Police shoot dead man who killed two in London stabbing, call it terrorist attack

By Michael Holden and Dylan Martinez

 

Police officers and emergency staff work at the site of an incident at London Bridge in London, Britain, November 29, 2019. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls

 

LONDON (Reuters) - British police on Friday shot dead a man wearing a fake suicide vest who stabbed two people to death in London and injured three more before being wrestled to the ground by bystanders, in what the authorities called a terrorist attack.

 

The attacker went on the rampage just before 2 p.m. (1400 GMT), targeting people at Fishmongers' Hall near London Bridge in the heart of the city's financial district - the scene of a deadly attack by Islamist militants two years ago.

 

Out on the street, half a dozen bystanders tackled the suspect to the ground and grabbed his knife.

 

A video posted on Twitter showed police dragging one man off the suspect before an officer took careful aim. Two shots rang out. The man stopped moving.

 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has called a snap election for Dec. 12 and is due to host NATO leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump next week, praised those who took on the man for their courage and said Britain would never be cowed.

 

"I ... want to pay tribute to the extraordinary bravery of those members of the public who physically intervened to protect the lives of others," Johnson told reporters in Downing Street.

 

"For me they represent the very best of our country and I thank them on behalf of all of our country," Johnson said. "This country will never be cowed, or divided, or intimidated by this sort of attack."

 

He said the incident was now thought to have been contained and vowed that anyone else involved would be hunted down. Downing Street said he would later chair a meeting of the government's emergency security committee.

 

 

Britain's top counter-terrorism officer, Neil Basu, said specialist armed officers from the City of London police shot the suspect, who died at the scene. He said a hoax explosive device was strapped to his body.

 

"Our Counter Terrorism detectives will be working round the clock to identify those who have lost their lives, to support all the victims and their families," London police chief Cressida Dick told reporters.

 

"We are also working at full tilt to understand exactly what has happened and whether anyone else was involved."

 

Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, Johnson's main opponent in the election, said he was shocked by the incident and that his thoughts were with those caught up in it.

 

Campaigning has been temporarily suspended.

 

KICKED IN THE HEAD

 

Commissioner Dick said the attacker launched his assault at Fishmongers' Hall, a grand building at the northern end of the bridge.

 

One of those who confronted the attacker there told the Daily Telegraph newspaper that he had kicked him in the head to make him drop the knife.

 

Stevie Hurst, who gives tours of the capital, said he and a colleague took on the suspect with about five others.

 

"I jumped in and kicked him in the head to make him release his knife. A few others did so," he told the Telegraph. "He was shouting 'get off me, get off me'."

 

As three armed police officers circled the suspect in the shadow of the Shard skyscraper, western Europe's tallest building, one bystander in a suit and tie grabbed the knife and swiftly retreated as police engaged.

 

 

The city's mayor Sadiq Khan said ordinary Londoners had demonstrated "breath-taking heroism" in disarming the knife-wielding attacker despite him having a device which they did not know to be a hoax.

 

"What's remarkable about the images we've seen is the breath-taking heroism of members of the public who literally ran towards danger not knowing what confronted them," Khan told reporters.

 

The ambulance service declared a "major incident" in the area and London Bridge station, a busy commuter hub, was closed for a number of hours.

 

PREVIOUS ATTACKS

 

During the 2017 election campaign, London Bridge was the scene of an attack when three militants drove a van into pedestrians and then attacked people in the surrounding area, killing eight and injuring at least 48.

 

Islamic State said its fighters were responsible, but the British authorities have cast doubt on those claims.

 

The month before, a suicide bomber killed 22 children and adults and wounded 59 at a packed concert hall in the English city of Manchester, as crowds began leaving a concert by U.S. singer Ariana Grande.

 

In March the same year, an attacker stabbed a policeman close to London's parliament buildings after a car ploughed into pedestrians on nearby Westminster Bridge.

 

Six people died, including the assailant and the policeman he stabbed, and at least 20 were injured in what police called a "marauding terrorist attack".

 

Earlier this month, Britain had lowered its national terrorism threat level to "substantial" from "severe", its lowest level since 2014.

 

(Additional reporting by Andrew MacAskill, Alistair Smout, David Milliken, Kate Holton, Costas Pitas, James Davey and William Schomberg; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Mike Collett-White)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-11-30

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Good work by the police and public. But really? Terrorism? Come on, that is surely overstating the case somewhat.

Awesome response by those members of the public who tackled this attacker.

 

Ordinary people doing something beyond extraordinary.

22 minutes ago, baboon said:

Good work by the police and public. But really? Terrorism? Come on, that is surely overstating the case somewhat.

The perp had recently been released from prison where he had been held on "terrorism-related offences" and was known to the authorities at MI5 and police because of his previous conviction, according to the British media.

26 minutes ago, baboon said:

Good work by the police and public. But really? Terrorism? Come on, that is surely overstating the case somewhat.

Please read the OP again, it states the man had a fake suicide vest, if that is not terrorism what is?

3 minutes ago, colinneil said:

Please read the OP again, it states the man had a fake suicide vest, if that is not terrorism what is?

Wearing a fake suicide vest is terrorism?

Now don't get me wrong - this homicidal maniac got what was coming to him - but the term 'terrorist' with all the implications that go with the term are rather too easily bandied about nowadays for my liking.

