Man arrested in London siege
Source: Agencies |
April 28, 2012, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
ARMED police arrested a man at the scene of a siege in central London yesterday after he had taken several office workers hostage and threatened to blow himself up.
Police surrounded an office block and evacuated hundreds of people from one of the capital's busiest roads after the man began throwing office equipment from a fifth-floor window.
Witnesses said the man, aged 49 or 50, had taken around four people hostage and had threatened to detonate gas canisters he was carrying.
A police source said the incident was not terror-related and was thought to involve a man who had a grievance against a company.
Police in the capital are on alert as the city prepares to host the Olympic Games and celebrate the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's reign.
"We have arrested a man and a search of the building is under way," the Metropolitan Police said. "We are not aware of any hostages at this stage."
Police sent a negotiator to the office block and imposed a 300-meter cordon around the building after the man entered the building before lunchtime.
One office worker said she had been inside the building when the man arrived.
"He turned up, strapped up with gasoline cylinders, and threatened to blow up the office," Abby Baafi, 27, said in a video clip on the website of The Huffington Post, the US news website that has offices in the area. Staff from the company were among those evacuated.
"He said he doesn't care about his life. He doesn't care about anything."
Hundreds were evacuated from the scene, a busy area of shops and offices close to the University of London and the British Museum.
"Someone ran into our office white as a sheet and said there was someone who had taken a few people hostage but let them go as they had kids," office worker Tamsin Kelly told the BBC.
Television footage showed police armed with rifles on the roofs of nearby buildings and a long line of police cars, ambulances and fire engines in the street below.
Police surrounded an office block and evacuated hundreds of people from one of the capital's busiest roads after the man began throwing office equipment from a fifth-floor window.
Witnesses said the man, aged 49 or 50, had taken around four people hostage and had threatened to detonate gas canisters he was carrying.
A police source said the incident was not terror-related and was thought to involve a man who had a grievance against a company.
Police in the capital are on alert as the city prepares to host the Olympic Games and celebrate the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's reign.
"We have arrested a man and a search of the building is under way," the Metropolitan Police said. "We are not aware of any hostages at this stage."
Police sent a negotiator to the office block and imposed a 300-meter cordon around the building after the man entered the building before lunchtime.
One office worker said she had been inside the building when the man arrived.
"He turned up, strapped up with gasoline cylinders, and threatened to blow up the office," Abby Baafi, 27, said in a video clip on the website of The Huffington Post, the US news website that has offices in the area. Staff from the company were among those evacuated.
"He said he doesn't care about his life. He doesn't care about anything."
Hundreds were evacuated from the scene, a busy area of shops and offices close to the University of London and the British Museum.
"Someone ran into our office white as a sheet and said there was someone who had taken a few people hostage but let them go as they had kids," office worker Tamsin Kelly told the BBC.
Television footage showed police armed with rifles on the roofs of nearby buildings and a long line of police cars, ambulances and fire engines in the street below.
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