Report of firing in Tube stop leads to major operation with armed police

Several people were injured and nine taken to hospital in an incident at Oxford Circus Tube station, London Ambulance Service said.

Armed police raced to Oxford Circus Tube station and Oxford Street yesterday afternoon after receiving 999 calls reporting shots had been fired.

However, around 90 minutes after responding, police said there was no evidence of any shots or suspects.

London Ambulance Service said in a statement: “Following the Oxford Circus incident earlier we treated several patients who sustained injuries while leaving the area, discharged seven at the scene and took nine to hospital.”

There was panic among rush-hour commuters and Black Friday shoppers in central London, with hundreds of people fleeing the scene.

Oxford Circus Tube and Bond Street stations eventually reopened.

The Royal Variety Performance at the nearby London Palladium went ahead as planned, although the arrival of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge was delayed.

British Transport Police (BTP) received reports at 4.37pm of gunfire on the westbound Central Line platform.

Shortly afterwards the Metropolitan Police also took similar calls.

In a statement, the Met said: “Given the nature of the information received, the Met responded in line with our existing operation as if the incident was terrorism, including the deployment of armed officers.

“Working with colleagues from the British Transport Police (BTP), we carried out an urgent search of the area.

“No casualties, evidence of any shots fired or any suspects were located by police.”

BTP said there was “a significant level of panic”, adding it was “examining the circumstances of the incident which resulted in the station being evacuated”.

Describing the panic, BBC producer Helen Bushby said: “I was just walking down from the BBC towards the Tube and there was a mass stampede away from the Tube as fast as they could.

“They were crying, they were screaming, they were dropping their shopping bags. It was a very panicked scene. People said they heard a gunshot and panic was just spreading.”

Jace Tyrrell added: “The police service acted extremely quickly and efficiently to secure and lock down the area.”