- London Mayor Sadiq Khan praised the members of the public who were filmed tackling a man who the police say attacked people with a knife in a “terrorist incident” near London Bridge on Friday.
- The police said the man was wearing a fake explosive vest and was shot dead by officers.
- Footage appeared to show people tackling the man, wrestling him to the ground, and disarming him.
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London Mayor Sadiq Khan praised the civilians who tackled and pinned down the man who authorities say launched a knife attack while wearing a fake explosive vest near London Bridge on Friday as “the best of us.”
The police were called to London Bridge around 2 p.m. local time after reports that several people were wounded in a knife attack nearby.
Sadiq Khan: "We saw from one individual the worst of humanity, but the response from members of the public and the emergency services was the best of humanity."
— Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov) November 29, 2019
https://twitter.com/neilconneryitv/status/1200458189734588423?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Footage on social media appeared to show several people holding down the man, struggling to prevent him from breaking free.
One civilian could be seen stepping back from the huddle carrying a large knife, apparently having disarmed the man, and taking it well out of reach.
Armed police officers then approached the group and pulled people away from the man.
One person was left struggling with the man on the ground before the police pulled them away. Officers then fired at the man, killing him.
Video shows man walking away with a knife from incident at London Bridge. BBC correspondent Andy Moore says it's presumed he took the knife off the suspect https://t.co/6GvyKd0jiT pic.twitter.com/ERS10Dsxel
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) November 29, 2019
The footage showed police officers clearing people from the scene and backing away, weapons raised.
In remarks to reporters, Khan thanked "members of the public who risked their own safety this afternoon."
"They are the best of us," he said.
He praised the "breathtaking heroism of members of the public who literally ran towards danger."
"Members of the public didn't realize at the time that was a hoax device, and they really are the best of us," Khan said.
Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu told reporters that the attack was being treated as a "terrorist incident" and that the attacker wore a fake explosive vest.
He said five people were injured in the attack.
No further information on the status of those injured or the identity of the attacker or his motivation has been released publicly.