THREE London Bridge terrorists were shot dead by elite armed officers as they lay wounded on the ground, an inquest heard today. Khuram Butt, 27, Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22, screamed “Allah” and charged at police with 12-inch ceramic knives when they arrived at the scene. Within 89 seconds, the “barbarian” ISIS fanatics […]
THREE London Bridge terrorists were shot dead by elite armed officers as they lay wounded on the ground, an inquest heard today.
Khuram Butt, 27, Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22, screamed “Allah” and charged at police with 12-inch ceramic knives when they arrived at the scene.
Within 89 seconds, the “barbarian” ISIS fanatics had been gunned down by sharpshooters in Borough Market, amid a horrific trail of blood and carnage.
Fearing the trio’s bogus suicide vests were real, officers shot them again when they saw them wriggling about, the Old Bailey heard.
Detective Superintendent Rebecca Riggs said: “Officers noticed the attackers while on the ground still moving and, concerned about devices being detonated, fired on them.”
The bogus bomb vests were made from leather belts with disposable water bottles attached to them with masking tape.
Dramatic CCTV stills showed demented ringleader Butt staring down the barrel of an officer’s gun moments before he was shot.
Officers noticed the attackers while on the ground still moving and, concerned about devices being detonated, fired on them
Detective Superintendent Rebecca Riggs
DSI Riggs said: “He went towards the officers even though he was being confronted by the officer. He opened fire and Butt fell to the floor.”
Redouane and Zaghba then ran towards two other officers.
DSI Riggs added: “Both of the officers fired at them and both of the attackers fell to the floor.”
City of London officers fired a total of 46 bullets as they confronted the terrorists on June 3, 2017.
Bystander Neil McLelland was inadvertently shot in the head as he watched the scenes unfold through a window in the Wheatsheaf pub.
He suffered a “direct bullet hit” but was not seriously injured and has since recovered.
Three other people were injured by shrapnel, but they have all since recovered, the court heard.
Butt, Redouane and Zaghba murdered eight victims in the atrocity – Britain’s third major terror attack in 2017.
They were Xavier Thomas, 45, Christine Archibald, 30, James McMullan, 32, Alexandre Pigeard, 26, Kirsty Boden, 28, Sebastien Belanger, 36, Sara Zelenak, 21, and Ignacio Echeverría, 39.
The inquest continues.
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