Streatham terror attack: Two stabbed and man shot dead in south London
Written by News on 02/02/2020
Several people have been stabbed in Streatham, south London, and a man has been shot dead by police in a “terrorist-related” incident.
Images on social media show a person face down on the ground outside Boots, with a police officer holding a gun.
Witnesses describe a man with a “machete” and “silver canisters” on his chest being chased by armed officers before being shot.
Sky’s home affairs correspondent Mark White said photos appear to show him wearing something resembling a suicide vest.
Video from the scene shows plain-clothed armed officers approaching the body on Streatham High Road, before quickly pulling back.
Police confirmed the attacker died in the incident, at around 2pm.
The force tweeted: “A man has been shot by armed officers in #Streatham… The circumstances are being assessed; the incident has been declared as terrorist-related.”
“We believe there are two injured victims. We await updates on their conditions,” the force added.
A witness described seeing a man with a machete and silver canisters being chased by armed police.
Gulled Bulhan, 19, said: “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 – as they were in civilian clothing.
“The man was then shot. I think I heard three gun shots but I can’t quite remember.”
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Another witness, Karker Tahir, told Sky News: “I saw this guy literally running on the pavement and behind him there were two or three police officers undercover with a gun.
“They kept telling him ‘stop, stop’. But he didn’t stop and then I saw that they shot him three times.
“It was horrible seeing it. The man was on the floor and it looked like he had something which police said may be a device.
“Police came to us and said ‘you have to leave the shop because he has a bomb in his bag’.
“After shooting him they went to check on him while he was alive and then they found something – I believe there was a bomb or something – and they stepped back and told everybody to step back.”
A shop owner, who wanted to stay anonymous, said the man had taken a knife from one of the high street’s shops before stabbing a man and a woman.
On social media, Dave Chawner tweeted to say he had stayed with one of the victims.
He posted: “I had to stay with someone who’d just been #stabbed in #Streatham for 30 minutes before a single ambulance arrived.
“I’m just over 1 mile from a hospital – I’m not having a go at anyone, but that’s not right, I just hope he made it.”
Metropolitan Police have urged people to avoid the area and London Ambulance Service said they had a “number of resources” at the scene.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: “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.”
Nick Aldworth, former counter-terror national coordinator, told Sky News that police would be working urgently to establish whether it was a lone attacker or if others are involved.
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(c) Sky News 2020: Streatham terror attack: Two stabbed and man shot dead in south London
