The Metropolitan Police has named convicted terrorist Usman Khan, pictured, as the man responsible for the London Bridge Terror attack which claimed two lives
Scotland Yard has named the terrorist responsible for yesterday’s attack on London Bridge as 28-year-old Usman Khan.
Anti-terror police have raided a house in Staffordshire area which was linked to Khan.
Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu confirmed that a man and a woman had been killed in the attack.
He confirmed Khan, who was from Stoke-on-Trent had a prior terrorism conviction and had been jailed for eight years in 2012.
He was released on licence in December 2018 and was still wearing a monitoring tag.
Commissioner Basu confirmed Khan had been attending a seminar in Fishmongers’ Hall run by Cambridge University’s Criminology Department to help offenders reintegrate into society following their release from jail.
Khan had threatened to blow up the building at the start of his five-minute rampage which ended in his death on London Bridge.
The killer had previously been arrested on December 20, 2010, four days before he and his nine-strong Al-Qaeda-inspired gang had planned to plant a bomb in the toilets of the London Stock Exchange.
Police found a handwritten list of targets which included the U.S. Embassy and the homes of London Mayor Boris Johnson, the Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral and two rabbis.
Khan, pictured surrounded by police yesterday, had been convicted in 2012 of plotting a Mumbai-style terror attack as well as planning to kill the then Mayor of London Boris Johnson
Khan, who was shot dead by armed police killed a man and a woman during his rampage
Khan, pictured, third from the right, had been arrested along with his Al Qaeda cell, pictured, after they were planning a pre-Christmas terror campaign in 2010. Officers had tracked the group, who included from left, Mohibur Raham, Gurukanth Desai, Abdul Miah, Usman Khan, Mohammed Chowdhury and Mohammed Shahjahan in Roath Park in November 2010
The gang also carried out surveillance of other possible targets including Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the Palace of Westminster and the London Eye.
The group planned to send five bombs in the post to London synagogues and the Church of Scientology headquarters, as well as spreading panic in Stoke-on-Trent by planting bombs in pub and club toilets.
Their plot was foiled after the security services bugging their homes and cars heard discussions of a ‘Mumbai’ atrocity on the streets of Britain, mirroring the guerrilla-style 2008 attack in India.
When first sentenced, Khan has handed an Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) with a minimum term of eight years by Mr Justice Wilkie in February 2012.
This was overturned by the Court of Appeal in April 2013, when the indeterminate sentence was quashed. Instead, he was handed 16 years in Jail with an extended licence period of five years.
At the time he was jailed, Khan had spent 408 days on remand and this was taken into account when considering his release date.
He was eligible for release after serving half of his 16-year jail term, less the time he had already spent on remand.
Khan was obliged to adhere to the notification provisions of the 2008 Counter Terrorism Act for a total of 30 years.
Khan was subject to a curfew and was wearing an electronic tag following his release from prison on licence in December 2018
Police evacuated thousands of people from the area fearing secondary attacks, but they now believe Khan had been working on his own
Speaking before chairing a meeting of the Government’s emergency committee Cobra on Friday night, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he had ‘long argued’ that it is a ‘mistake to allow serious and violent criminals to come out of prison early and it is very important that we get out of that habit and that we enforce the appropriate sentences for dangerous criminals, especially for terrorists, that I think the public will want to see’.
Meanwhile, a maintenance worker who witnessed the London Bridge knife attack claims he was told the assailant had been in prison for terrorism offences.
Jamie Bakhit, a 24-year-old from Purley, Croydon, said he spoke to one of the men who helped wrestle the knifeman to the ground after they were taken to the Salvation Army headquarters to be interviewed by police.
He told said: ‘The guy who was on top of him said he [the attacker] had been in prison for terrorism, apparently.
‘Some of the guys who were on top of him were ex-prisoners and they had all been in the Fishmongers’ Hall. The guy told me he was in prison with the attacker.’
The maintenance worker said he had just turned onto London Bridge and was heading southbound when he saw the four men tackle the attacker.
Mr Bakhit said: ‘As I got on the bridge armed police pulled in front of me. There were already four pedestrians on top of the guy on the floor. ‘One of them [pedestrians] was shouting ‘shoot him in the f***ing head’.
‘I’m still in my van at this point, trying to turn around. Then the police say ‘get out of the van’, so I had to leave it there.
‘I then saw them [police] shoot him three or four times.
