London police just shot suicide bomber suspect

Thanks to Raven, through email. Looks to me like the Brits aren’t fooling around.

LONDON — As the investigation into Thursday’s London explosions continued, a suspected suicide bomber was shot and killed Friday in a tube station as he tried to board a train, according to Scotland Yard. The shooting came as authorities continued to look for an unknown number of fugitives connected to the blasts.

The shooting took place at South London’s Stockwell Station. According to reports, the suspect, who was wearing a heavy jackey, was shot five times after undercover police officers followed him onto a train and knocked him down.

I’m going to wait for the screams from the left on this one. You know, that the poor guy was “persecuted”, that he was a “freedom fighter”, that he’s a “product of his environment”, blah, blah, blah.

The explosions came as Pakistani intelligence officials said authorities are seeking the former aide of a radical cleric in Britain in connection with the July 7 bombings.

The officials said British investigators asked Pakistani authorities to search for Haroon Rashid Aswa, who reportedly had been in close contact with the suicide bombers just before the July 7 attacks. Aswat, 31, was of Indian origin and may not be in Pakistan, according to two intelligence officials in Islamabad and one in Lahore.

I’m going to have to do research on this…later.

Update:

The man, whose identity has not been released, was shot Friday at a subway station in the south London neighborhood of Stockwell. Witnesses said the man appeared to be South Asian and was wearing a heavy padded coat when police chased him into a subway car, pinned him to the ground and shot him in the head and torso.

A spokesman for Scotland Yard (search) said on customary condition of anonymity that the man was unconnected to the incidents of Thursday, in which bombs placed on three subway cars and a double-decker bus failed to detonate properly.

The spokesman also said the man was “probably unconnected” to the July 7 subway and bus bombings that killed 56 people, including four attackers.

However, Scotland Yard would not rule out that the man was not connected to any terrorist actions.

Hours after the man was killed, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Ian Blair (search) said the shooting was “directly linked” to the investigations.

“The man who was shot was under police observation because he had emerged from a house that was itself under observation because it was linked to the investigation of yesterday’s incidents,” police said Friday.

“He was then followed by surveillance officers to the station. His clothing and his behavior at the station added to their suspicions.”

This is the most chilling part:

“If you are dealing with someone who might be a suicide bomber, if they remain conscious, they could trigger plastic explosives or whatever device is on them,” Mayor Ken Livingstone. “Therefore, overwhelmingly in these circumstances, it is going to be a shoot-to-kill policy.”

uh…Marie…that’s a far cry from being completely “innocent”, IMO.

Update: perhaps you’re talking about THIS:

But Saturday, a police official said on condition of anonymity that Menezes was “not believed to be connected in any way to any of the London bombings.”

It remains to be seen…I’m sure we’ll find out more, but we’re just hearing the news reports and unfortunately we’re not close enough to get much else.