Taffy_is_a_Taff
07-23-2005, 02:39
The events that led to the shooting of a man on a Northern line Tube train yesterday began around 10am.
The man, who several witnesses said was wearing an unseasonably warm overcoat or jacket, was walking towards Stockwell Tube station at the corner of Clapham Road and Lambeth Road.
Forensic police officers investigate Stockwell Underground station
It is thought that police had been following him for some time, perhaps from an address where he had been staying overnight. Sources said the man was not the one who fled from Oval station, a few hundred yards up Clapham Road, after his rucksack bomb failed to detonate on Thursday.
One witness suggested that as the man neared Stockwell station, he became aware that he was being followed, but it is equally likely that police decided that they could not take the risk of allowing a suspected suicide bomber, who would probably feel he had little to lose, to go back on to the Underground network.
In any case, the pace of events accelerated from this point. Chris Wells, a 28-year-old company manager, said he was travelling on the Victoria line towards Vauxhall when he left the train at Stockwell.
He saw about 20 police officers, some of them armed, rushing into the station.
He said: "There were at least 20 of them [officers] and they were carrying big black guns.
"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'." Several other witnesses reported seeing the man jump over the ticket barriers and being chased by three men in plain clothes but carrying guns.
They said the fugitive ran down the escalator from the ticket hall to the Northern line, the deeper of two lines that run through Stockwell, the other being the Victoria line.
There were plenty of witnesses to what happened next, but, as often happens in situations of extreme stress, the precise order of events is not certain.
The most eloquent testimony came from Mark Whitby, 47, a water installation engineer from Brixton, who was sitting on the Tube train reading a newspaper while it was stationary with its doors open.
He said: "I heard people shouting 'get down, get down'. An Asian guy ran on to the train and I looked at his face. He looked from left to right, but he basically looked like a cornered rabbit - he was absolutely petrified."
He added: "The man half tripped and was then pushed to the floor by three plain-clothes police officers who were pursuing him.
"One of the police officers was holding a black automatic pistol in his left hand.
"He held it down to him and unloaded five shots into him. I saw it all. He was dead, five shots. I was literally less than five yards away."
Another passenger, Rob Lowe, 33, from Balham, south London, saw the incident from another viewpoint in the carriage.
"The Tube was stationary and then a man came on who I presume now to be a plain clothes policeman, but at the time I didn't know who he was," he said.
"He was looking quite shifty, getting up and sitting back down again. I felt a bit awkward around him.
"And then he seemed to shout at some people on the other platform who then all came rushing.
"The Tube suddenly filled up with loads of people running down to the end of my carriage.
"Then I heard probably four or five loud bangs and saw a bit of smoke.
"More armed policemen appeared, telling us all to get out of the Tube and people started running off.
"It did look like there was somebody on the floor at the end.
''I didn't know whether it was a bag or a person, but then there was a lot of people around him and then I heard the bangs. It took a few seconds to sink in. I didn't really react immediately to it. I stood around for a bit until I was told to go."
Mr Whitby said the dead man, who was fairly large and well-built, had a baseball cap on and "quite a thickish coat, a sort of padded jacket".
"He looked out of place. It is hot, humid weather, but I didn't see him carrying anything."
After the shooting Mr Whitby threw himself on to the ground. He said: "I was crouched down and worried about bullets flying around.
The other passengers were distraught. It was just mayhem.''
He added: "People were desperate to get off the Tube. There were people running in all directions, looks of horror on their faces, a lot of screaming from women.
"There was also a noticeable smell of cordite, that acrid sort of gunpowder smell."
Another passenger, Jason Dines, had been on a train stopped at a platform opposite the shooting when he saw "all hell break loose". He said: "I saw from the window there was suddenly a contagious wave of panic sweeping across the platform. It was not constructive.
"People were trying to get out. We hadn't heard anything and didn't know what was happening.
''Suddenly everyone on my train started banging on the windows trying to get out of the carriages and get out of the station.
"We didn't know what they knew or what was going on.
"People were screaming for them to open the doors but they wouldn't.
"Then suddenly they did and people were running everywhere."
Joannah Pritchard, 20, had gone into the Tube station with her friend Astrah Stewart, 14, to buy a coffee.
She said: "There was a loud bang. Lots of panic.
"We were basically told by the police to start running. Lots of people were running towards the Tube. I think they were plain-clothed police officers.
"One young lady was really, really upset. She came out saying 'A guy has been shot. Someone's been shot'."
A few yards away, Duarte Osty, the 26-year-old driver of a bus that was approaching the Underground station, suddenly saw hundreds of people running out of the building. Mr Osty said: "I must have arrived just seconds after the shooting. People were running out of the station.
"I saw police rushing straight into the station and I was asked to stop my bus.
"Within two minutes at least 20 police cars had arrived at the scene and a helicopter was circling overhead.
