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London police stand down after incident in Oxford Street Oxford Street panic subsides after central London alert
(about 1 hour later)
Police say officers have been stood down after responding to reports of shots being fired on Oxford Street in central London. An outbreak of mass panic led to people fleeing in fear, armed police being deployed and a section of central London being evacuated on one of the busiest shopping days of the year.
The Metropolitan police said they could find no evidence of gunfire, there were no reports of serious casualties and they had not located any suspects. Oxford Circus and Bond Street Underground stations were reopening after being closed during the incident. Hundreds of people ran to escape what they believed to be an attack on Friday evening, only to find it was a false alarm. The reaction was a sign of just how jittery many have become at the end of a year in which the capital and Manchester have been targeted by five terrorist attacks.
British Transport Police said on Twitter they had “one report of a woman sustaining a minor injury when leaving Oxford Circus station”. The panic began just after 4.30pm and centred on Oxford Circus tube station, where a number of passengers on the westbound Central Line platform believed they had heard gunshots.
Scotland Yard said: “Police have responded as if the incident is terrorist related. Armed and unarmed officers are on scene and dealing along with colleagues from British Transport Police.” As they fled, so did other passengers inside the station. As the crowds spilled out on to Oxford Street, hundreds of Christmas shoppers also began to run.
Earlier, the BTP said they were called at 4.37pm on Friday and advised people to avoid the area around Oxford Circus station. The Metropolitan police Twitter account advised people on Oxford Street to go inside, and told people in shops to remain in place. Within minutes, both Oxford Street and Bond Street underground stations were closed down and Scotland Yard was issuing alerts on Twitter, warning people in the area to get inside the nearest building and stay there.
Transport for London said it was investigating a “customer incident” and that trains were not stopping at the stations during the closures. “If you are in building stay in a building, if you are on the street in Oxford Street leave the area,” the Met police said.
TThe London fire brigade said it had three engines and 15 firefighters at the scene. The panic appears to have been spread not only by the sight of fleeing crowds and word of mouth, but by incorrect reports on social media of shots having been fired.
Multiple witnesses on social media reported seeing people running away from the station and described panic in the area. Inside nearby pubs and restaurants, people began to crowd into the cellars, while shop staff moved customers away from the doors and windows.
“There was a mass stampede of people running and trying to get away as quickly as they could,’ said the BBC producer Helen Bushby, who was in the area. “They were crying, they were screaming, they were dropping their shopping bags. It was a very panicked scene. A couple of people said they thought it was a gunshot or a fire.”
Another witness said he saw an elderly woman and a man carrying his child knocked over in the rush. “There were people running in all directions,” he said.
At Westminster University, a few hundred metres from Oxford Circus, students and staff were locked in. “I was in class and there was a helicopter, lots of ambulances and police cars,” said Andrea Acedo, 21. “Then I heard that someone was shooting people but we didn’t know where, so they had to lock down the university so no one could come in.”
Armed police were on the scene within minutes and a police helicopter hovered overhead. But after searching the area for almost an hour, police announced that no suspects had been found and there was no evidence of any shots having been fired.
The only casualty appeared to be a woman who was injured during the rush to escape from the area.
After the stations were reopened and police cordons lifted, the Met and the British Transport Police said their response had been stood down.
“Given the nature of the information received we responded as if the incident was terrorism, including the deployment of armed officers,” the Met said.
The BTP said there had been “a significant level of panic” in the area.
An unusual hustle in Oxford Circus, people run out from a shop screaming, police arrived and closed the road pic.twitter.com/D9CPTAXu0EAn unusual hustle in Oxford Circus, people run out from a shop screaming, police arrived and closed the road pic.twitter.com/D9CPTAXu0E
The incident happened on Black Friday, the annual pre-Christmas shopping day that draws more people than normal to high streets to buy heavily discounted bargains. Although some stores remained closed, most of Oxford Circus returned to normal.
At Ponti’s Italian Kitchen, a few metres from the tube station, customers sheltering in the basement erupted in applause when a waitress announced that there had been no terrorist incident.
People returned to their evening commute and the Evening Standard distributors returned to their newsstands.
Four terrorist attacks in London this year have left 18 dead and 137 injured. A further 22 people were killed by a suicide bomber in Manchester.
The UK terrorism threat level is set at “severe”, meaning an attack is assessed to be highly likely.