Masked man armed with crossbow, knife, sword and hatchet is shot dead by police
A MAN who broke into a house wearing a gas mask and wielding a crossbow and a sword was shot dead by police yesterday.
His mask, body armour, crossbow bolts and military boots were left strewn across a quiet cul-de-sac in the aftermath of the terrifying incident.
Armed police said they were forced to fire after Bryce Hodgson, 30, managed to break into a property, having threatened the residents while also wielding a hatchet and knife.
It is believed the dead man was known to at least one person living at the address. Two people in the building broken into suffered minor injuries, but police did not say how they were caused.
Hodgson had appeared in court in June charged with ‘stalking involving serious alarm’ by entering a woman’s bedroom without her consent.
He had also messaged her demanding she open her front door between January and April last year, the Daily Mirror reported yesterday.
Neighbours in Rotherhithe, south- east London, said they heard a man and woman screaming and shouting minutes before the shooting.
They were ordered to stay away from their windows as armed officers descended on the Bywater Place estate.
Scotland Yard said police were called after Hodgson tried to force his way into a building just before 5am yesterday. Unarmed officers initially tried to speak to him but were threatened.
It is thought the armour and weapons were left scattered on the street after officers stripped him of them to perform first aid outside the building after the incident.
Valeria Bocanera, 37, a neighbour who was woken by the incident, said: ‘It went on for about a minute or so and then it went silent. My neighbour could see the body out of her window and it was uncovered and just lying on the floor.’
Other neighbours also described being woken by shouts and bangson ing. One woman said: ‘You could hear all the police shouting to each other. We just stayed indoors and the police later told us not to come out.’
A ground-floor window at the rear of a property was broken and an upstairs window was wedged open. The curtains had been pulled across the other windows. A tent was in place where Hodgdied and officers patrolled the area to reassure the community after the shooting.
Describing him as a ‘dark horse’, a neighbour of Hodgson told the Mirror he had moved in last summer and was often seen ‘outside the front smoking weed and cigarettes’.
Last night, the Independent Office for Police Conduct confirmed he had been carrying an array of weapons, adding: ‘After arriving at the scene, the armed officers then entered the house where the man was shot.
‘We can confirm two shots were fired from a police issue firearm, which will be subject to further analysis.
‘The man, who was wearing body armour, was taken outside the property and given first aid but, sadly, died at the scene.’ Earlier yesterday, the watchdog said it had begun an ‘independent investigation
into the circumstances surrounding the shooting’.
The Met’s assistant commissioner Matt Twist said he ‘firmly believed’ the actions of the officers prevented further loss of life.
Detective chief superintendent Seb Adjei-Addoh said his ‘thoughts are with all those affected’ by the early morning drama. ‘I understand the local community will be concerned at the events that have taken place,’ he said.
Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, offered his support to those impacted by the incident.
Fatal police shootings are rare in the UK, with no more than three occurring per year since 2017. The most recent death was that of Giedrius Vasiljevas, 40, who was shot at his home in Dagenham, east London, in November last year after calling 999 to say he had loaded guns and wanted to take his own life.
‘Stay away from the windows’