Quote

 

The man who carried out the stabbing attack at London Bridge was a former prisoner convicted of a terrorism offence, the BBC has learned. The attacker was out of prison on licence at the time of the attack, in which two people were killed and three were injured, sources said.

 

Police have declared the attack a terrorist incident.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-50610215

 

If even the BBC can't avoid calling it a terrorist incident, that's a fairly good indication that the evidence is strong.

40 minutes ago, baboon said:

Good work by the police and public. But really? Terrorism? Come on, that is surely overstating the case somewhat.

One assumes for are talking to the definition of a terrorism offence. However, the killer had earlier been released from prison after serving time for a terrorism offence.

 

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1211263/London-bridge-terror-attack-news-knifeman-terrorism-latest-ISIS-Islamic-State-murder-kille

Post reported and removed.  

 

2 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Police shoot dead man who killed two in London stabbing, call it terrorist attack

"Police shoot dead man ...."

Geez .... This sounds even worse than things that happen in Thailand!

If the man was already dead, why shoot dead man?

 

21 minutes ago, neeray said:

"Police shoot dead man ...."

Geez .... This sounds even worse than things that happen in Thailand!

If the man was already dead, why shoot dead man?

 

deleted post. my bad. sorry neeray. no bad feelings I hope

Well done to the brave citizens that tackled this nutter.

sorry neeray. didn't catch your name but hope taken out of text

 

43 minutes ago, baboon said:

But really? Terrorism? Come on, that is surely overstating the case somewhat.

Are you living in this century? "wearing a suicide vest" no matter if it was fake, does not make it a domestic disturbance  

5 minutes ago, jastheace said:

get an English language lesson 150 |B. then you understand. sad sad sad 

 

you should join him, then you will see that the title is not good English, it is unclear, ambigous

 

If Islam was a far right organisation then the government would ban it. Time to remove Islam from uk. 

Top 2 uk stories on Sky today.

1. Muslim terrorism.

2. Muslim man murders wife with crossbow.

 

 

 

 

5 minutes ago, jastheace said:

get an English language lesson 150 |B. then you understand. sad sad sad 

No need for any English lessons thank you. I speak and write quite well in my native language.

For you, as you apparently don't understand, "shoot man dead" versus "shoot dead man" have entirely different meanings.

1 minute ago, melvinmelvin said:

 

you should join him, then you will see that the title is not good English, it is unclear, ambigous

 

I posted ad apologie to him. 

1 hour ago, baboon said:

Good work by the police and public. But really? Terrorism? Come on, that is surely overstating the case somewhat.

The British police are right up there as one the world's best, if not the best anti-terrorist force. If they deem to define this as a 'terrorist incident' I'll go along with that thank you.

Just now, neeray said:

No need for any English lessons thank you. I speak and write quite well in my native language.

For you, as you apparently don't understand, "shoot man dead" versus "shoot dead man" have entirely different meanings.

I posted apology neeray, sorry again

sad event

even so, I guess this happening improves BJs standing now right before the election,

as long as he  behaves when he talks about the event publicly (so far he is doing OK)

 

1 minute ago, Moonlover said:

The British police are right up there as one the world's best, if not the best anti-terrorist force. If they deem to define this as a 'terrorist incident' I'll go along with that thank you.

Yes, perhaps I made a poor call. But I do worry about sensationalism, given the limited attention span of many in this day and age, and those who seek to capitalise on it.

20 minutes ago, jastheace said:

it is Friday. you not in prayer, you target for die.

welcome to multiculture Britain.

now why is it you won't make statements like that when it is a white dude committing a terrorist act? Statistically there are more terror incidents from far-right white people, so can we have witty comment about that?

People like yourself are as bad as this guy, you try to demonize whole communities to cause more violence, just two sides of the same coin. 

6 minutes ago, car720 said:

Copper double tapped him in plain sight.  Shows the feeling of the Brits at the moment.  Good show old boy.

The officer 'double tapped him' because that's what he's been trained to do. When a suspect is wearing a suicide vest, you don't wait for him to activate the trigger to establish whether it's real or a dummy.

 

It in no way indicates the feeling of us Brits at the moment. 

A post containing an offensive trolling meme has been reported and removed. 

1 hour ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Awesome response by those members of the public who tackled this attacker.

 

Ordinary people doing something beyond extraordinary.

In a situation they should never have been in if it wasn,t for the vanity of previous politicians.

3 minutes ago, Liverpudlian said:

About 30 years ago a still gigging britt band The Waterboys wrote a great track "Old england is dying"  my god ! what a prophesy , when ya got 5 then give it a listen.

"The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers."

 

Bastards! England is doomed!

 

Yet the above was written by Socrates between 469 and 399 BC. The old are always grumpy about the young, always have been and always will be. It is just the way of the world.

 

Let's not forgot  the two people murdered and 3 injured. 

1 hour ago, RickBradford said:

The perp had recently been released from prison where he had been held on "terrorism-related offences" and was known to the authorities at MI5 and police because of his previous conviction, according to the British media.

And thanks to May sacking 20,000 coppers they can no longer monitor all these terrorists who we have residing in the U.K.many of whom have returned after fighting for Isis.

31 minutes ago, baboon said:

But I do worry about sensationalism, given the limited attention span of many in this day and age, and those who seek to capitalise on it.

I worry much more about the media and authorities trying to do everything in their power to avoid mentioning "Islamic terrorism" and making it much harder to have a very necessary open debate about it.