Terror attacker in fake suicide vest shot dead by police after killing two

A terrorist wearing a fake suicide vest who went on a knife rampage in central London killing two people has been shot dead by police.

Several people were stabbed by the knifeman before he was grappled to the ground and disarmed by members of the public on London Bridge.

Whitehall sources told the PA news agency that two of the victims had died and one person was in a critical condition in hospital.

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.

The members of the public who intervened have been widely praised, with Mayor of London Sadiq Khan hailing their “breathtaking heroism” and Prime Minister Boris Johnson their “extraordinary bravery”.

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”.

The bridge was the scene of a terror attack in 2017 – also during a general election campaign – when eight victims were killed along with the three terrorists, who were also wearing fake suicide vests and armed with knives.

Mr Basu told reporters: “A male suspect was shot by specialist armed officers from City of London police and I can confirm that this suspect died at the scene.”

The London Ambulance Service declared it a major incident and one picture on social media appeared to show a body covered with a blanket.

“But I would urge everybody, of course, to be vigilant and one cannot help but think back to what happened in 2017 in the same part of the city and I hope very much that people will be able as fast as possible to go about their normal business.”

Mr Johnson will chair a meeting of the Government’s emergency committee Cobra later on Friday.

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.

Nurse Jackie Bensfield, 32, described how she asked to be let off a bus on London Bridge after she heard “five or six” gunshots.

Ms Bensfield, who was on her way home from work, said she exited the bus and “ran like hell” to escape the shots.

She told Sky News she saw “six people holding someone on the floor”, adding: “At some point someone says ‘oh, he has a knife’, and we were like, oh my gosh, this guy is supposed to stab someone and people was running away.

“The police officers finally they removed the knife. But then what happened is when they shot the guy, the guy is still alive, and they shoot and he’s trying to pull the black jacket off so I was able to see the vest that he was wearing.