London Bridge Terrorist shot 20 times

Inquest is underway

Author: Louise EastonPublished 1st Jun 2021

An inquest has heard how terrorist Usman Khan was shot 20 times by armed police before he died on London Bridge.

The 28-year-old killed two people at a prisoner rehabilitation event at Fishmongers' Hall in 2019.

Dramatic police body-worn camera footage and videos captured by horrified members of the public on their mobile phones showed Khan being shot twice at close range by a firearms officer after it was discovered he was wearing a suicide belt which later turned out to be a hoax.

Khan had stopped moving by 2.12pm, around 15 minutes after he began his stabbing spree which resulted in the deaths of Cambridge University graduates Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, at a prisoner education event to which Khan was invited, on November 29th.

He was pronounced dead at 3.07pm after the scene was made safe.

Mr Brown said police believe Khan shouted Allahu Akbar'' during their confrontation with him, including moments before he was first shot and when they ordered him to stay on the floor.

Footage also showed members of the public running to safety as Khan emerged from Fishmongers' Hall branding two kitchen knives.

This included a woman with a young child who ran into the path of oncoming traffic to make good her escape while a man with a pushchair could be seen walking away from the scene just as Khan made his way onto the bridge.

Tuesday's evidence follows the conclusion of the inquests into Mr Merritt and Ms Jones last week, in which jurors identified a catalogue of failures and omissions contributed to the deaths.

Khan struck 11 months after being released from prison for plotting a jihadi training camp in Pakistan. He had served eight years in prison when he was released into the community under licence.

He had met Mr Merritt through Learning Together, a Cambridge University-affiliated education programme for prisoners during his time in jail.

The inquest jury heard he travelled down to London, unaccompanied, on the day of the attack and secreted himself in a toilet cubicle before emerging to stab Mr Merritt, Ms Jones and three others who survived the ordeal.

Khan was later pursued by three men who used a fire extinguisher, a narwhal tusk and their bare hands to restrain him on London Bridge.

The inquest, held at the Guildhall in the City of London, is due to last for two weeks.

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