Fatal shooting 'directly linked' to bomb probes: police
Last Updated Fri, 22 Jul 2005 22:01:06 EDT
CBC News
London police say a man they shot to death in front of horrified subway riders Friday was "directly linked" to their investigation of recent bombings aimed at the city's transit system.
Police officers stand guard as a police cameraman enters Stockwell Underground station in south London, Friday July 22. (AP photo)
The man, who was wearing a thick coat despite the fact that it was a about 21C in the British capital, ran from plainclothes police who challenged him at the Stockwell subway station one day after four failed bombings.
Citing security sources, Britain's Sky Television said the man was not believed to be one of the four would-be bombers.
A London police spokesman said only that "the gentleman shot at Stockwell today has yet to be identified, so it would be impossible to link him to anything at this stage."
However, police continued to say the shooting was part of an operation related to the bombing probe.
A statement issued on Friday afternoon said the man who was shot "was under police observation because he had emerged from a house that was itself under observation because it was linked to the investigation of yesterday's incidents.
"He was then followed by surveillance officers to the station. His clothing and his behaviour at the station added to their suspicions."
Subway lines closed after shooting
The shooting happened shortly after 10 a.m. local time at the Stockwell station, which is close to the Oval station, one of the four sites of Thursday's attempted bombings. The Northern and Victoria subway lines, which run through Stockwell station, were shut down in the wake of the shooting.
Separately, a man was arrested in the Stockwell area later in the day after police released security-video photos of four suspects. It was not clear whether he was one of the four.
Police said the man shot in the subway was pronounced dead at the scene.
"He half-tripped and was half-pushed to the floor," passenger Mark Whitby told the British Broadcasting Corporation. "I didn't see him carrying anything."
Whitby said he saw a police officer fire five shots into the man, whom he described as South Asian and wearing a thick coat.
Eyewitnesses say the man ran into the subway station, vaulted over a barrier, ran down some stairs and tripped. Plainclothes officers then reportedly shot him in the head.
Gun use rules changed after July 7
London subway commuters read the morning headlines on Friday. (AP Photo)
While most police in Britain do not carry guns, officers with special licences can do so.
The standard policy saying officers should not use a gun except as a last resort was changed after the July 7 bombings, giving police the authority to shoot suspected suicide bombers first and ask questions later.
On Thursday, four people tried to set off explosive devices on three subways and one bus. The lunchtime attack caused no injuries, except for one person who was hospitalized for an asthma attack.
The July 7 bombings killed 56 people and injured more than 700.
No community a target, say police
Shortly after Friday's subway shooting, the Muslim Council of Britain issued a news release asking why police had targeted a man of South Asian origin.
Ian Blair, the head of Scotland Yard, said the investigation is not targeted against any section of any community in the United Kingdom, though three of the four suspects identified by police in connection with the July 7 bombings were British-born Muslims of Pakistani origin. (The fourth suspect was a Jamaican-born British citizen.)
Blair appealed for calm from all of the nation's ethnic communities as the investigation continues.
More Insanity:
go look at this.. has a pic of the dude they shot.. hardly suspicious as far as his clothes go:
U.K. police say man shot was Brazilian citizen
Last Updated Sat, 23 Jul 2005 20:10:03 EDT
CBC News
British police say a man they killed on a London subway train wasn't connected to Thursday's attempted bombings in the city's transit system.
A surveillance camera image of a suspect taken on Hackney Road bus. (AP Photo/ Metropolitan Police)
The man, identified by police as 27-year-old Brazilian citizen Jean Charles de Menezes, was shot in the head five times in front of dozens of passengers on a train at the Stockwell subway station on Friday.
Police initially said the man was "directly linked" with the failed attempts to bomb three subway trains and a bus on Thursday – two weeks after 56 people were killed in four suicide bombings in the city's transit system.
However, Scotland Yard issued a statement late Saturday clearing the man, later identified as de Menezes, of involvement in the attacks.
"We are now satisfied that he was not connected with the incidents of Thursday 21st July 2005," said the statement.
"For somebody to lose their life in such circumstances is a tragedy and one that the Metropolitan Police Service regrets."
The police force said officers saw the man emerge from a house that they had been staking out as part of the hunt for the bombers. They said suspicions were aroused because he was wearing an unseasonably bulky jacket and acting oddly, so they followed him and eventually chased him into the station.
Officials said there will be an independent inquiry into the shooting.
Error fuels fears among Muslims
The admission of error further fueled controversy over the shooting, which was the first public application of a policy to stop suicide bombers devised after the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States.
It gives police the authority to shoot suspected suicide bombers first and ask questions later.
A surveillance camera image of a suspect taken at Westbourne Grove, before the man travelled to Shepherd's Bush subway station. (AP Photo/ Metropolitan Police)
Police authorities said officers have to aim for the heads of suspected bombers because they could have explosives strapped to their bodies.
Critics accused the police of having a "shoot-to-kill" policy.
The shooting further increased anxiety among the country's Muslim population. A number of Muslim leaders expressed concerns about the possibility of racial profiling by the police, especially given the climate of fear in London.
The shooting may undermine confidence in the police, said Azzam Tamimi, spokesman for the Muslim Association of Britain.
Three of the four suspects identified by police in connection with the July 7 bombings were British-born Muslims of Pakistani origin. (The fourth suspect was a Jamaican-born British citizen.)
Police arrest 2nd man
Also on Saturday, police arrested a second man in London in connection with Thursday's attacks.
An image of a suspect taken by a camera at Warren Street subway station.
