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Post by Admin on Nov 30, 2019 18:29:20 GMT
 The suspect in a deadly attack near London Bridge on Friday had served a prison sentence for a terror conviction, it's emerged. Police said the attacker was previously convicted of terrorism offences in 2012 and had been released from prison on licence after agreeing to wear an electronic tag. "It is clear to me that this guy was out, he had served half of his sentence, he was out on automatic early release, and I have long said that this system simply isn’t working. It does not make sense for us as a society to be putting terrorists, people convicted of terrorist offences, of serious violent offences out on early release," Prime Minister Boris Johnson said after visiting the scene and speaking with police. "And we argue that people should serve the tariff, serve the term of which they are sentenced. And that’s my immediate takeaway from this," he added. London Bridge attack: what happened? Police say the attacker had attended an event celebrating a network bringing people together from criminal justice and higher education institutions. It was held at Fishmongers' Hall on the north side of London Bridge. The suspect began stabbing people inside the building before continuing on the bridge, where he was overwhelmed by members of the public, police said. A video widely shared online shows three men — one armed with a narwhal tusk and another with a fire extinguisher — trying to pull the suspect to the ground. Another verified video shows a man standing by the suspect — holding what looks like the tusk shortly — before police shot him dead. |
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Post by Admin on Nov 30, 2019 21:04:55 GMT
Who are the victims? A man and a woman, in addition to the suspect, died in the attack. Three other people — a man and two women — were injured and taken to hospital. No further details have been released.   What do we know about the attack suspect? Police named him on Friday evening as 28-year-old Usman Khan. He was shot dead on London Bridge by specialist police officers. There were fears he had an explosive vest on, but this turned out to be fake. Khan, whose family is from Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, was convicted in 2012 for his part in an al-Qaeda-inspired plot to blow up the London Stock Exchange. He was released in December 2018 subject to conditions The attack comes only three weeks after Britain lowered its national terrorism threat level to "substantial" from "severe", its lowest level since 2014. |
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Post by Admin on Dec 1, 2019 5:53:31 GMT
Along with questions about the case came praise for the bystanders who had charged the suspect as he made his way along the bridge. One man wielded a fire extinguisher, video footage on social media showed. Another brandished an ornamental whale tusk that had been torn from the wall of Fishmongers’ Hall, according to local reports.  The assailant was wrestled to the ground in the street outside the grand hall. A man wearing a suit and tie can be seen removing a knife and walking away from the suspect. He was later identified as an off-duty member of the transport police. Thomas Gray, a tour company manager, told reporters that he saw one of the knives taped to Mr. Khan’s hands. “I stamped on his left wrist while someone else smacked his hand on the ground and then kicked one of the knives away,” Mr. Gray told Sky News. “I went to pick up the knife when I heard a cop say, ‘He has got a bomb.’” The bomb turned out to be fake. Footage showed officers, guns drawn, pulling bystanders off Mr. Khan. Then, Mr. Khan was shot and killed by the police. |
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Post by Admin on Dec 2, 2019 2:59:12 GMT
 The woman killed in Friday's London Bridge attack has been named by police as Saskia Jones. The 23-year-old Cambridge University graduate, from Stratford-upon-Avon, was fatally stabbed alongside another ex-student, Jack Merritt.  The boss of the venue where the attack began which killed the pair said "the building turned into a nightmare". Toby Williamson, of Fishmongers' Hall, said staff who fought attacker Usman Khan believed he was wearing a bomb. Two men took chairs, fire extinguishers and narwhal tusks, which were hanging on the wall, to fend off Khan, driving him out of the building. Khan, 28, a convicted terrorist who was released from prison in December 2018, was later shot dead by police on London Bridge. The families of Mr Merritt and Ms Jones have both paid tribute to their loved ones. |
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Post by Admin on Dec 2, 2019 6:16:11 GMT
Usman Khan, 28, from Staffordshire, was released from prison in December last year on condition he obey 20 strict conditions - which included not visiting the capital.  But the killer "hoodwinked" authorities by travelling to the prisoner rehabilitation conference at Fishmongers' Hall where he launched his horror rampage on Friday. One academic who was there told the Mail On Sunday that Khan "suddenly just flipped". Khan fatally stabbed Jack Merritt, a 25-year-old course coordinator, and a woman, before heroic members of the public wrested him to the ground and armed cops shot him dead.  'RUSSIAN ROULETTE' The attack has prompted questions on why Khan, a convicted terrorist, had been released before the end of his original sentence. Khan was jailed in 2012 for his involvement in plans to blow up the London Stock exchange, then then Mayor Boris Johnson's homes and the US embassy.  But when the Court of Appeal passed an extended sentence on Khan, he was given a 16-year custodial term and a 5-year extended licence. Laws around extended sentences repeatedly change. But at the time of his sentencing, prisoners serving extended sentences were released automatically halfway through their custodial term - which in this case was after eight years. |
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