Man shot dead by UK police not connected to bombs

LONDON (Reuters) – Police acknowledged on Saturday the man
they shot dead on Friday was not connected to bomb attacks on
the British capital the previous day, calling the shooting
tragic and regrettable.

“We are now satisfied that he was not connected with the
incidents of Thursday 21st July 2005,” police said in a
statement.

“For somebody to lose their life in such circumstances is a
tragedy and one that the Metropolitan Police Service regrets,”
the police said.

Police hunting four men who tried to bomb London’s
transport system on Thursday — two weeks after suicide bombers
killed 52 commuters — shot dead the man who had been under
surveillance and refused orders to halt.

The killing at point-blank range with five shots to the
head in front of shocked passengers on a packed underground
train triggered speculation that traditionally unarmed British
police had radically changed their iron-fist-in-velvet-glove
approach.

“The man emerged from a block of flats in the Stockwell
area that were under police surveillance as part of the
investigation into the incidents on Thursday 21st July.

“He was then followed by surveillance officers to the
underground station. His clothing and behavior added to their
suspicions,” the statement said.

It added that the circumstances that led to the man’s death
were being investigated.