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| London Bridge attackers 'got within arm's length' of firearms officers | London Bridge attackers 'got within arm's length' of firearms officers |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| The London Bridge attackers got to within arm’s length of firearms officers before being shot dead, an inquest has heard. | The London Bridge attackers got to within arm’s length of firearms officers before being shot dead, an inquest has heard. |
| In dramatic testimony at the Old Bailey on Wednesday, PC Bartosz Tchorzewski, who was awarded a Queen’s police medal for his actions during the 3 June attack in 2017, said the three men got so close to the armed response officers that he feared they would grab their guns. | In dramatic testimony at the Old Bailey on Wednesday, PC Bartosz Tchorzewski, who was awarded a Queen’s police medal for his actions during the 3 June attack in 2017, said the three men got so close to the armed response officers that he feared they would grab their guns. |
| Tchorzewski said that when armed officers arrived on the scene at Borough Market he heard them shout “Drop the knife, drop the knife” at least three times at the terrorists, who were attacking a passerby, Antonio Filis. | Tchorzewski said that when armed officers arrived on the scene at Borough Market he heard them shout “Drop the knife, drop the knife” at least three times at the terrorists, who were attacking a passerby, Antonio Filis. |
| “They [the attackers] turned their attention towards the officers and started to run towards them,” he told the inquest. “As they were getting closer, I was getting scared that they may get hold of their guns. I was screaming at the officers, ‘Shoot them’.” | “They [the attackers] turned their attention towards the officers and started to run towards them,” he told the inquest. “As they were getting closer, I was getting scared that they may get hold of their guns. I was screaming at the officers, ‘Shoot them’.” |
| Asked by the counsel to the inquest, Jonathan Hough QC, how near the attackers got to the firearms officers before being felled, Tchorzewski said: “Very, very close ... arm’s length in terms of reaching the guns.” | Asked by the counsel to the inquest, Jonathan Hough QC, how near the attackers got to the firearms officers before being felled, Tchorzewski said: “Very, very close ... arm’s length in terms of reaching the guns.” |
| Tchorzewski and four other officers, armed only with batons, had earlier attempted to confront the attackers in Borough Market before backing off when they saw what they thought were suicide vests, he told the inquest. | Tchorzewski and four other officers, armed only with batons, had earlier attempted to confront the attackers in Borough Market before backing off when they saw what they thought were suicide vests, he told the inquest. |
| One of the men threw a bottle at Tchorzewski, which struck and wounded him in the forehead. But he said he continued, without engaging the terrorists, to try to contain them and prevent them attacking others, following them when they could, before the final confrontation. | One of the men threw a bottle at Tchorzewski, which struck and wounded him in the forehead. But he said he continued, without engaging the terrorists, to try to contain them and prevent them attacking others, following them when they could, before the final confrontation. |
| He told the inquest he had screamed a warning at Filis, the last person attacked by the terrorists, but he appeared oblivious to it and the three men descended on him. | He told the inquest he had screamed a warning at Filis, the last person attacked by the terrorists, but he appeared oblivious to it and the three men descended on him. |
| In a statement read in court on Wednesday, Filis, who suffered several knife wounds and said one of the men had attempted to cut his throat, said he felt lucky to be alive. “Within 10 seconds of them attacking me, the police shot them,” he said. | In a statement read in court on Wednesday, Filis, who suffered several knife wounds and said one of the men had attempted to cut his throat, said he felt lucky to be alive. “Within 10 seconds of them attacking me, the police shot them,” he said. |
| The inquest has previously heard that police officers continued firing at the terrorists when they were on the ground because they feared they were wearing explosive suicide vests, although they subsequently proved to be fake. | The inquest has previously heard that police officers continued firing at the terrorists when they were on the ground because they feared they were wearing explosive suicide vests, although they subsequently proved to be fake. |
| Geoffrey Ho, the City and financial editor of the Express and Sunday Express, who was at the Black & Blue restaurant on Rochester Walk when it was attacked, told the court on Wednesday that he was convinced the three men had suicide vests when they entered. | Geoffrey Ho, the City and financial editor of the Express and Sunday Express, who was at the Black & Blue restaurant on Rochester Walk when it was attacked, told the court on Wednesday that he was convinced the three men had suicide vests when they entered. |
| He said they were led by a man wearing an Arsenal shirt who, as they walked in, screamed: “Everyone lie down on the fucking floor, lie down on the fucking floor.” | He said they were led by a man wearing an Arsenal shirt who, as they walked in, screamed: “Everyone lie down on the fucking floor, lie down on the fucking floor.” |
| Ho told the court that as the man approached him, repeating his instructions, “I said, ‘No, you don’t have to do this’ and then I started walking backwards.” | Ho told the court that as the man approached him, repeating his instructions, “I said, ‘No, you don’t have to do this’ and then I started walking backwards.” |
| Explaining his attempt to engage with the terrorist, Ho said: “If I rushed him, he might detonate and kill us all. The only thing I could do was to talk to him … If I lay down on the floor, either on my back or front, I’d be dead ... I couldn’t defend myself.” | Explaining his attempt to engage with the terrorist, Ho said: “If I rushed him, he might detonate and kill us all. The only thing I could do was to talk to him … If I lay down on the floor, either on my back or front, I’d be dead ... I couldn’t defend myself.” |
| After ignoring continued orders to get on the floor, he was stabbed in the neck by the man, whom he described as “an animal”, now known to be Khuram Butt. After Butt moved off, Ho and his friend Gavin Joseph, who was also stabbed, managed to make it to the safety of the restaurant’s staffroom, the court heard. | After ignoring continued orders to get on the floor, he was stabbed in the neck by the man, whom he described as “an animal”, now known to be Khuram Butt. After Butt moved off, Ho and his friend Gavin Joseph, who was also stabbed, managed to make it to the safety of the restaurant’s staffroom, the court heard. |
| Despite his injuries, Ho instructed his friend to call 999. “I remember giving a description of three Asian males, I said one of them had an Arsenal shirt,” said Ho. “They had knives and IEDs.” | Despite his injuries, Ho instructed his friend to call 999. “I remember giving a description of three Asian males, I said one of them had an Arsenal shirt,” said Ho. “They had knives and IEDs.” |
| In his evidence, Joseph said he also believed the attackers had explosives. “I remember [them saying] something along the lines of ‘Get down, get down, we’ve got bombs,’,” he told the inquest. | In his evidence, Joseph said he also believed the attackers had explosives. “I remember [them saying] something along the lines of ‘Get down, get down, we’ve got bombs,’,” he told the inquest. |
| The eight victims killed by Butt, 27, Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22, were Chrissy Archibald, 30, from Canada; Sebastien Belanger, 36, a chef; Kirsty Boden, 28, a nurse from Australia; Ignacio Echeverría Miralles de Imperial, 39; James McMullan, 32, the only Briton, who was from Brent, north-west London; Alexandre Pigeard, 26, a French restaurant worker; Xavier Thomas, 45, a French national; and Sara Zelenak, 21, an Australian national. | The eight victims killed by Butt, 27, Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22, were Chrissy Archibald, 30, from Canada; Sebastien Belanger, 36, a chef; Kirsty Boden, 28, a nurse from Australia; Ignacio Echeverría Miralles de Imperial, 39; James McMullan, 32, the only Briton, who was from Brent, north-west London; Alexandre Pigeard, 26, a French restaurant worker; Xavier Thomas, 45, a French national; and Sara Zelenak, 21, an Australian national. |
| The inquest continues. | The inquest continues. |
| London Bridge attack | |
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