51°29′19″N 0°03′45″E / 51.4885°N 0.06255°E
2013 Woolwich attack | |
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Location | Woolwich, Royal Borough of Greenwich, London, England, United Kingdom |
Date | 22 May 2013 14:20 BST (UTC+01:00) |
Deaths | 1 (victim) |
Injured | 2 (suspects) |
On 22 May 2013, a British man[2] was murdered on a street in Woolwich in southeast London. Two men carrying knives and a meat cleaver spoke to passers-by in terms thought to relate to jihadism.[3][4] The dead soldier had been dragged into the road and was later attended to by at least two female passers-by, including a Cub Scouts leader who confronted one of the men.[5] The two men were later shot by police and were taken to hospital in serious conditions.[3] One of the men has been confirmed as a British citizen of Nigerian descent, and the other is also believed to be British.[6] Politicians and Muslim leaders have condemned the attacks and said that Britain stands united.[7]
Attack
In an attack that occurred at 14:20 near an junction linking of Artillery Place on John Wilson Street, on the A205, in Woolwich, a British man who was reported to be a soldier, believed to be in his 20s, wearing a "Help for Heroes" t-shirt is believed to have been deliberately hit by a Vauxhall car,[8] then attacked by two Black men with knives, and a meat cleaver.[3] [4] Women later stood over the body of the man, trying to protect him from further attack.[8] The attackers, also in their 20s, later stood around, waving knives and a gun, and asked people to take pictures of them. Ingrid Loyau-Kennett, a passenger on a passing bus, was one of the first people on the scene. While the two men were awaiting a police response, Loyau-Kennett tended to the soldier, who later died. She engaged in a conversation with the men, one of whom said to her: "We want to start a war in London tonight." She asked the men to hand over their weapons.[9] One of the attackers later spoke to bystanders saying: "We must fight them as they fight us. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth...I apologise that women have had to witness this today, but in our land our women have to see the same. You people will never be safe. Remove your government, they don't care about you."[3] The man with the machete said on camera:[10]
We swear by Almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you. The only reasons we have done this is because Muslims are dying every day. This British soldier is an eye for an eye a tooth for tooth. We apologise that women had to see this today but in our lands our women have to see the same. You people will never be safe. Remove your government. They don't care about you.
The attackers waited for 15 to 20 minutes for armed police to arrive and reportedly danced over the body, while one of the men asked passengers on a bus to take photographs of him.[8] When armed police arrived, the man with the machete charged at police and was shot by a female officer, while the other did the same with a gun and was also felled by police marksmen.[8] Channel 4 News had broadcast footage showing the two perpetrators having shouted "Allahu Akbar".[11] Greenwich and Woolwich MP Nick Raynsford said that the victim was a soldier at the nearby Royal Artillery Barracks.[3] He also said: "The situation is clearly a very very serious one indeed. One individual is dead and two others are seriously injured and apparently in hospital." The Guardian newspaper reported that the Ministry of Defence was frustrated with the comment as it would have preferred to have told the family of the victim before the media.[10] The attack took place 300 to 400 metres (980 to 1,310 ft) from the barracks perimeter.[4]
A gun, knives and a machete were later seized at the scene. Police officers, including firearms officers who arrived later, were at the scene. The man was pronounced dead at the scene by local Greenwich police.[3]
Aftermath
In addition to condemning the attack, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe called for calm and a "measured response" while adding "we have met with community representatives, and extra officers remain on duty there tonight. Across London our officers are in contact with their communities too." Metropolitan Police Commander Simon Letchford later issued a statement that read: "I can understand that this incident will cause community concerns, and I would like to reiterate that we are investigating what has taken place today. ... I am asking people to remain calm, and avoid unnecessary speculation."[10]
Prime Minister David Cameron cut short a visit to Paris to chair a COBR meeting.[4] The Defence Ministry issued a statement that read it was urgently investigating such an incident. Home Secretary Theresa May subsequently chaired a meeting of the COBR committee.[12] The COBR meeting was attended by the Defence Secretary Philip Hammond, Mayor of London Boris Johnson, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick and other unnamed members of the intelligence agencies.[10]
Investigation
The Independent Police Complaints Commission said that it would investigate the incident as per normal circumstances. The IPCC investigate any incident in which police discharge a weapon.[10]
Suspects
