This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/london/7699077.stm
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Man 'on rampage' before shooting | |
(about 11 hours later) | |
An armed man shot dead by police in east London wandered through streets threatening bystanders before he was killed, witnesses said. | |
The man was shot on Wednesday afternoon as he confronted an armed response unit in Harold Hill, Romford. | |
Witness Daniel Jackson, 14, said: "He was holding two guns... he was shouting 'get down on the floor'." | |
The shooting follows a domestic dispute between a man and a woman, who is being treated in hospital. | |
The gunman was pronounced dead in hospital on Wednesday. | |
Three guns were seized at the scene, according to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which is investigating the incident. | |
'Didn't care' | |
The shooting happened in Honeysuckle Close, an estate of a large number of houses and flats grouped around squares and footpaths. | |
Kerry Richardson, 31, who lives in nearby Betony Road, said: "We heard the man was behind the wall shooting at cats and birds and then started shouting at kids." | |
Another witness, who did not want to be named, said: "[The gunman] was prancing around, he went over to the field at one point. The first I knew he had one gun, then he had three guns." | |
She added: "At times, he was on the phone to police and said, 'I don't care, you can shoot me'. He did not care. He was walking everywhere with the gun." | |
One teenage witness said he saw the man holding two guns in the footpath behind Betony Road. | |
He said: "He had two guns, they were quite big. A group of us were behind the wall. He knelt down to stroke a cat and we started laughing. He started chasing us so we ran away." | |
A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: "Police received reports from the public of a man seen in possession of a firearm. | A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: "Police received reports from the public of a man seen in possession of a firearm. |
"Armed officers attended at the request of borough officers. | "Armed officers attended at the request of borough officers. |
"A man has been shot in the street by police. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital." | "A man has been shot in the street by police. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital." |
A post-mortem examination is due to take place. | |
Three firearms officers have been relieved from duty as part of the routine post-incident procedure, police added. | |