Police in London say that the man who carried out Friday’s terrorist attack at London Bridge was a former prisoner convicted of terrorism offences. 28-year-old Usman Khan, according to police, was out on ‘licence’ at the time of his terror attack, which resulted in the killings of a man and a woman. Three others were left injured on Friday.
Khan was shot dead by police after members of the public successfully managed to restrain him, reported BBC.
London’s Met Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said that Khan was convicted of terrorism charges in 2012. A statement by him read, “He was released from prison in December 2018 on licence and clearly, a key line of enquiry now is to establish how he came to carry out this attack.”
London’s The Times reported that Khan was released on a condition that he will wear an electronic tag and have his movements monitored.
British Prime Minister Borish Johnson returned to Downing Street from his constituency after hearing about the Friday’s incident. He later convened a meeting of the government’s emergency Cobra committee.
Both Johnson and London Mayor Sadiq Khan praised the courage shown by the members of the public. Johnson said that he had ‘long argued that it is a mistake to allow serious and violent criminals to come out of prison early.’
Home Secretary Priti Patel, according to Sky News, said that the police needed ‘space and time’ to complete the investigation and that it was not right to ‘speculate.’ “We’re supporting the police through this very difficult investigation,” she was quoted as saying.