One of the men has been confirmed as a British citizen of Nigerian descent, and the other is also believed to be British.[6] One man has been named as Michael Adeboloja, a 28-year-old, born in Lambeth, London, though of Nigerian descent.[6] He studied sociology at Greenwich University, and converted from Christianity to Islam.[13][14]
Alleged motive
The BBC reported that the "case for this being a jihadist attack, following the ideology of Al-Qaeda is compelling."[3] Channel 4 News broadcast video footage of the alleged attackers, filmed by observers prior to the arrival of the police, in which they recited the Arabic Islamic phrase "Allahu Akbar,"[11] and apologising that women had witnessed the attack.[15][16]
Reactions
David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, condemned the attack, and said that Britain would be united,[3] as did the Leader of the Opposition Ed Miliband.[17][12] The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, described the attack as a "sickening, deluded, and unforgivable act of violence".[3]
Muslim leaders were also united in their clear opposition to the attack:[7] the Muslim Council of Britain said the attack "has no basis in Islam and we condemn this unreservedly";[3] the head of the Ramadhan Foundation Mohammed Shafiq also condemned the attack, adding that, " London and our nation will come together and will not be divided. The terrorists will never win and succeed in their evil plans";[10] and the director of Faith Matters and co-ordinator of the government-backed anti-Islamophobic project "Tell MAMA" said: "We as the Muslim community will work against anyone who promotes such hatred."[10]
Baroness Neville-Jones, a former security minister and chairman of the British Joint Intelligence Committee, and Colonel Richard Kemp, a former Army commander, said the security services need to focus on the “inspiration” that comes from internet hate preaching. Neville-Jones told the BBC Radio Four<nowiki>'<nowiki>s Today programme that internet hate preaching could have inspired the two attackers and that "what we shouldn’t forget is that even if there is nobody else behind it one of the things which runs through the scene at the moment is the inspiration that comes from internet hate preaching and jihadist rhetoric and this is a very, very serious problem now." [1]
See also
- 7 July 2005 London bombings, Islamist-perpetrated attacks
- 21 July 2005 London bombings, an Islamist attempted attack
- 1983 Royal Artillery Barracks bombing, an bomb attack on the Royal Artillery Barracks in 1983
References
- ^ Sandra Laville, Nick Hopkins (22 May 2013). "Woolwich attack: lone wolf and jihadist theories will occupy security forces". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
- ^ "Woolwich attack: Killed man 'was soldier'". BBC News. 23 May 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
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(help) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Woolwich machete attack leaves man dead". BBC News Online. 22 May 2013accessdate=22 May 2013.
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(help) - ^ a b c d Dodd, Vikram (22 May 2013). "Man killed in deadly terror attack in London street". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
- ^ Conal Urquhart (23 May 2013}). "Woolwich attack: interview with Ingrid Loyau-Kennett". The Guardian. London: GMG. ISSN 0261-3077. OCLC 60623878. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
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(help) - ^ a b c "Woolwich Terror Murder Suspect Named". news.sky.com. 23 May 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ^ a b "PM and Muslim leaders unite to condemn attack | The Sun |News|Politics". thesun.co.uk. 23 May 2013.
- ^ a b c d Sandra Laville, Shiv Malik and Ben Quinn (22 May 2013). "Woolwich killing: horror on John Wilson Street". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
- ^ Duffin, Claire (22 May 2013), "Mum talked down Woolwich terrorists who told her: 'We want to start a war in London tonight'", The Telegraph
- ^ a b c d e f g Paul Owen and Conal Urquhart (22 May 2013). "Woolwich attack: government convenes emergency meeting – live". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
- ^ a b "London terror suspects shout 'Allahu Akbar' and machete man to death".
- ^ a b "'Soldier' hacked to death in London". Al Jazeera English. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
- ^ "Woolwich killer identified as 28-year-old Islam convert of Nigerian descent – media — RT News". rt.com. 23 May 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ^ "Woolwich attack: One suspect named as Michael Adeboloja | thetelegraph.com.au". dailytelegraph.com.au. 2013 [last update]. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
{{cite news}}
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(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ "Bloodied London Attacker Speaks To Camera After Beheading: 'You People Will Never Be Safe'".
- ^ "Chilling video of London attacker explaining machete attack on reported soldier". 22 May 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
- ^ "Woolwich attack: government convenes emergency meeting – live updates". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2013.