London Bridge hero screamed at cops to ‘just shoot’ terrorist
A FORMER prisoner who tackled the Fishmongers Hall terrorist with a fire extinguisher yelled at police to “just shoot the b ****** ”.
John Crilly and others were struggling with knife killer Usman Khan on London Bridge when police marksmen arrived, an inquest heard.
Mr Crilly told the hearing: “They were shouting at him to stand still.
“I was telling them he’s just killed people, he’s got a bomb. Just shoot him. They gave him opportunities to stop, to comply. I was telling them to get on with it. It seemed to take ages.”
Mr Crilly was one of several have-ago heroes who took on Khan after he fatally stabbed Cambridge graduates Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, and injured three others at a
prisoners’ education conference. The Learning Together event was held at the Fishmongers Hall on London Bridge in November 2019.
Mr Crilly, whose murder conviction had been quashed the previous year, was chatting to a mentor when he heard screams. Rushing downstairs, he spotted Saskia who was “bleeding and in a lot of pain”.
People were trying to help her so he confronted Khan.
“Obviously, he had two big knives. It was apparent straightaway, no missing them. He was shouting and screaming. I think he was speaking Arabic.
“As I got closer to him, I tried to engage with him. In response, he started shouting, ‘Allahu Akbar’.”
Khan was wearing what looked like a black bodybuilding belt “with bits stuck to it”. Mr Crilly said he tried to call the killer’s bluff by shouting: “What is that around your waist? Is that supposed to be a suicide belt?” He said Khan, 28, then replied,“I’ll blow it. I’m waiting for the police” Mr Crilly told the inquest: “At this point it just went nuts. A bit like Benny Hill. I was running round trying to distract him.”
Khan kept coming at Mr Crilly who backed off then picked up a lectern and threw it at the killer.
“It just bounced off,” he said. Khan then went into the foyer and shouted “Allahu Akbar” as he stabbed Izzy Rowbotham twice. She survived.
Mr Crilly grabbed an ornamental chair and knocked Khan across the room with it. Moments later he picked up a fire extinguisher and sprayed it at the killer. “He seemed to be struggling with the foam,” he recalled.
Khan staggered on to London Bridge chased by Mr Crilly, serving prisoner Steven Gallant and civil servant Darryn Frost, who had grabbed a narwhal tusk from inside the hall.
Mr Crilly screamed at startled passers-by: “He’s got a bomb – get back.”
“Luckily Darryn hit him with the spike and he lost his balance.”
During the struggle, Mr Crilly hit Khan over the head with the extinguisher and wrestled a knife away from him. Khan was tasered by police moments before they shot him dead.
The inquest, at the City of London Guildhall, continues.