shot dead a suspected suicide bomber at a London underground railway station, Friday, July 22, as church leaders called for calm and unity among an increasingly anxious public. Witnesses said the suspect, described as an Asian looking man, was shot about five times at close range at the Stockwell Tube station in south London. Several stations were evacuated.
"They pushed him onto the floor and unloaded five shots into him. He’s dead," witness Mark Whitby told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). "He looked like a cornered fox. He looked petrified."
New Scotland Yard said in a statement the shooting happened around 10 am local time. Minutes later police rushed to one of London’s largest mosques following a bomb threat there, but no explosive device was found officials confirmed.
"Someone phoned our director and said there was a bomb inside," Mohammed Abdul Bari, chairman of the East London Mosque, told reporters. Over 6-thousand people were expected for Friday afternoon prayers but there were only about a dozen people inside at the time the threat was telephoned in, the Associated Press (AP) news agency said.
It was not immediately clear if the bomber suspect was also involved in the four blasts which rocked London’s underground and a bus a day earlier. Experts speaking on several networks said the fact he had been killed showed it must have been a serious and likely life threatening situation for the police officers and their surrounding.
SUSPECT SEEN FLEEING
However witness Whitby said the man didn’t appear to have been carrying anything, but he added that the suspect was wearing a thick coat that looked padded. The shooting apparently happened when the man was trying to run away. "An Asian guy ran on to the train. As he ran, he was hotly pursued by what I knew to be three plainclothes police officers," witnesses Whitby explained.
"He tripped and was also pushed to the floor and one of the officers shot him five times. One of the police officers was holding a black automatic pistol in his left hand. They held it down to him and unloaded five shots into him. I saw it. He’s dead, five shots, he’s dead."
Whitby claimed he was very near the incident and was "totally distraught" by what he had seen. He told media that at least 10 to 15 police officers armed with pistols and sub-machine guns had run down to the platform as he was helping an elderly woman away from the train.
ARMED POLICE RUN
Chris Wells, another witness, was quoted by the United Kingdom’s Press Association as saying that he was leaving Stockwell station when he saw a being man being pursued inside by at least 20 armed police.
"The next thing I saw was this guy jump over the barriers and the police officers were chasing after him and everyone was just shouting ‘Get out, get out,’" Wells said.
Journalist Chris Martin said he was waiting at Stockwell station when several men burst on to the platform. "I didn’t actually see the gun, but I heard this ‘bang, bang, bang,’" he told reporters.
CHURCHES URGE UNITY
News of the latest developments came shortly after church leaders urged Londoners to reject hatred and work for unity.
"These criminal actions are a call to Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus and Sikhs, people of every kind of faith and none, to reject the idolatrous fantasies which set community against community and to walk in the way of the spirit, whose fruits are love and joy and peace," the London based Christian Today newspaper quoted the Bishop of London as saying.
Bishop Richard Chartres, who attended a vigil at Trafalgar Square last week for the 56 people killed in the July 7 attacks, had praise for the "emergency services, for the police and all those working in the hospitals [and] for the men and women who continue to drive our buses and tubes. We are proud of them and grateful to them. They are Christians and Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs and people of no particular faith but they all are Londoners."
ANXIETY REMAINS
However the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rev Rowan Williams commented, suggested he realized that "the anxiety, of course, is the knowledge that it seems to be British-born people and it’s just a reminder that terrorism knows no boundaries." He warned that «emotionally it makes it harder for people," Christian Today reported.
The Evangelical Alliance UK has encouraged evangelical Christians in the capital to pray for London and the country and set up a special prayer initiative, BosNewsLife established. Several churches have also been involved in treating victims and counseling.
"There’s a lot to be grateful for, lots of openings, lots of willingness to work together and that is crucial for the future," noted Bishop Williams, who also leads the 70-million member worldwide Anglican Community. (With Stefan J. Bos, BosNewsLife Research and reports from London).
