A man shot dead at the weekend by police was allegedly “acting suspiciously” at the Southbank Centre, the police watchdog has said.
In a statement on Monday, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), said so far evidence indicated that the man had aroused suspicions in the vicinity of the Royal Festival Hall at around 11.25pm on Sunday.
A member of the public reported their suspicions to two Ministry of Defence police officers on patrol who tried to stop the man – who police claim had two knives.
A taser was discharged and officers called for assistance while the man is understood to have come across Hungerford Bridge before entering Northumberland Avenue in Westminster.
Again a taser was fired. Two armed response cars from the City of London Police went to the scene and shortly after firing a Taser, one of the officers shot the man dead in Great Scotland Yard.
Two knives have been recovered from the scene, said the IOPC, which is obliged to carry out investigations into fatal police shootings.
“Our thoughts are with all of those affected by this tragic incident,” said the organisation’s London regional director, Sal Naseem.
“Our investigators are working hard to secure evidence to establish the sequence of events which resulted in this man’s death.”
The police watchdog said in the statement it believed it had uncovered the man’s identity but that his next-of-kin was to be informed.
It added that it was reviewing a large amount of CCTV and body-worn footage as part of its investigation into the shooting.
The Met said on Monday that no other members of the public or police officers were harmed during the shooting, and that it was not being treated as terror-related.