A terrorist involved in the attack on London Bridge got within 60cm of an armed police officer before he was shot, an inquest has heard.
Youssef Zaghba, 22, was one of three men who ran over pedestrians before stabbing people around London Bridge on 3 June 2017, killing eight. The attack was only stopped when the terrorists were shot dead by police, with eight officers firing a total of 46 shots, the inquest into the deaths of the victims heard on Friday.
The court previously heard that armed officers had kept firing at the terrorists as they were writhing on the ground because they saw what looked like suicide belts on them and feared they would be detonated. The belts turned out to be fake.
At least six bullets struck both the ringleader, Khuram Butt, 27, and Rachid Redouane, 30. Zaghba was hit by at least two bullets, the inquest heard. When the first armed officers arrived on the scene, the three terrorists ran towards them clutching 12-inch (30cm) knives.
Det Supt Rebecca Riggs of the Metropolitan police told the inquest that a ballistics expert concluded that Zaghba had been within 2ft (60cm) of a police weapon when shot. Riggs also confirmed that phones used extensively by the terrorists in the run-up to the attack were never found.
Gareth Patterson QC, for the families of six of the victims, said: “We know that the three attackers had phones they were using extensively in the months prior to the attacks. Those phones were never recovered.”
Riggs added: “No, we never recovered those phones.”
Those killed in the attack along with the three terrorists were Chrissy Archibald, 30, from Canada; Sébastien Bélanger, 36, a chef; Kirsty Boden, 28, a nurse from Australia; Ignacio Echeverría Miralles De Imperial, 39, from Spain; James McMullan, 32, from Brent, north-west London; Alexandre Pigeard, 26, a French restaurant worker; Xavier Thomas, 45, a French national; and Sara Zelenak, 21, an Australian national.
The inquest continues.
