London Bridge: Heroism of passers-by who stopped ‘attacker’

Footage has emerged of the moment an alleged attacker, wearing a fake explosive vest, is pounced on by civilians, wrestled to the ground and then shot by police on London Bridge.

The suspect died at the scene following the incident just before 2pm on Friday. At least one victim died in the terror attack, and several others were injured.

In the video, about 10 people can be seen grappling with a man as they attempt to drag him to the ground and stop the attack. They are trying to pin him down, and are struggling to do so.

Officers cross the bus lane and climb over the barriers towards the crowd.

One man steps back from the group holding a long bladed weapon that appears to be a large knife – apparently wrestled from the attacker.

The bystander, wearing a suit and tie, backs away from the struggle on the ground after apparently helping to disarm the attacker and removes the weapon from the scene.

Other civilians, one by one, are pulled off the attacker by three specialist armed police. Officers are aiming their weapons at the alleged attacker at point-blank range – apparently shouting at civilians to get back.

All bar one civilian backs off. That person continues to struggle with the man on the ground.

One of the police officers pulls the jumper of the remaining civilian to get him clear of the attacker.

Now, the three officers surround the man on the ground, pointing their weapons at him.

A single gunshot is clearly heard – followed by a second. The sound on the video is of a woman’s gasp.

Officers then move civilians away from the suspect, who is lying prone on the floor, as they continue to train their weapons at the man.

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The man who filmed the footage, apparently while on a bus brought to a stop on London Bridge, said the incident was “terrifying”.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has paid tribute to the “bravery” of the emergency services and members of the public who intervened in the London Bridge attack.

He also said “anybody involved in this crime and these attacks will be hunted down and will be brought to justice”.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan described the passers-by who went to tackle the suspect as “the best of us”, and praised their “breathtaking heroism”.

He said: “I want to thank our brave emergency services who responded to today’s horrific attack. Every day, they put their lives on the line for us, running towards danger in order to keep us safe.

“I’d also like to thank members of the public who risked their own safety this afternoon. They are the best of us.”

(c) Sky News 2019: London Bridge: Heroism of passers-by who stopped ‘attacker’