A man was reportedly killed in an attack with a machete-style knife in London’s Woolwich neighborhood
In a statement, London’s Metropolitan police commander Simon Letchford said that police have shot two men who had attacked a man in Woolwich’s John Wilson Street. The men have been taken to two hospitals, where they are being treated. The Telegraph reports that local MP Nick Raynsford said that he believed the victim was a soldier returning to his barracks, while several witnesses described the attack as a “beheading.”
On Wednesda, witnesses told of a gruesome scene in which the man was hit by a car, then hacked with cleavers and his body dumped in the middle of the road.
CNN affiliate ITN aired the below video showing a man with bloody hands and holding a meat cleaver, who says, “We swear by almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you. The only reasons we killed this man, this is because Muslims are dying daily. This British soldier is an eye for an eye a tooth for tooth. We apologize 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 victim is believed to be a serving soldier who was based at a nearby barracks, Nick Raynsford, a member of Parliament, told CNN. The soldier had apparently been on duty in central London and was returning to the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich when he was attacked, Raynsford said.
Speaking in Paris, Prime Minister David Cameron said there were “strong indications” that the man’s killing was a terrorist incident He said,“It is the most appalling crime.”
Cameron declined to confirm whether the man killed was a serving soldier, while Britain’s defense ministry said it was investigating to see whether that’s the case. But the prime minister vowed the United Kingdom would stand firm in the face of threats to its security and “will not buckle.” See video
