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According to information provided to the BBC, two members of the public, as well as the attacker, were killed in the attack.
The police confirmed that the suspect had been shot and killed at the scene. They also confirmed that eye witness reports of the man wearing some form of vest under his coat were correct — but that it was “a hoax explosive device.”
A wide cordon remains in place around the scene of the attack, and will remain there for “considerable time,” as the police search the area to ensure there is no further threat to the public.
Met Police assistant commissioner Neil Basu said the counter-terrorism command is now leading the investigation. As regards motives, Basu said that they “remain open” as “it would be inappropriate to speculate further at this time.”
Earlier, London Mayor Shadiq Khan confirmed that five people had been injured in the attack.
Karen Bosch, an eye witness to the event, told the BBC:
”...then there was two shorts or two loud pops, I think they were gunshots. And I also saw a spent laser.
And then the guy was lying on the floor. He then pulled his coat back, which showed that he had some sort of vest underneath, whether it was a stab vest or some sort of explosive vest. The police then really quickly moved backwards away.”
While rumours are circulating on social media that vest was ‘explosive’ and meant at a suicide bombing device, no detail has been confirmed by the authorities - who instead urge people to avoid spreading rumour and speculation.
The Metropolitan police has stated that “at this stage, the circumstances relating to the incident at London Bridge remain unclear. However, as a precaution, we are currently responding to this incident as though it is terror-related.”
Social media reports suggest Borough Market is being cleared and searched by police. The reason for this remains unclear. Mark Di Stefano of Buzzfeed UK tweeted:
The market has been sealed off.
Emergency services cordoned off London Bridge across the River Thames in the centre of the British capital on Friday after reports of shots being fired.
“We are in the early stages of dealing with an incident at London Bridge,” the Metropolitan Police said.
A BBC reporter on the bridge at the time said he saw what appeared to be a fight between a group of men, heard two shots and saw a man “prone” on the ground.
The incident happened shortly after 2:00 pm (1400 GMT) on the north side of the bridge. People in the area were quickly ushered away from the scene, images on social media indicated.
London Ambulance Service confirmed it had crews on the scene.
One eyewitness told the BBC she and other people in the area rushed into a restaurant on the bridge and were told by staff to take cover.
“They went, ‘Get under the table, shots have been fired. Gunshots’,” said the woman.
Footage by one Twitter user, AmandaHunter87, filmed from a bus on the southbound carriageway, appeared to show two armed officers pointing guns towards a man on the ground.
Other images from a high vantage point posted by another user on the platform, Clarerobbo1000, appeared to show the same moment.
A third officer was standing by the two officers with their weapons raised.
The man on the ground was on the pedestrian walkway on the north side of the bridge, just as it starts to cross the river.
In June 2017 eight people were killed and some 48 people were seriously injured when Islamist extremists in a van ploughed into pedestrians on London Bridge before attacking people at random.
The three attackers were shot dead by police.
Reports of gunfire have yet to be confirmed. The Metropolitan police have confirmed that a man has been detained. He is believed to have started attacking people with a knife. Reports suggest five people are injured, but these have yet to be confirmed. London Bridge station has been closed as well.
This is a developing story and will be updated when more information is available.
