Police shoot man dead after London stabbing attack

LONDON (Reuters) – Police shot an attacker dead on a busy south London street on Sunday after three people were wounded, one critically, in a stabbing attack that police called terrorism-related.

Some witnesses said the man had been armed with a machete. One described him as wearing silver canisters on his chest.

The London ambulance service said three people were wounded and had been taken to a hospital after the attack in Streatham, a residential district south of the River Thames.

Police said the scene of the incident was now fully contained. “The circumstances are being assessed; the incident has been declared as terrorist-related,” the police said on Twitter.

They added that one of the wounded was in life-threatening condition.

A Western security source said the incident was related to Islamist militancy. Another security source said it was being treated as terrorism because the man was thought to have been wearing a fake explosive device.

Police were still looking into whether he had been under surveillance by security services, the source added.

The local member of parliament, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, also reported that one victim was seriously wounded.

London-based Sky News quoted Gulled Bulhan, a 19-year-old student from Streatham, who witnessed the shooting of the attacker in front of a shop.

“I was crossing the road when I saw a man with a machete and silver canisters on his chest being chased by what I assume was an undercover police officer, as they were in civilian clothing,” Bulhan said. “The man was then shot. I think I heard three gunshots, but I can’t quite remember.”

In one video of the scene posted on Twitter, but not verified by Reuters, a man can be seen lying on the street while at least two armed police officers point their guns from behind an unmarked car with its blue lights flashing.

At least one helicopter flew overhead, and police cars were in surrounding streets, with the area blocked off by tape.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: “Thank you to all emergency services responding to the incident in Streatham, which the police have now declared as terrorism-related.