He's famous for his roles in Doctor Who and Torchwood.

But on Saturday John Barrowman unfortunately had to play the part of reporter, as a bloody shooting unfolded just yards away from his house in Palm Springs, California. 

The 49-year-old actor posted a video, apparently taken in his back yard, to social media to reassure fans but also try and provide some details about the incident.

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'There's been a shooting in Palm Springs,' he begins, adding 'two police officers have died and I guess one is injured.' 

The visibly shaken Hollywood veteran then went out of his way to voice support for local law enforcement.

He then got into the details of the incident, which he was aware of because of his proximity to the crime scene.

'It’s literally 200 yards from our house and the police helicopters are circling' he stated, before revealing 'we don't know if the person is still on the loose.'

But he did clarify to fans that 'it's quite terrible but everything's fine on this end,' before reiterating that 'it's just an awful thing, someone out to shoot policemen.'

After his video update, John then tweeted several times.

'@PalmSpringsPD our condolences and support are with you. John Barrowman MBE and Scott Gill,' read one tweet.

John then started retweeting husband Scott Gill's tweets, which were more detailed.

'Dreadful tragedy unfolding only 500 yards away from our house. Two police officers dead, one wounded & a gun wielding maniac on the loose' read the first tweet.

Scott even took the opportunity to apparently express frustration with lax gun laws: 'Apparently the guy shot some family members too. They knew he was disturbed and yet he still had access to a machine gun....'