A man has described witnessing a terror suspect carrying a machete and wearing silver canisters on his chest before being gunned down by what appeared to be an undercover police officer.
The 19-year-old student from Streatham said he was crossing High Road in south London when he saw the plainclothes officer chasing the suspect down.
The suspect was shot at around 2pm on Sunday, the Metropolitan Police confirmed he had been pronounced dead shortly after.
The force has also reported that two others were stabbed in the incident.
“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.
“The man was then shot. I think I heard three gunshots but I can’t quite remember.
“After that I ran into the library to get to safety.
“From the library I saw a load of ambulances and armed police officers arrive on the scene.”
The student said people began running into nearby stores after the incident.
“We were all informed to stay in buildings by armed police, until we were evacuated,” he said.
It is understood people including children took shelter in nearby shops during the incident, with police later telling shops to close for the day.
Richard Mustonen-Smith, 59, a response pastor for Ascension Trust, has lived in the area all his life.
He told PA: “I’m shocked it’s happened in Streatham. I’ve been here all my life. We’re always getting accidents down here but not this.
“My grandson was in the Odeon and they got told to go out the back because there was a bomb. They got them to go out of the back of the cinema. They were there to watch a film.
“When it’s a member of your family so close to you, you don’t expect it. You’re always worried about your family being on the streets but this is even worse.
“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.”
Rafe Askem, 21, was having a cigarette outside Maeme’s takeaway when he heard a commotion.
He said: “I heard a commotion coming from where Lidl is. It looked like three boys but I’m not sure.
“I heard a shout, like an ‘ahhh!’ shout. The next thing I saw was a guy on the floor with blood around him. I didn’t see a fight or anything, it seemed quite spontaneous.
“The others were legging it round the other way. I saw police coming so I went straight into the pub.
“I definitely didn’t hear any gunshots. A lot of people messaged me saying there’s gunshots but I didn’t hear any.”
During an interview with the BBC, he added: “I got calls from my family saying it was terrorist attack. This area is not the place for this kind of business.
“The police came really quickly.”
Mariam Qureshra, 16, told Sky News that she was in a library when she heard screaming outside, before people "came running in and hiding behind doors and windows."
She added: "Police came in and told us to stay away from windows and doors and eventually escorted us out of the back.
"Outside there were lots of people running.
"You never think it's going to happen on your doorstep. You see it happen but you don't think it will happen to you."
