Associated Press - A man who allegedly tried to sell a stolen copy of the forthcoming Harry Potter book to two tabloid newspapers fired a fake gun next to the head of a reporter who came to meet him, one of the papers reported Saturday.
The Sun said its journalist agreed to meet two men who contacted the paper saying they had obtained copies of the highly anticipated book. The newspaper contacted police, who were waiting outside the meeting site in Kettering, north of London, and arrested the two suspects on Friday.
The Daily Mirror newspaper also said it had been contacted about buying an early copy of the novel and sent a reporter to meet the men. The paper also contacted police before its meeting.
The Sun said that when its reporter attempted to leave the meeting carrying the book, one of the suspects put a gun next to his head and fired a shot over the journalist's shoulder. The shooter said the gun was not real, but it made a loud bang when it went off, the paper reported.
The newspapers said the man worked at a distribution warehouse where copies of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" are being stored ahead of their release July 16.
"It was very hard" to get around security, the Mirror quoted him as saying. "The whole warehouse is on camera."
Northamptonshire police said they had arrested a 37-year-old and 19-year-whose names they did not release. The older man was charged with weapons possession and handling stolen property and the teen with theft and possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear, police said.
Both were released on bail, police said.
Lawyers for author J.K. Rowling got a High Court injunction against the two barring any leaks from the stolen copies.
"This order was made following our client's discovery ... that a copy of ... 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,' had been obtained by unauthorized persons who had subsequently offered the book to newspaper journalists," said Rowling's lawyers at the firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain.
The sixth Harry Potter novel has sparked massive interest since author J.K. Rowling revealed a major character will be killed in the book
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