Posted on 07/22/2005 7:55:15 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
A man has been shot dead by police at Stockwell Tube station in south London, as officers hunt four bombing suspects. Police are also searching an address in London's Harrow Road. Resident Patricia Osbourne said she heard six shots.
Scotland Yard said the raid was one of several taking place in the city after Thursday's attempted bombings. BBC correspondent Danny Shaw said there were unconfirmed reports police had said the man shot at Stockwell was the Oval bomb suspect.
Passenger Mark Whitby told BBC News he had seen a man of Asian appearance shot five times by "plain-clothes police officers" with a handgun.
BBC correspondent Graham Satchell, at the Harrow Road incident, said the focus of the large police presence appeared to be an internet cafe. As well as armed officers in body armour, there were about seven police vehicles and an ambulance, he said. People in the area were "nervous", he added. Station evacuated Police have cordoned off a 200-metre area around Stockwell station. The incident followed four attempted bombings in the capital on Thursday at Oval, Warren Street, Shepherd's Bush stations and on a bus in Shoreditch in east London.
Passengers were evacuated from Stockwell station, which is on the Northern Line and Victoria Line. Teams of forensic officers are working inside the station, and police helicopters are hovering overhead. Services on the Victoria and Northern lines were suspended following a request by the police. Mr Whitby, told BBC News: "I was sitting on the train reading my paper. "I heard a load of noise, people saying, 'Get out, get down!'
"I saw an Asian guy run onto the train hotly pursued by three plain-clothes police officers. 'Bomb belt'
"One of them was carrying a black handgun - it looked like an automatic - they pushed him to the floor, bundled on top of him and unloaded five shots into him. "I saw the gun being fired five times into the guy - he is dead," he said.
BBC Home affairs correspondent Margaret Gilmore said officers had challenged a known suspect they had been following. "He ran, they followed him. They say they gave him a warning, they then shot him. "They brought in the air ambulance. They did everything they can to revive him. He died at the scene." Police had warned they would shoot to kill if they believed somebody to be a threat, she added. BBC crime correspondent Neil Bennett said the suspect was being followed as a result of CCTV footage seen by officers investigating Thursday's explosions.
The Muslim Council of Britain said Muslims were concerned about a possible "shoot to kill" policy. Spokesman Inayat Bunglawala said: "There may well be reasons why the police felt it necessary to unload five shots into the man and shoot him dead, but they need to make those reasons clear. "It's vital the police give a statement about what occurred and explain why the man was shot dead." Another passenger on the train, Anthony Larkin, told BBC News the man had been wearing a "bomb belt with wires coming out". "I've seen these police officers shouting, 'Get down, get down!', and I've seen this guy who appears to have a bomb belt and wires coming out.
"People were panicking and I heard shots being fired."
The man burst in through the door to my right and grabbed hold of the pole and a person by the glass partition near the door
Former Flying Squad officer, John O'Connor, told BBC News: "The man shot must either be one of the bombers or a potential suicide bomber." Bombers "don't always carry sports bags" and the man could easily have been wearing a bomb belt, he added.
If he had been challenged by police and failed to stop they "have not got a lot of alternative", Mr O'Connor told BBC News. Officers would be trained to aim for the head as shots to the torso could trigger a hidden explosive device, he added. Londoner Dan Copeland was in the carriage in which the man was shot. He told BBC News: "We were sitting for a few minutes on the platform, then we heard shouting from the concourse between the two platforms.
"Then the man burst in through the door to my right and grabbed hold of the pole and a person by the glass partition near the door, diagonally opposite me. "An officer jumped on the door to my left and screamed, 'Everybody out!' "People just froze in their seats cowering for a few seconds and then leapt up. "As I turned out the door onto the platform, I heard four dull bangs. "I ran past an armed officer who was standing on the platform and ran up the stairs."
