British police on Sunday shot dead a man in south London, and three people were injured, one of them seriously, in what detectives called a “terrorist-related” incident.
An eye-witness described seeing a man “with a machete and silver canisters on his chest” fleeing from police before they opened fire.
The shooting, on a busy street packed with Sunday shoppers, came just over two months after a convicted terrorist on early release from prison was shot dead by police on London Bridge after he stabbed two people to death.
The government responded by announcing longer sentences for terrorism offences, an end to early release and an increase in the counter-terrorism police budget in the coming financial year.
The Metropolitan Police said the man in Sunday’s incident died at around 2:00 pm (1400 GMT) on Streatham High Road, a busy thoroughfare lined with shops in a residential neighbourhood.
Reacting to the attack, Prime Minister Boris Johnson thanked the emergency services for their response. “My thoughts are with the injured and all those affected,” he said,
London Mayor Sadiq Khan added: “Terrorists seek to divide us and to destroy our way of life — here in London we will never let them succeed.”
– ‘Machete, silver canisters‘ –
AFP reporters at the scene said the high street was blocked off with police tape, with buses backed up outside the cordon, as uniformed police officers kept the public away.
Helicopters circled overhead.
The Met said one of the injured people was “at a hospital in a life-threatening condition. We are in the process of informing their family”.
It added: “A second victim was treated for minor injuries at the scene before being taken to hospital. A third victim has been taken to the hospital –- their condition is not life-threatening.”
The force said earlier: “The circumstances are being assessed; the incident has been declared as terrorist-related,” the Met force said.
“We can confirm that the man shot by police at around 2:00 pm today in #Streatham High Road has been pronounced dead.”
One eye-witness, who asked not to be identified, told Britain’s domestic Press Association news agency that he saw the dramatic events unfold.
“I saw a man with a machete and silver canisters on his chest being chased by what I assume was an undercover police officer — as they were in civilian clothing,” he said.
“The man was then shot. I think I heard three gun shots but I can’t quite remember.”
The eye-witness said he then sheltered in a library as other passers-by ran into nearby stores.
– Armed officers –
Unverified footage posted to social media purporting to capture some of the incidents showed armed police officers surrounding a man lying on the ground on Streatham High Road.
They then abruptly moved away, urging onlookers to move back, as other emergency vehicles arrived at the scene.
Another eye-witness who gave first aid to one of the victims told LBC radio he heard what he thought was a car backfiring, then two, possibly three armed police officers.
“I didn’t realise at the time I would be swept up in a terrorist incident. I thought this was someone who had shoplifted or people larking around,” he added.
He used a blanket on one of the injured victims as a compress on their wounds, while first-aid equipment was brought from a nearby pharmacy, he said.
– Lethal force –
Local Green Party councillor and national Green Party co-leader Jonathan Bartley called the incident an “absolute aberration”.
He told AFP the area was “a very safe community with wonderful diversity”.
Former police tactical firearms advisor Andy Redhead said it was too early to speculate whether the dead man had been under surveillance.
British police do not routinely carry firearms but armed units can make the decision themselves to use lethal force.
“If they believe there’s a threat to life… the only way to deal with that is to use firearms,” he told LBC radio.
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