Suspected gunman killed in incident with armed officers

A MAN has been shot dead in an incident with armed police officers in Kensington yesterday afternoon.

The Metropolitan Police said that they responded to reports of a man with a firearm entering a bank and bookmakers near Marloes Road, Kensington, just after 3pm.

The man, who has yet to be identified, was seen to have left the scene in a vehicle, before being stopped by armed officers 15 minutes later near Kensington Palace.

The force said that shots were fired and the man sustained wounds, and was pronounced dead at 4.08pm. The London Ambulance Service and Air Ambulance were called and the man was treated at the scene, but did not survive.

The Metropolitan Police said: “Efforts are under way to confirm the man’s identity.” The Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards has been informed and the incident has been referred to the policing watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

The force was not able to comment on whether the man fired a weapon during the incident with police, adding that the circumstances around the shooting would be investigated by the IOPC.

A number of road closures were in place in the area and were likely to remain in place for some time. The incident is not being treated as terrorism.

A London Ambulance Service spokesman said crews were called at 3.23pm to reports of a shooting.

“We sent an ambulance, an incident response officer, a tactical response unit, a motorcycle response unit and an advanced paramedic. The London Air Ambulance car also responded,” they said. “We treated a man on scene, who unfortunately died.”

Katie Roberton, 40, who was with her son visiting the palace, said she heard three bangs.

She told the Evening Standard: “We heard these shots and I said to my boy, ‘My God, that sounds like gunshots’. I stopped in my tracks and so did another woman ahead of me, then we saw people running.

“It was really scary. I was with my son, so I had to stay calm for him.”