Armed police were called to a home in Brighton after a young man was stabbed and another man badly bruised.
Wellington Road was cordoned at both ends as five police cars and what a witness described as an armoured jeep arrived at the scene.
Officers carrying submachine guns were then seen approaching the house, and shortly afterwards the incident was contained.
The drama was witnessed by drinkers at the Admiral pub at the bottom of Elm Grove. One said: “We saw five police cars on the junction of Wellington Road and Elm Grove, opposite the Admiral. They blocked off the road and looked pretty active.
“There was a heavy vehicle moving in, a big armoured jeep. No public were allowed down the street even residents and when asked officers said they were not permitted to say.
“It looked fairly serious. Armed response was here, guys with MP5s. They arrested a suspect and then drove off.”
A police spokeswoman said: “Police were called to Wellington Road in Brighton at around 10pm on Tuesday (October 6) to reports of two men who had been assaulted.
“The two men, in their 20s, had been assaulted and threatened in a house in the road. Both men were taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital to be treated, one for a stab wound, and one for bruises.
“Two men have been arrested, a 40-year-old for GBH and a 55-year-old for false imprisonment. Both remain in custody.”