The suspect, who has not been publicly identified, was arrested in the south London neighbourhood of Stockwell.
It's the same neighbourhood where police detained another suspect on Friday and where they shot and killed the man at the subway station.
Subway station evacuated
London remained in a state of constant alert throughout the day.
In one of a number of security scares, British police briefly evacuated a subway station in east London on Saturday after a passenger reported smelling something burning.
The Metropolitan Police investigated, but dismissed it as a false alarm.
Authorities are reported to have cancelled all vacations for police officers, in order to boost their numbers on the streets and carry out a massive manhunt for suspects.
A police officer searches a commuter's identity and bags at London Bridge train station. (AP Photo)
Images of suspects draw big response
Police officials said tips from the public have poured in after they released photos of the four suspects, which were taken from closed-circuit surveillance cameras in the British capital's subways and buses.
Investigators are continuing to examine the remains of the knapsack bombs left on three subway cars and on the top deck of a double-decker bus Thursday. They're looking for fingerprints or DNA from the would-be bombers, who escaped in the panic that followed, and trying to determine whether the explosives were connected to the July 7 suicide bombs.
Police are also sifting through a large number of witness accounts and photos from the Oval, Shepherd's Bush and Warren Street subway stations, as well as the Hackney Road site of the bus incident.
A statement posted on an Islamic website in the name of an al-Qaeda-linked group claimed responsibility for Thursday's attacks. The group, which is calling itself Abu Hafs al Masri Brigade, also claimed responsibility for the July 7 bombings. The claims can't be verified.
"The standard policy saying officers should not use a gun except as a last resort was changed after the July 7 bombings, giving police the authority to shoot suspected suicide bombers first and ask questions later."
If they shot him in the torso that would also imply that they didn't suspect he was carrying any explosives. I recall reading police protocol for firearms officers is (if they do make the decision to shoot) to aim for the largest part of the body i.e. the torso, however with suspected bombers protocol is to aim for the head as shooting the torso could detonate the explosives you're trying to prevent from going off.
But frankly, although the death is regrettable, it needs to be seen in context. A city with two terrorist attacks attempted on it in two weeks is going to be jumpy and very hardcore about its own safety.
So when a man is challeneged by armed police- which are very rare in the UK- and then RUNS AWAY FROM THEM onto the Underground system, ignoring all challeneges and exhortations to stop, then he is damn well risking being shot. Sorry, but that's the way it is. If he HAD been a bomber the police would have been crucified for not acting the way they did.
Khalid Mahmood, Labour MP, Birmingham, Perry Bar:
"This is a terrible tragedy and we have to feel sympathy for the dead man, his family and the police. But the basic principles remain. As long as the police have robust procedures in place then, if a suspect ignores a command to stop and is deemed to be jeopardising the lives of others, shooting to kill is justified. Anyone who ignores a police challenge will nearly always have something to hide and will know that he is outting his own life at risk by running away."
Damn right. Do NOT run from armed police who have been sent out to protect a city from terrorists, and you won't get shot.
And he was shot in the head.
Meanwhile, whilst concerns are being raised,. Muslim leaders and civil liberties groups in the UK are backing the First Fire policy as necessary. It is entirely reasonable.
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Last edited by Ushgarak on Jul 24th, 2005 at 10:09 AM
All the ways you wish you could be, that's me. I look like you wanna look, I **** like you wanna ****, I am smart, capable, and most importantly, I am free in all the ways that you are not.
My understanding of the situation is that these were plain-clothes armed officers. So I'm wondering if there was a problem with communication, and that perhaps the man did not understand that a) these were police officers and b) these were armed police officers. Most all of the eyewitness accounts are of the man being subdued before being shot five times.
Also is it true that it's unusual for plain-clothes surveillance officers to be armed and/or to give chase?
The guy was a Brazilian electrician who'd lived in London for 3 years.
He would have understood them telling him to stop, but he could have thought they were terrorists. If they pulled guns, he might have ran away.
No it is not usual, they were part of a specific gun-armed anti-terrorist unit who were keeping surveillance on the flat the man emerged from.
The man apparently understood English and was challenged to stop clearly and repeatedly, a process which would have involved the police IDing themselves- he was likely fearing arrest for some crime he had committed, possibly illegal immigration.
Shooting five times in the head is in fact the correct procedure for making sure a suicide bomber cannot activate his bombs; it is what they have been told to do.
And I am about 25 miles out.
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All the ways you wish you could be, that's me. I look like you wanna look, I **** like you wanna ****, I am smart, capable, and most importantly, I am free in all the ways that you are not.
tbh you try being a policeman on the underground after and during suicide bomb attacks... the guy ran down the subway after the police declared that they were indeed policemen, and drew their weapons...
accidents happen, i know it's not an excuse for death but give the police a break.. all the 'sickening'-esque remarks are pathetic
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I said smething like this at the time at work.
They better have shot the right man, otherwise it just puts everyone in jeaopardy still further and is another needless waste of life. Nothing has changed.
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You don't know how you would act scared.
It was a needless waste of life and a mistake was made.
Tensions are high in London at the moment, people are scared and the Police pushed him to the floor and shot him. I have no doubt that they overeacted given the tension present. Its not the first time something like this has happened in London and it won't be the last.
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There is no question of overreaction; that is why response from civil liberty and Muslim groups has been muted. It is generally recognised that the man invited that response with his panicked actions.
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Bomb 'Suspect' Shot
Jul 24th, 2005 03:28 AM