After Thursday's London blasts, the bombers fled when detonators went off, causing small blasts, but failed to detonate the bombs themselves. A massive hunt is under way for the men. Analysts believe evidence from the four scenes could throw light onto the bomb attacks carried out on 7 July. The attempted attacks caused travel chaos across the capital, with several lines closed and Tube stations evacuated. Scotland Yard commissioner Sir Ian Blair said the attacks had been intended to kill people.
|
Yeah--draw and quarter him publiclly in Trafalgar square!!! better yet take what's left of him and do it anyway!!! and kill a pig and smear his carcass in pig fat/blood...
"Really. All those bystanders and they just let them walk away? I realize the situation must have been chaotic, but found this really disturbing."
It happens all the time in America, like it or not. When the Carr brothers made it clear they were about to shoot five people in the back of the head after they obediently knelt (the guy only had a little .280), not one of the men risked his life, not even as he heard his friends being shot one by one. They obediently knelt and got one in the back of the head.
Lets not pretend that we are braver than anyone else.
The tactics in question originate with SAS under-cover operations in Aden (Yemen) and later in Northern Ireland.
The idea is you close the distance fast, dominate the guy with very aggressive hand-to-hand while you get a pistol into play. By getting them down and sitting on them, they assure that the bullets don't go flying around the tube carriage when they're emptying a clip into them rapid fire.
They figured that was the best approach for dealing with terrorists who are mixed in with dense crowds of civilians. Especially terrorist who might have a bomb trigger on them.
You are replying to what Savage said. The report said the people saw him, and police then told them to get down, then out. Savage is an idiot.
Takes a lot of guts when you are tackling a guy that might explode at any moment. Thank you to the security folks involved.
Link from Kelly:
Pretty damned impressive that this guy was connected with yesterdays effort and the Brits had already figured out where to find him....
There are gonna be a lot of Muzzies walking real careful for awhile now I bet!
"Actually, I heard witnesses this morning from London who said that after the guy through the backpack into the train yesterday, everyone shouted to stop him as he ran and several people gave chase but he got away. It was not my impression that everyone just sat around."
Thanks Pete. I doubt Brits attacked the people who allowed themselves to be taken hostage by men weilding box cutters
on 911. Unfortunately, patriotism in this country now means hating everyone else instead of just loving your country..
As perfected and codified by the g*dd*m Clintons.
These terrorists and their supporters learned how to f*** over the American people from the masters themselves.
And the masters themselves learned directly from hell, IMO.
As a Brit, I'm distressed to find so many freepers with that attitude, I thank you for your more sensible point of view.
Maybe in a Red state; but in a Blue?
I doubt it. But just in case, "Nice work."
An incredibly dumb post. I'm often embarrassed by what people say on FR, but seven years of experience here have taught me to keep my own counsel most of the time rather than get into meaningless dogfights with ignoramuses. In this case thoough, somebody has to step up and say your purblind, bigoted views have nothing to do with conservatism.
Sheeesh....
Correction: Carr brothers had a .380. I said .280! In a hurry, gotta go pick up my neice at the train (prayers it doesn't get blown up?).
Don't doubt it. That is what I'd expect our anti-terrorist people to do. It's their standard way of operating. See e.g.
http://www.specialoperations.com/Counterterrorism/Operation_Flavius.html
I am dismayed at the braying freepers too.
That said, man I am getting more and more impressed with the Brits and Scotland Yard. They look so laid back but they are hot onto this.
What is your definition of a Londonder? A true Londoner is full of grit and determination and what you have said here is offensive to them as a fellow Brit I think you should apologise for those comments.
That was what was widely broadcast on UK TV last night it seemed that unfortunately they got away but I would think there is enough CCTV footage around to soon identify them. In Britain it is very difficult to go far without being recorded on a camera even in my little town the whole of the town centre is covered.
Thanks.
This is first time I saw the reports about the bomb belt.
The left wing reporters in London have omitted that fact if he was wearing one.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.