Comment: Y'all know the script by now. Rinse and repeat, ad nauseum...


london stabbing terror attack
© Simon Dawson / ReutersA police forensics officer gestures near the site where a man was shot by armed officers in Streatham, south London, Britain, February 2, 2020.
London police have shot a man dead in the city's Streatham area in a "terrorist-related" incident. Several people have been stabbed, and video footage shared on social media shows armed police and ambulances on the street.

Armed police officers descended on the London suburb of Streatham on Sunday afternoon, and shot a knife-wielding criminal dead.

The Metropolitan Police said on Twitter that a "number of people have been stabbed," and that the incident has been declared "terrorist-related."

Video footage shared on social media shows a man lying on the ground outside a shuttered pharmacy, as armed police officers train their weapons on his unmoving body.


Unconfirmed reports on social media suggest that the man reportedly had some sort of object strapped to his chest.

Police have advised the public to avoid the scene of Sunday's shooting while emergency services deal with the aftermath.


London's mayor, Sadiq Khan, thanked police for their swift response, and said: "Terrorists seek to divide us and destroy our way of life - here in London we will never let them succeed."

The incident comes two months after police in London shot a jihadist terrorist dead on London Bridge, after he stabbed two people to death. The murderer had a history of terror offenses and was described by a judge several years earlier as a "serious jihadi." He was on parole at the time of his stabbing spree.


Eyewitness statements

A witness named Malik, who works on the busy shopping street, said he heard gunshots as he was walking out of a fast food outlet. "I could see blood on the floor everywhere. There was a lady outside of a pharmacy who had been stabbed in the back with a knife, everyone was helping her," he told the Independent.

Video footage from the scene captured the moments after the attack and the large-scale response from the police and other emergency services.


Another man who was in the vicinity said the attacker was armed with a machete and had some kind of device strapped to his body. "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," Gulled Bulhan told the PA news agency.


Comment: We bet it was another fake suicide bomb vest.


Recounting the shooting, the 19-year-old Streatham native said he believes he heard three gunshots before running into a nearby library for safety. "From the library I saw a load of ambulances and armed police officers arrive on the scene," he added.


Details recounted by locals also indicate that the attacker may have been an Islamic terrorist with reports saying he was shouting "Allahu Akbar" during the incident.

Richard Mustonen-Smith, who has lived in the area all his life, said he was shocked that such a crime could take place in Streatham. "I heard two people got stabbed and apparently one man was shouting Allahu Akbar but people thought he was just a crazy man, so he got away. Apparently he had two rucksacks," the 59-year-old said.