London Bridge attack: knifeman shot by police
Man who killed two people on London Bridge was an ex-prisoner with links to Islamist terror groups, British security sources say.
A man who stabbed two people to death on London Bridge was an ex-prisoner with links to “Islamist terrorist groups”, according to reports citing British security sources.
The attacker, who was believed to be wearing a hoax explosive device, wounded three other people before he was tackled by passers-by and shot dead by police in the heart of the British capital on Friday.
BBC and Sky News were among the outlets reporting the details of the man’s criminal past late Friday. The Times says the attacker stabbed people at a criminology conference in London that he was attending, while the ABC reports he was a convicted terrorist who had been released from prison about a year ago.
Officials would not confirm those details, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he had “long argued” that it was a “mistake to allow serious and violent criminals to come out of prison early.” Johnson, who chaired a meeting of the government’s COBRA emergency committee late Friday, said more police would be patrolling the streets “for reassurance purposes.”
Met Police assistant commissioner Neil Basu declared the incident, which occurred at 1.58pm local time, as a terror attack - the second on the bridge in two years - and locked down a significant part of central London into Friday evening while searches of the area continued.
“This has been declared as a terror incident,” Mr Basu told reporters, saying he was keeping an open mind as to the attacker’s motive.
In incredibly brave scenes, passers-by wrestled the attacker - described by witnesses as being tall - to the ground.
Someone just shot on London Bridge #london @BBCBreaking @SkyNews pic.twitter.com/qVk5IPmofb
— amanda** (@AmandaHunter87) November 29, 2019
The incident occurred in the midst of a tense election campaign.
Meanwhile, Dutch police say multiple people have been stabbed in an attack in The Hague’s main shopping precinct during the Black Friday sales. A manhunt is currently underway.
Mobile phone footage taken from various angles on London Bridge shows one of the pedestrians was able to wrest the long 30cm knife from the attacker and run away with it along the bridge. As he was retreating, the jacket and tie-wearing hero urged others to get away from the scene.
Prime minister Boris Johnson said the pedestrians had reacted with enormous courage to try and disable the attacker.
#BREAKING : Reports of a shooting incident on London Bridge #Londonbridge #London pic.twitter.com/9kLaoTFElP
— News flash (@BRNewsFlash) November 29, 2019
“I want to pay tribute to the extraordinary bravery of members of public who physically intervened and they represent the very best of our country and I thank them on behalf of our country. I am very saddened some people have been injured,” said Mr Johnson, who suspended his election campaigning for the day to deal with the security risks.
“I want to assure you that anybody involved in this crime and attacks will be hunted down and brought to justice. To them and anyone associated with this attack, this country will never be cowed or intimidated by this attack and our British values will prevail.”
The attack is believed to have started in the grade II-listed Fishmongers’ Hall, a lavish conference venue during a “learning anniversary event” involving around 100 people, including youth justice workers, on the northern edge of the bridge.
One witness at the conference said a man known as Lukas was stabbed and badly injured and there appeared to be a large amount of blood on the outside of the building.
Police have urged people not to share videos of the scene as it may reveal undercover City of London police officers who responded to the attack.
Police were heard to yell at the pedestrians to move away from the man on the bridge , who then opened his jacket. One of the pedestrians was dragged off the man by the police and witnesses say at that point the police, seeing what appeared to be a suicide vest, moved away. Two gun shots were then fired.
Cecilia Soldiero witnessed the events unfold from the top deck of a bus adjacent to the man. She said six people were holding the man on the ground and even after he was shot he was still moving and attempting to activate what everyone thought was a bomb.
"I’m being kept updated on the incident at London Bridge and want to thank the police and all emergency services for their immediate response." — Prime Minister Boris Johnson
— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) November 29, 2019
“The gunshot was worse, you don’t know who is shooting,’’ she told Sky News,
“But the guy was still alive afterwards,he was moving his arms. I thought ’oh my god he is going to activate this device, he could kill more people, it is not just a stabbing’. We thought we were okay on the bus, but then we thought maybe there are more people (terrorists) around we need to be safer so we abandoned the bus.”
Staff at the Monument tube station which was near to the attack on the northern side of the bridge and where a makeshift medical triage was set up, confirmed that five people have been stabbed.
Police shouting for everyone to move away. Real panic setting in at London Bridge. Rumours of a shooting? pic.twitter.com/vBZoKu73za
— Timothy Johnson (@timtj) November 29, 2019
London mayor Sadiq Khan said some of the victims were believed to be seriously injured.
Scores of armed police swarmed the area, closing off the bridge and the Monument tube in a lockdown cordon as they assessed if the man acted alone.
Trains and tube at London Bridge were closed.In a statement the Met Police said they were called at 13.58hrs on Friday, 29 November, to a stabbing at premises near to London Bridge.
Mr Basu said: “A male suspect was shot by specialist armed officers from City of London Police and I can confirm that this suspect died at the scene.
“A number of other people received injuries during the incident and as soon as we can provide further updates on their condition, we will. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to those anxiously awaiting news from loved ones.
Mr Basu confirmed the device that was strapped to the body of the suspect was “a hoax explosive device”.
He said: “Officers continue to carry out meticulous searches in the area to ensure there is no outstanding threat to the public.
“Those extensive cordons will remain in place for a considerable time and I would ask the public please continue to avoid the area.
“Public safety is obviously our top priority and we will be enhancing police patrols in the City and across London.’’
The threat level had only been reduced a level to “substantial’’ several weeks ago -meaning a terror attack is likely - after it had been at “severe’’, or an attack highly likely for several years.
This latest attack had elements of the deadly terror attack on London Bridge on June 3, 2017 which claimed the lives of two Australians, Sara Zelenak and Kirsty Boden.
The 2017 attack involved three attackers using a van to drive into pedestrians who then stabbed passersby in the Borough Market, killing eight people within ten minutes.
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