''It seemed as though they were expecting something to happen the way they came so fast."
The man, who several witnesses said was wearing an unseasonably warm overcoat or jacket, was walking towards Stockwell Tube station at the corner of Clapham Road and Lambeth Road.
Forensic police officers investigate Stockwell Underground station
It is thought that police had been following him for some time, perhaps from an address where he had been staying overnight. Sources said the man was not the one who fled from Oval station, a few hundred yards up Clapham Road, after his rucksack bomb failed to detonate on Thursday.
One witness suggested that as the man neared Stockwell station, he became aware that he was being followed, but it is equally likely that police decided that they could not take the risk of allowing a suspected suicide bomber, who would probably feel he had little to lose, to go back on to the Underground network.
In any case, the pace of events accelerated from this point. Chris Wells, a 28-year-old company manager, said he was travelling on the Victoria line towards Vauxhall when he left the train at Stockwell.
He saw about 20 police officers, some of them armed, rushing into the station.
He said: "There were at least 20 of them [officers] and they were carrying big black guns.
"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'." Several other witnesses reported seeing the man jump over the ticket barriers and being chased by three men in plain clothes but carrying guns.
They said the fugitive ran down the escalator from the ticket hall to the Northern line, the deeper of two lines that run through Stockwell, the other being the Victoria line.
There were plenty of witnesses to what happened next, but, as often happens in situations of extreme stress, the precise order of events is not certain.
The most eloquent testimony came from Mark Whitby, 47, a water installation engineer from Brixton, who was sitting on the Tube train reading a newspaper while it was stationary with its doors open.
He said: "I heard people shouting 'get down, get down'. An Asian guy ran on to the train and I looked at his face. He looked from left to right, but he basically looked like a cornered rabbit - he was absolutely petrified."
He added: "The man half tripped and was then pushed to the floor by three plain-clothes police officers who were pursuing him.
"One of the police officers was holding a black automatic pistol in his left hand.
"He held it down to him and unloaded five shots into him. I saw it all. He was dead, five shots. I was literally less than five yards away."
Another passenger, Rob Lowe, 33, from Balham, south London, saw the incident from another viewpoint in the carriage.
"The Tube was stationary and then a man came on who I presume now to be a plain clothes policeman, but at the time I didn't know who he was," he said.
"He was looking quite shifty, getting up and sitting back down again. I felt a bit awkward around him.
"And then he seemed to shout at some people on the other platform who then all came rushing.
"The Tube suddenly filled up with loads of people running down to the end of my carriage.
"Then I heard probably four or five loud bangs and saw a bit of smoke.
"More armed policemen appeared, telling us all to get out of the Tube and people started running off.
"It did look like there was somebody on the floor at the end.
''I didn't know whether it was a bag or a person, but then there was a lot of people around him and then I heard the bangs. It took a few seconds to sink in. I didn't really react immediately to it. I stood around for a bit until I was told to go."
Mr Whitby said the dead man, who was fairly large and well-built, had a baseball cap on and "quite a thickish coat, a sort of padded jacket".
"He looked out of place. It is hot, humid weather, but I didn't see him carrying anything."
After the shooting Mr Whitby threw himself on to the ground. He said: "I was crouched down and worried about bullets flying around.
The other passengers were distraught. It was just mayhem.''
He added: "People were desperate to get off the Tube. There were people running in all directions, looks of horror on their faces, a lot of screaming from women.
"There was also a noticeable smell of cordite, that acrid sort of gunpowder smell."
Another passenger, Jason Dines, had been on a train stopped at a platform opposite the shooting when he saw "all hell break loose". He said: "I saw from the window there was suddenly a contagious wave of panic sweeping across the platform. It was not constructive.
"People were trying to get out. We hadn't heard anything and didn't know what was happening.
''Suddenly everyone on my train started banging on the windows trying to get out of the carriages and get out of the station.
"We didn't know what they knew or what was going on.
"People were screaming for them to open the doors but they wouldn't.
"Then suddenly they did and people were running everywhere."
Joannah Pritchard, 20, had gone into the Tube station with her friend Astrah Stewart, 14, to buy a coffee.
She said: "There was a loud bang. Lots of panic.
"We were basically told by the police to start running. Lots of people were running towards the Tube. I think they were plain-clothed police officers.
"One young lady was really, really upset. She came out saying 'A guy has been shot. Someone's been shot'."
A few yards away, Duarte Osty, the 26-year-old driver of a bus that was approaching the Underground station, suddenly saw hundreds of people running out of the building. Mr Osty said: "I must have arrived just seconds after the shooting. People were running out of the station.
"I saw police rushing straight into the station and I was asked to stop my bus.
"Within two minutes at least 20 police cars had arrived at the scene and a helicopter was circling overhead.
''It seemed as though they were expecting something to happen the way they came so fast."