Cops admit shot man not linked to bombs

Jul 24 2005 By The Sunday Sun

The man shot dead by police on Friday in the hunt for the London terrorists was innocent, it was revealed yesterday.

He was named last night as Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes and Scotland Yard confirmed the 27-year-old was not connected to any terror attacks on the capital.

"For somebody to lose their life in such circumstances is a tragedy and one that the Metropolitan Police Service regrets," said a spokesman.

The shooting happened in Stockwell at 10am on Friday when armed plain clothes police officers fired on de Menezes after chasing him onto a train at the Underground station.

He had emerged from a nearby house that was under surveillance because of a suspected link to Thursday's attempted bomb attacks on three Tube trains and a bus.

De Menezes was then followed by surveillance officers and is thought to have caught a bus to Stockwell Tube station where he was challenged by officers, who told him to stop.

According to witnesses he then bolted down an escalator and tried to get on a train before witnesses say he was shot five times in the head by an officer with an automatic pistol.

On Friday Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair had said the shooting was "directly linked" to anti-terror operations.

However, in a statement yesterday, Scotland Yard said: "We are now satisfied that he was not connected with the incidents of Thursday, July 21, 2005."

The statement continued: "The man emerged from a block of flats in the Stockwell area that were under police surveillance as part of the investigation into the incidents on Thursday, July 21. He was then followed by surveillance officers to the Underground station. His clothing and behaviour added to their suspicions.

"The circumstances that led to the man's death are being investigated by officers from the Metropolitan Police Directorate of Professional Standards, and will be referred to the IPCC in due course."

The shooting had been graphically described by a series of eye witnesses.

One, train passenger Mark Whitby, said: "As the man got on the train I looked at his face. He looked from left to right, but he basically looked like a cornered rabbit, like a cornered fox. He looked absolutely petrified.

"He sort of tripped but they were hotly pursuing him and couldn't have been more than two or three feet behind him at this time.

"They unloaded five shots into him. I saw it. He's dead. Five shots . . . he's dead."

The officers who shot the man are believed to have been from the Met's specialist firearms unit.

The police watchdog, the Independent Police Complaints Commission - IPCC - has already announced that there will be an independent investigation into the shooting.

Nick Hardwick, IPCC chairman, said the commission would use its own investigators to carry out the inquiry.

He said: "The shooting at Stockwell Station is being referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission for investigation in line with normal requirements under the Police Reform Act 2002.

"The IPCC independently investigates all fatal police shootings.

"In carrying out this investigation, the IPCC will ensure that nothing is done to hinder the urgent police priority of tracking down and bringing to justice those responsible for the recent London bombings and their vital work to prevent further outrages."

In a statement last night, Shami Chakrabarti, director of human rights organisation Liberty, said: "Our hearts go out to the family of the dead man and to the officers involved in this tragic incident.

"No one should rush to judgment. In any case of this kind - especially at a time of heightened tension - there must be a prompt, comprehensive and independent investigation into what happened."

The Home Office did not want to comment on the shooting.

"It's an operational matter for the police," said a spokeswoman.

Downing Street last night confirmed that Tony Blair had been informed of the latest development but made no further comment.

Meanwhile, the manhunt for the four suspected London bombers was continuing, with officers hoping the huge response to their appeal for information could lead to a breakthrough.

Police have received more than 500 calls to the Anti-Terrorist Hotline since releasing CCTV images of the four suspects yesterday.

They have also had more than 80 e-mails . . . some containing images, including mobile phone pictures.

The four men in the CCTV pictures are being hunted in connection with Thursday's attempted bomb attacks on underground trains at Oval, Warren Street and Shepherd's Bush and on a number 26 bus in Shoreditch.

Police have strongly urged anyone who sees any of the suspects not to approach them, but instead to call 999.

Anyone who knows their identities or has information about them should call the Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800-789321. Assistant commissioner Andy Hayman, specialist operations, said: "The responsible attitude shown by the public in providing us with information, the volume of calls we have received and the quality of information is extremely encouraging."

Last night police raided a property in Scotia Road, Streatham Hill, South London in connection with the attempted bombings. Armed police were thought to be attending as a precaution although no arrests were made.

Two men who were arrested on Friday were last night still being held at high-security Paddington Green police station in connection with the attempted attacks.

Meanwhile, a man arrested on July 12 in West Yorkshire in connection with the July 7 bombings has been released with no further action.

Residents living in Streatham Hill yesterday described how armed police raided the house on Scotia Road. One neighbour said several police vans had stormed into the area before armed officers rushed to the address and told residents to get inside their houses.

She said: "They had already sealed it off and then the officers with guns came along telling us to get inside or we would be arrested.

"They wouldn't tell us what was going on. It was quite frightening. I've not seen them take anyone away from the house."

Other people living on the smart estate near Brixton spoke of undercover police officers watching an address all day before the flurry of activity at around 4pm yesterday.

Neighbours living on the same floor as the flat which was raided in South London yesterday said they were ordered to leave their homes by armed police and shortly afterwards heard what they thought might be gunshots being fired.

Paul King, 34, said: "We were just having a normal Saturday afternoon when my flatmate noticed there were people outside with guns.

"The police phoned us and told us to leave as quickly as possible which we did and as we got to our door there were police with guns moving on one of the flats on the same floor.

"We were stood outside for a short time when we heard what we thought were gunshots about 10 minutes after we had left the flat. Another 10 minutes passed and we heard what sounded like more shots.

"It was all a little bit surreal and I was not really frightened at the time but I'm feeling a little bit jittery now."

He added that there had been no ambulance called to the scene and they had not seen anybody or anything taken away from the flat.

However, he said the people living in the flat had been there for about a year and men which he described as Asian in appearance had been seen entering and leaving in the past few months.

And Scotland Yard also confirmed that a "suspicious package" found by a member of the public in Little Wormwood Scrubs may be linked to the four bombs recovered in the wake of Thursday's attempted attacks.

A spokesman said: "Explosives officers attended the scene. An initial examination suggests that the object may be linked to devices found at four locations in London on July 21."

The scene remained cordoned off last night, while explosives officers worked to make the package safe.

Police said it would be subject to "detailed forensic analysis".

Peter Clarke, head of the Met's anti-terrorist branch, said: "The object appears to have been left in the bushes, rather than hidden. This is a matter of concern, and I would urge the public to report any suspicious items or activity."

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