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British police have shot dead a man who had strapped a fake bomb to his body and stabbed a number of people in what they said was a “terrorism incident” in the London Bridge area of the capital.
“A male suspect was shot by specialist armed officers from the City of London police and I can confirm that this suspect died at the scene,” the United Kingdom‘s top counterterrorism officer, Neil Basu, told reporters.
“A number of other people received injuries during this incident,” Basu said. “We believe a device that was strapped to the body of the suspect was a hoax explosive device.”
A video posted on Twitter showed a group of about half a dozen men wrestling with someone on the ground on the sidewalk of the bridge. One of them backs away from the scene carrying a knife.
As he looks towards the melee, an armed police officer drags another person away from the man on the floor.
Soon after, what sound like two gunshots ring out, and the man on the ground stops moving. Reuters could not immediately verify the footage.
In a statement on Twitter, London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “I remain in close contact with the Metropolitan Police and am being kept updated with events.”
My statement on the incident at London Bridge. pic.twitter.com/UDL77f4uMK
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) November 29, 2019
“It has been confirmed that people were injured in the attack. My heart goes out to them, their families and all affected,” it said, adding that people must stay “resolute” and “united in the face of terror”.
There was a heavy police presence in the area, which was sealed off as helicopters circled above. Several buildings were put on lockdown. People in buildings around the scene were evacuated to the north side of the River Thames by security services.
Connor Allen, an events manager who was near the scene, told Al Jazeera he heard “quite a few” gunshots.
“Everyone just started running, that’s what you do in that situation,” he said, describing scenes of “pandemonium”.
The UK’s Labour party announced they would suspend all campaign events on Friday in light of the attack.
The ruling Conservative party also stated it was unlikely that their events would go ahead on Saturday.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson was on his way to Downing Street and Basu said he would be giving him a full briefing.
“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,” Johnson said in a statement.
In a tweet, Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, posted: “Shocking reports from London Bridge. My thoughts are with those caught up in the incident. Thank you to the police and emergency services who are responding.”
In June 2017, at least eight people were killed in the London Bridge area when attackers ploughed a van into pedestrians before carrying out a stabbing assault at Borough Market.
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.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
