London Police Shoot Man in 'Terrorism-Related Incident'

British police said on Sunday an attack in south London was believed to be Islamist-related and that officers had found a hoax device strapped to the man they shot dead.

Deputy assistance commissioner in the Metropolitan Police. Lucy D’Orsi told media that though the attacker has not been formally identified, police in London are "confident"  he was 20-year-old Sudesh Amman. D'Orsi said Ammanwas recently released from prison, where he was serving  time for terrorism offenses.

"A device was found strapped to the body of the suspect and specialist officers attended. Cordons were put in place and it was quickly established that this was a hoax device," said  D'Orsi.

"The incident was quickly declared as a terrorist incident and we believe it to be Islamist-related," she said in a statement.

Armed police cordoned off the area, on the main shopping street in Streatham, a busy residential district south of the River Thames. Police said people should avoid the area.

Several videos of the scene were posted on Twitter, but not verified by Reuters. In one, filmed from inside a shop across the road, a man can be seen lying on the street while at least two armed police officers point their guns from behind an unmarked car with its blue lights flashing.

Helicopters flew overhead and police cars were in surrounding streets, with the area blocked off by tape.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Twitter: "Thank you to all emergency services responding to the incident in Streatham, which the police have now declared as terrorism-related."

"My thoughts are with the injured and all those affected," he added.

The last such incident in London was in November, when police shot dead a man wearing a fake suicide vest who stabbed two people to death and wounded three more before being wrestled to the ground by bystanders. Authorities called that a terrorist attack.