the incident has been clarified as a false alarm and that there is no threat to its community.
"This incident is indicative of the levels of anxiety currently being faced by Jewish people across the world," it added.
On Oct 2, 2025, a man drove a car into pedestrians and then began stabbing them outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, about 1.6km away from Mandley Park.
In a statement posted on X, Salford Police said they later established the man to have been wearing a weighted gym vest and carrying a skipping rope, adding that there is no wider threat to the community.
#UPDATE | We received a report of a suspicious male on Bristol Street, Salford, at around 11:52am today.
Officers established that the individual was wearing a weighted gym vest and carrying a skipping rope at an outdoor gym.
There is no threat to the wider community. pic.twitter.com/aEuSDgLDPh— Salford Police (GMP) (@GMPSalford) March 20, 2026
"It is what it is. Sometimes it happens, you know," the man told Manchester Evening News in the interview.
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