AC-12 arrive on the scene of the cliffhanger shooting in first look at Line of Duty episode 6

First look images of the upcoming sixth episode show AC-12 – Ted Hastings, Steve Arnott and Chloe Bishop – heading to the scene alongside an irritable-looking Patricia Carmichael (Anna Maxwell Martin), who arrived last episode to merge all the anti-corruption units and shut down AC-12's surveillance operations.

The end of episode five saw Ryan Pilkington and Kate Fleming face off in an abandoned car park, after the latter was lured there by Jo Davidson. While the two were shouting at one another to put their weapons down, the screen went to black and the episode ended with the sound of two gunshots.

In the BBC drama's first-look pics, we see the grim-faced crew walking presumably towards the scene of the showdown, all wearing bullet-proof vests (except for Carmichael), while Steve rolls on a pair of gloves.

The gloves raise a number of questions – could Steve be wearing them in order to examine evidence? Or could he be approaching a dead body? The latter may explain the group's solemn faces.

All four appear unarmed and don't seem to be rushing, possibly hinting that there's no longer an active shooter at large – however they are wearing bullet-proof vests, which would imply otherwise.

While fans have little to go on when it comes to hints around episode six, Ted Hastings himself, Adrian Dunbar did reveal to Good Morning Britain viewers on Monday that there has already "been a very big clue" and that "a lot of Line of Duty fans know what's going on".

Line of Duty continues on Sundays at 9pm on BBC One. Take a look at the rest of our Drama coverage, or check out what else is on with our TV Guide.