The man shot dead by police at Stockwell Underground station yesterday morning had nothing to do with Thursday's abortive London bomb attacks, Scotland Yard said tonight. According to witnesses, the man was shot five times at close range after being chased onto a Northern Line train at the South London station at around 10am. Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, said later that the man was directly connected to the bungled bombings of three Tube trains and a London bus the day before.
The Met said in a statement this afternoon:
We believe we now know the identity of the man shot at Stockwell Underground station by police on Friday 22nd July 2005, although he is still subject to formal identification.
We are now satisfied that he was not connected with the incidents of Thursday 21st July 2005. For somebody to lose their life in such circumstances is a tragedy and one that the Metropolitan Police Service regrets.
The man emerged from a block of flats in the Stockwell area that were under police surveillance as part of the investigation into the incidents on Thursday 21st July. He was then followed by surveillance officers to the Underground station. His clothing and behaviour added to their suspicions.
The circumstances that led to the man's death are being investigated by officers from the MPS [Metropolitan Police Service] Directorate of Professional Standards, and will be referred to the IPCC [Independent Police Complaints Commission] in due course. EFL. Still sounds like a good shooting to me. Now the victim only gets a Darwin Award nomination instead of 72 raisins. I hope they exonerate the officer involved quickly and send a clear message that when a cop says stop, you stop, or risk dying. |