‘I was in shock. I wanted to get away. Everyone was shouting run because he had something across his chest. It was crazy.’
Around six members of the public worked to disarm the attacker after he went on a rampage outside Bank station and Fishmongers’ Hall on the north side of the bridge, killing two.
An unnamed hero, who was inside the conference hall, was said to have grabbed a five-inch narwhal tusk from the wall’ and went to confront the terrorist, the Mirror reported.
Mr Johnson, called a meeting of the Government’s emergency committee Cobra on Friday evening and cancelled his General Election campaigning events on Saturday. The Lib Dems have also decided to temporarily suspend campaigning.
Several people were stabbed by the knifeman before he was stopped in his tracks on London Bridge, which was the scene of the bloody massacre in summer 2017 where eight people were killed and 48 seriously injured.
Scotland Yard said the incident started at nearby Fishmongers’ Hall, and that police had ‘bravely and professionally confronted the suspect’ within five minutes of being called.
Footage on social media showed one man being urged to move away by armed officers before the suspect was shot at point-blank range, as another bystander – understood to be a plain clothes officer – could be seen carrying a large knife from the scene.
Another video appeared to show a person on a stretcher, surrounded by emergency services staff and vehicles, being given CPR by responders following the attack.
A plain clothes police officer can be seen holding a knife on London Bridge during the incident today, which also saw a man lying on the ground
The members of the public who intervened have been widely praised, with mayor of London Sadiq Khan hailing their ‘breathtaking heroism’.
Witnesses said the suspect appeared to be wearing a suicide vest but Neil Basu, the head of UK counter-terrorism policing, said the vest was a fake.
He said police were called at around 2pm on Friday to a stabbing ‘at a premises near London Bridge’.
After being shot, the suspect in Friday’s attack raised his arms towards his head before lying still. A second knife could be seen on the ground near his body.
Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu released an update on the ongoing investigation shortly after midnight.
He said: ‘The investigation into the attack near London Bridge continues at a pace.
‘Whilst we are still in the early stages of the investigation, at this time we are not actively seeking anyone else in relation to the attack.
‘However, we continue to make fast time enquiries to ensure that no other people were involved in this attack and that there is no outstanding threat to the public.
‘As I stated earlier, police were called at 13:58hrs to a stabbing at premises near to London Bridge, EC1. Emergency services attended, including officers from the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police.
‘A male suspect was shot by specialist armed officers and I can confirm that he died at the scene. ‘We are now in a position to confirm the identity of the suspect as 28-year-old Usman Khan (10.03.1991), who had been residing in the Staffordshire area. As a result, officers are, tonight, carrying out searches at an address in Staffordshire.
‘This individual was known to authorities, having been convicted in 2012 for terrorism offences. He was released from prison in December 2018 on licence and clearly, a key line of enquiry now is to establish how he came to carry out this attack.
‘Tragically, two people – a man and a woman – were killed during the attack. Three others – a man and two women – were also injured and remain in hospital.
‘The circumstances, as we currently understand them, are that the attacker attended an event earlier on Friday afternoon at Fishmonger’s Hall called “Learning Together”. We believe that the attack began inside before he left the building and proceeded onto London Bridge, where he was detained and subsequently confronted and shot by armed officers.
‘Extensive cordons are likely to remain in place for some time and I would ask the public to continue to avoid the area.
‘Public safety is our top priority and we are enhancing police patrols in the City and across London.’
The Independent Office for Police Conduct watchdog said it has launched an investigation into the police shooting of the London Bridge attacker which is standard for such incidents.
Terrifying new footage shows moment hero bystanders armed with a fire extinguisher and a NARWHAL TUSK chase knife-wielding terrorist across London Bridge before he is sprayed with jets of water and grappled to the ground
This is the moment that a brave bystander used a fire extinguisher to tackle a knifeman wielding two weapons on London Bridge this afternoon.
Two people were killed today and up to twelve were injured after the maniac pulled the knives on innocent people on the north side of London Bridge just before 2pm.
Video footage showed the attacker running across London Bridge clutching the weapons as a fearless member of the public trailed him.
The white-haired man then confronted the terrorist who turned to him, holding up the two knives, before being cornered by the group of civilians chasing after him.
Another man is also seen holding what is believed to be the tusk of a Narwhal whale, which he also jabs in the direction of the attacker.
