London Bridge terror: At least one victim dies and suspect shot dead

At least one member of the public has been killed in a terror attack at London Bridge on Friday afternoon, Sky News understands.

The news comes after a picture emerged which shows the fake explosive device worn by the suspect when he was shot dead by police.

Several people were injured after the man began attacking people with a knife on Friday afternoon.

Footage showed members of the public attempting to detain the suspect and taking possession of the bladed weapon.

The video also showed specialist armed officers moving civilians away, aiming their weapons at point-blank range and shooting the alleged attacker.

Scotland Yard later confirmed that the suspect died at the scene.

It is not known how many people were injured, and their condition is also unclear.

Neil Basu, the Metropolitan Police’s Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations, said: “As you would expect, due to the nature of the incident, we responded as though it was terrorist-related. I am now in a position to confirm that it has been declared a terrorist incident.

“Officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command are now leading this investigation. I must stress, however, that we retain an open mind as to any motive.”

Mr Basu added that “meticulous searches” have been taking place in the London Bridge area to ensure there is no outstanding threat to the public.

The senior policeman also warned that extensive cordons are likely to remain in place for some time – and he urged the public to stay away from the area.

In the hours after the terror attack, London Mayor Sadiq Khan praised the “breathtaking heroism” of the passers-by who risked their lives to detain the suspect.

Speaking outside Scotland Yard, Mr Khan said the terror attack appeared to be an isolated incident and confirmed that police are not looking for anyone else.

The prime minister, Boris Johnson, also paid tribute to the bravery of the emergency services and the public.

“Anybody involved in this crime and these attacks will be hunted down and will be brought to justice,” he said.

Mr Johnson has returned to Downing Street, where he says meetings and consultations will be taking place throughout Friday evening.

He said that, to the best of his knowledge, the incident has been “contained”, adding that he will decide in the coming hours whether campaigning for the general election should continue as normal.

The incident comes nearly two-and-a-half years after the 2017 London Bridge terror attack. Eight people were killed and 48 others were injured when a van was driven into pedestrians on the bridge, with the van’s occupants running into Borough Market and stabbing people in restaurants and pubs.

At the beginning of this month, the UK’s terror threat level had been lowered from “severe” to “substantial” for the first time in five years. It meant an attack was considered to be likely instead of highly likely.

Witnesses to Friday’s terror attack described “running like hell” after hearing gunshots.

Craig Heathcote told Sky News: “I was walking across the bridge. I reached the north side and someone came running towards me saying ‘get out of the way, someone’s got a knife’.

“I could then see on the other side of the bridge a big scuffle of people trying to get someone to the ground.

“I just immediately called 999. It was quite hard because cars were passing in the way of what was happening.

“A police car appeared from the bridge and two police officers got out and started taking over. There was lots of shouting and them trying to restrain him or get people out of the way before they fired the guns.”

(c) Sky News 2019: London Bridge terror: At least one victim dies and suspect shot dead