Man shot dead in London by UK police in terror incident; 2 injured

London, February 2

A man was shot dead by armed Scotland Yard officers in south London on Sunday in a terror-related stabbing incident which injured at least two people.

Emergency services, including paramedics and armed police, responded to the incident on Streatham High Road, from where social media images showed plain-clothed policemen pursuing a suspect who was later pronounced dead.

“A man has been shot by armed officers in Streatham,” the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

“At this stage it is believed a number of people have been stabbed. The circumstances are being assessed; the incident has been declared as terrorist-related,” it said.

The police later confirmed that the scene had been “fully contained”.

“We believe there are two injured victims. We await updates on their conditions,” they said.

The exact circumstances of the incident remain unconfirmed but some eyewitnesses reported seeing a machete-wielding man with some silver canisters strapped to his body before he was shot.

Police shouted for people to “get back” as they cleared the area of shoppers and bystanders.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson took to Twitter to thank the emergency services for containing the incident.

“Thank you to all emergency services responding to the incident in Streatham, which the police have now declared as terrorism-related. My thoughts are with the injured and all those affected,” he said.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan also praised the emergency services for their response  and said he was in “close contact” with the police following the incident in Streatham.      

In a statement, he said: “Terrorists seek to divide us and to destroy our way of life – here in London we will never let them succeed”.

“I am being kept updated by @metpoliceuk on this afternoon’s incident in Streatham, which has been declared terrorist-related. My first thoughts are with the victims, our brave police and emergency services and their families,” Home Secretary Priti Patel said in a tweet.

In November last year, two people were killed after convicted terrorist Usman Khan went on a stabbing frenzy in London Bridge area of the UK capital. — PTI