NERVES OF STEEL
London Bridge attack – Moment brave cops train guns on terrorist in ‘suicide vest’ after knife rampage
THIS dramatic photo shows the moment brave cops surrounded a knifeman wearing a fake suicide vest after a knife rampage today that police are treating as a terrorist attack.
Terrifying footage from the scene showed armed officers shooting the terrorist twice after hero bystanders wrestled him to the ground.
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Dramatic footage on social media appeared to show one man being pulled away by armed officers before the suspect was shot at point-blank range.
Pictures from the scene showed a second large knife lying next to the suspect's body.
Another bystander could be seen carrying a large kitchen knife away from the scene.
Two members of the public have been killed, Whitehall sources have told the BBC. At least 10 more were injured.
London mayor Sadiq Khan said ordinary Londoners had showed "breathtaking heroism" in disarming the terrorist.
Boris Johnson said "anybody involved in this crime and these attacks will be hunted down and will be brought to justice" as he paid tribute to the "bravery" of the emergency services and members of the public.
London Bridge and Borough market were the scene of a terror attack in 2017 in which eight victims were killed along with the three terrorists.
The area remains on lockdown while officers carry out "meticulous searches" to ensure there's no danger to the public.
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Witness Guy Lawrence, 48, said he saw a man running out of a building, believed to be Fishmongers' Hall, armed with two kitchen knives with 20cm blades.
He claimed one member of the public was seen running after the terrorist, one armed with a 6ft stick and another with a fire extinguisher.
He told The Times: "I saw all traffic stopped in front of me. I heard shooting — there was an attack. And I saw a guy on the floor. I heard two shots: bang, bang.
"Police were running towards us and they told us to get out and run."
Another witness said she saw "two or three people stabbed" at Fishmongers' Hall, saying: "One minor and the other two were proper bleeding.
"One of our colleagues is in the hospital with three stabs."
Witnesses recounted how they heard "five or six" gunshots ring out as cops swooped.
Witness Cecilia Sodero was on the top deck of a bus going over London Bridge when she heard shots and saw a man lying on the ground with a "very scary device, like a bomb device".
She told Sky News: "I was like okay, this is unusual, so me and the other passengers started looking outside, to see what's going on, and we saw like six people holding someone on the floor.
"At some point someone says 'oh, he has a knife', and we were like, oh my gosh, this guy is supposed to stab someone and people was running away.
"The police officers finally they removed the knife. But then what happened is when they shot the guy, the guy is still alive, and they shoot and he's trying to pull the black jacket off so I was able to see the vest that he was wearing.
"And it seems like a very scary device, like a bomb device, at that point we just ran away from the bus, crossing the bridge in the other direction.
"The whole thing was very scary to be honest."
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Terrified witness Karen Bosch told the BBC: "I was on the bus coming southbound over London Bridge we just pulled away from the bus stop when the bus came to a sudden stop, because there were people running across the bridge into the road, sort of looking over their shoulders and filming behind them.
“It looked like there was a fight going on...people tussling with each other. And then you realise it was police wrestling with one tall bearded man.
"I had my baby with me, so I moved her behind the stairwell to be safe. Then there was a two shots or two loud pops, I think they were gunshots. And I also saw a spent Taser.
"And then the guy was lying on the floor. He then pulled his coat back, which showed that he had some sort of vest underneath."
Today's incident comes weeks after the UK's terrorism threat level was downgraded.
The threat level was lowered on November 4 to "substantial" from "severe", meaning attacks were thought to be "likely" rather than "highly likely".
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