Police: Suspect killed in London stabbings
A man wearing a “hoax” explosive device stabbed two people during a “terrorism-related” attack on a London street Sunday before he was shot and killed by police, authorities said.
One stabbing victim was hospitalized with life-threatening wounds after the attack, which took place about 2 p.m. local time in the Streatham section, a combined residential and commercial neighborhood about 5 miles south of central London, police said.
“At this stage it is believed a number of people have been stabbed,” police said on Twitter. “The circumstances are being assessed; the incident has been declared as terrorist-related.”
Police initially tweeted that at least three people were injured. The London Ambulance Service said it had multiple vehicles at the scene and was treating “a number of patients.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted his condolences to the injured and others affected by the attack.
“Thank you to all emergency services responding to the incident in Streatham, which the police have now declared as terrorism-related,” Johnson, a former mayor of London, tweeted.
The attack came two months after an officer shot and killed a man wearing a fake explosive device during a knife attack near London Bridge that left two people dead and three wounded.
Photos posted Sunday on social media showed streets crowded with first responders and people lying on the pavement. Some victims were being treated by physicians at the scene, the BBC said.
“Please use common sense and restraint in circulating pictures and videos of the #Streatham incident, including images of the officers involved,” police tweeted.
Deputy assistant police commissioner Stephen Roberts said police would search the suspect’s residence, seize computer devices and check internet records. Investigators are researching the man’s background and looking into any possible co-conspirators, Roberts said.
If the attacker was a “self-starter,” it meant that any city was vulnerable to a low-tech attack, Roberts added.
Witness Karker Tahir told Sky News he was in a shop when he saw the apparent suspect fleeing down the street with two or three police undercover officers in foot pursuit.
“They kept telling him ‘stop, stop.’ But he didn’t stop and then I saw that they shot him three times,” Tahir said.
He said police then told the people in the store they had to leave because they found a bomb in the man’s bag, Tahir said.
Gulled Bulhan, 19, told the British Press Association he saw a man with a machete running from someone he believed was an undercover officer.
“The man was then shot,” he said. “I think I heard three gunshots, but I can’t quite remember.”
He said he ran into a library as several ambulances and armed police officers arrived on the scene. Other onlookers ran into stores and other buildings for cover.
“We were all informed to stay in buildings by armed police until we were evacuated,” he said.