Heavy gunfire near Saudi royal palace takes down toy drone

(London Mirror) Heavy gunfire breakout in Riyadh tonight was a toy drone which was shot down near the royal palace – amid claims of a ‘coup’.

A senior Saudi official said the drone was shot down near the royal residence after wildly conflicting reports on social media speculating on the cause of the shooting.

Videos posted on Twitter captured the sound of bullets allegedly near the royal residence, sparking a frenzy of confused claims.

Early reports suggested gunfire broke out as part of an attempted coup.

But Saudi and foreign journalists said a drone had flown near a security checkpoint, causing it to be shot down.