Bridge attacker shot dead

UPDATE: 11:20 a.m.

A man wearing a fake explosive vest stabbed several people in what police are treating as a terrorist attack Friday before being tackled by members of the public and then fatally shot by officers on London Bridge, police and the city’s mayor said.

The Metropolitan Police said “a number” of people were wounded but gave no information on how many or their conditions. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said some of the injured were in serious condition.

Khan said police weren’t looking for anyone else.

Metropolitan Police counterterrorism chief Neil Basu said the suspect appeared to be wearing a bomb vest but it turned out to be “a hoax explosive device."

Basu said officers were keeping “an open mind as to any motive.”

The violence erupted two-and-a-half years after a van and knife attack in the same area killed eight people.

Police said a stabbing at a “premises” near the bridge, which links the city’s business district with the south bank of the River Thames, was reported about 2 p.m.

Minutes later, witnesses saw a knifeman being wrestled to the ground by members of the public before armed-response officers shot him dead.

Karen Bosch, who was on a bus crossing the bridge, said she saw police “wrestling with one tall, bearded man” and then heard “gunshots, two loud pops.”

She said the man "pulled his coat back which showed that he had some sort of vest underneath, whether it's a stab vest, or some sort of explosive vest, the police then really quickly moved backwards, away.”

"It seemed like there was something in his hand, I'm not 100% sure, but then one of the police officers shot him.”

UPDATE 8:12 a.m.

London’s Metropolitan Police say that though the circumstances of an incident on London Bridge remain unclear, authorities are treating it as if it is terror-related.

The police acknowledged one man had been shot in the incident that began at 1:58 p.m. on Friday. The police say that “at this stage, the circumstances relating to the incident at #LondonBridge remain unclear. However, as a precaution, we are currently responding to this incident as though it is terror-related.”

"One man has been shot by police. We will provide further information when possible."

They previously said that several people had been stabbed nearby.

UPDATE 7:37 a.m.

Police say several people have been stabbed close to London Bridge, and a man has been detained.

The Metropolitan Police force says officers were called Friday afternoon "to a stabbing at premises near to London Bridge."

They say "a man has been detained by police. We believe a number of people have been injured."

The news comes after witnesses reported hearing gunshots. Sky News reported that police had shot the apparent attacker.

ORIGINAL 6:41 a.m.

British police said Friday they were dealing with an incident on London Bridge, and witnesses have reported hearing gunshots.

The Metropolitan Police force tweeted that officers were “in the early stages of dealing with an incident at London Bridge.”

BBC reporter John McManus was in the area and said he saw figures grappling on the bridge. He said: “I thought it was initially a fight,” but then shots rang out.

London Ambulance Service said it had crews on the scene.

Police could be seen ushering people away from the northern end of the bridge, which links the city’s business district with the south bank of the River Thames.

City of London Police, the force responsible for the business district, urged people to stay away from the area.