Attack suspect wore ‘hoax’ bomb, London police say
LONDON — Police in London say a man who strapped on a fake bomb and stabbed two people on a London street before being shot to death by police was recently released from prison, where he was serving time for terrorism offenses.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Lucy D’Orsi said police are “confident“the attacker was 20-year-old Sudesh Amman.
D’orsi said a stabbing victim in his 40s thought to be in life-threatening condition has improved. She said the victim is no longer is in danger and that a woman who had been hospitalized has been released.
One other female victim is still in the hospital with lesser injuries.says attacker was recently released from prison, where he was serving for terrorism offenses.
The rampage took place about 2 p.m. in the city’s Streatham section, a combined residential and commercial area well removed from central London.
Officers responded quickly to the stabbings because of a “proactive counterterrorism operation” that was underway, D’Orsi said without elaborating. Video from the scene appeared to show three undercover police officers in an unmarked car making a quick stop and emerging with weapons.
Bell Reberio-Addy, a member of Parliament who represents Streatham, said the attacker had been under surveillance “for some time.”
D’Orsi said police believe the bloodshed was related to Islamic extremism.
The drama 5 miles south of central London marked a departure from recent terror attacks in the British capital that took place near landmarks such as London Bridge and the Houses of Parliament.
D’Orsi said the device strapped to the assailant’s body was quickly determined to be a hoax.
A third person suffered minor injuries.
The police mention of an active counterterrorism operation suggested he may have been under surveillance.
D’Orsi said there was no
“continuing danger” to the public, but the area remained cordoned off as the investigation continued. The usually busy area was deserted as the public heeded police requests to stay away.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in the aftermath that the government would introduce “fundamental changes” to the way people convicted of terrorism offenses are treated. He cited Sunday’s attack and another at Fishmonger’s Hall in December as reasons for the changes.
The December attack was carried out by a man who had served time in prison for terrorism offenses. Johnson’s reference to that case suggested something similar may have happened in this case.
The attack caused chaos and panic on what had been a typical Sunday afternoon, with the streets filled with shoppers.
Also Sunday, police in Belgium shot a woman who stabbed and wounded passersby in the city of Ghent, but prosecutors said there was no suspicion of terrorism or a link to what happened in London.