Members of the public were seen cornering the terrorist on London Bridge this afternoon
One man used a Narwhal tusk to fight off the attacker which he had taken from Fishmongers’ Hall
The tusk was from a Narwhal whale (pictured above with their tusks attached swimming in the ocean)
The man who was chasing the black-capped killer over the bridge then unleashed a powerful spray of water on him from the fire extinguisher.
The terrorist was then bundled to the ground as other people waded in, while another man hurried away with his knife.
Another man was also seen pointing a large stick at the terrorist.
One witness at the scene said the stick had in fact been a Narwhal whale tusk and that the man had taken it from Fishmongers’ Hall and ran out with it after learning of the incident.
The attacker, who has not yet been identified by police was thought to have had one of the two knives strapped to his arm and had also been wearing a fake explosives device, which was strapped around his waist.
It is believed he was a convicted terrorist who had served time in prison and was wearing an electronic tag, according to The Times newspaper. The paper added he was attending a Cambridge University conference on prisoner rehabilitation being held at Fishmongers’ Hall and ‘threatened to blow up’ the building.
Speaking to MailOnline, one witness said more shots had been fired after the terrorist was shot.
Deborah Simmons had been attending a hospital appointment with her mother and had been on the first bus on the bridge, heading towards Liverpool Street.
Deborah, who is in her 50s said she saw the man being shot and was then ushered off the bus towards The Shard.
‘We all thought we were going to die, there were people with children running’.
She added that once her and her mother had reached the south of the bridge she heard around 10-15 shots. She also said that one man had ran up to her and her mother, claiming ‘someone had a shooter’.
The Met police were unable to clarify whether or not extra shots had been fired.
One man pointed a large stick at the terrorist while another sprayed the fire extinguisher at her
The brave people who chased the terrorist pulled him down to the floor and waited for police to arrive
Police and emergency vehicles gather at Leadenhall near London Bridge as the force continued to deal with the fall out of this afternoon’s attack
Metropolitan Police Chief Cressida Dick confirmed this evening that two stabbing victims had died and three injured people were being treated in a hospital.
After the brave bystanders tackled the man to the ground police intervened, pulling the heroes off the terrorist and getting them to safety.
The officers were then seen lining up in close range of the man, before he was shot.
The violence erupted two-and-a-half years after a van and knife attack in the same area killed eight people, and less than two weeks before Britain holds a national election.
The incident started close to London’s main financial hub where thousands of bankers and finance workers travel every day.
It started outside Grade II listed building Fishmongers’ Hall. Many buildings in the financial district were on high security this afternoon as roads were closed in the area, many workers were also stood outside their buildings as officers cordoned off the roads.
Extra police officers will be on patrol across London in the wake of the attack, while British Transport Police said there also would be more officers on the transport network including firearms officers and other specialist teams.
Armed police were seen patrolling the streets early this evening with emergency vehicles being parked up on both sides of the road
Forensic officers are seen near the site of the incident early this evening. One office seems to be holding a light up while the other takes a picture
In a show of solidarity to those who lost their lives and were caught up in the attack the main political parties temporarily suspended campaigning in London as a mark of respect.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that ‘to the best of our knowledge, the incident has been contained’ but that details were still emerging.
Johnson’s office said the prime minister would chair a meeting of the government’s emergency committee, COBRA, on Friday evening.
The map above shows the the journey the attacker took from the north side of London Bridge before crossing over
Two young women were seen running near Borough Market today after learning of the attack
Metropolitan Police counterterrorism chief Neil Basu said the suspect appeared to be wearing a bomb vest but it turned out to be ‘a hoax explosive device.’
Basu said officers were keeping ‘an open mind as to any motive.’
‘A number of other people received injuries during this incident. As soon as we can provide further updates on their condition, we will,’ he told the press conference.
‘Our heartfelt sympathies go out to everybody who has been involved in this and is anxiously waiting for information on their loved ones.
‘As soon as we can get that information, we will get it to you.’
A large police cordon remains in place around the north side of London Bridge following the knife attack.
Pedestrian and vehicle access along Upper Thames Street, which runs underneath part of the bridge, is blocked by police at its junction with Swan Lane through to Lower Thames Street at its junction with Fish Hill Street.
The pedestrian cordon extends north-east to Fenchurch Street, at its junction with Philpot Lane, and north to Gracechurch Street, at its junction with Bell Inn Yard.
On the northwest side on the bridge, the pedestrian cordon extends to Cannon Street at its junction with Bush Lane. Monument Station, which is within the cordon, remains closed.
