London’s Metropolitan
police say at least two people were stabbed before they were able to fatally shoot a man in a “terrorist-related” incident in Streatham in South London. It is not known if anyone else died in the incident, which took place outside a Boot’s pharmacy on the main street of the district around 2 pm local time when many families were out for a walk on an unusually mild day. Several witnesses at the scene told Britain’s Sky News that the man was wearing gray pants, black shoes and what appeared to be something resembling a suicide vest. Gulled Bulhan, a 19-year-old student from Streatham, told the
BBC he saw the
shooting take place.“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,” he said.“The man was then shot. I think I heard three gun shots.”Metropolitan Police initially tweeted that people should avoid the area and later tweeted that the scene had been contained. “At this stage it is believed a number of people have been stabbed,” Metropolitan Police tweeted. “The circumstances are being assessed; the incident has been declared as terrorist-related.”Several people described seeing a man with a large knife randomly stabbing people inside a local shop before hearing at least three shots fired by armed police. Many witnesses told local media that the police were in an unmarked car.Emma Taylor, 31, from Streatham Hill, told London’s Sun newspaper she was walking after brunch with friends when she saw a woman from the local hardware store screaming.“As we approached her she was in serious distress and she shouted ‘he’s just grabbed a knife from my shop and stabbed a lady’,” Taylor said. “She stopped us from going any further and that's when we saw the woman, just five meters in front us, being attended to by paramedics.”Another witness, Luke Woodward, who says he lives across from the crime scene, described to the Mirror how he heard a loud bang, followed by shouting and more shots. He then looked out his window to see a man staggering up the street before collapsing. “There was a lot of blood where he had originally been standing,” Woodward said. He also told the paper that he could see a second man lying further way on the pavement and police pointing their guns at him.Images on social media show a number of ambulances responding to the scene, which has been cordoned off. This story is developing.