Willesden terror raid: Shot woman screamed 'don't touch me' at paramedics after armed police stormed house

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Police and security agencies foiled two suspected “active terror plots” within hours in a series of dramatic raids and arrests across London.

Armed officers shot a 21-year-old woman and fired CS gas rounds when they stormed a terraced house in Willesden on Thursday night.

Six people, including a 16-year-old boy, were arrested in an “ongoing” inquiry to foil a suspected terror network allegedly actively engaged in planning an atrocity.

Met Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, senior national co-ordinator for counter-terrorism policing, said there had been two “separate unconnected and ongoing counter-terrorism investigations” in an “extraordinary 24 hours”.

In dramatic scenes in Willesden, witnesses reported hearing screaming and shots as armed police in gas masks burst into the address.

A mother-of-one said: “We were just about to go shopping when we heard ‘bang, bang, bang, bang’. We went to the window and saw a number of armed police there with their guns pointing at our next-door neighbour’s window.”

The raid came hours after armed police swooped on a man carrying a rucksack of knives in Whitehall, a stone’s throw from Downing Street and yards from the scene of last month’s deadly attack by Khalid Masood in Westminster.

The 27-year-old man from south-east London was stopped in the street by armed police just before 2.20pm.

At least three knives were seen on the ground as he was being handcuffed by officers.

Terror: Harlesden Road where the raid happened
Jeremy Selwyn

Security sources said the arrest came after a tip-off from the man’s family, who had raised concerns about his behaviour.

The man, who was born overseas, had been under close surveillance and a team of MI5 and undercover officers tailed him as he took the Tube from his home in south-east London to St James’s Park.

He walked towards Westminster and had turned into Whitehall heading towards Downing Street when the decision was taken to intercept him.

Shooting: Bullet holes in windows on the street
Jeremy Selwyn

It is believed he had been “allowed to run” in order to collect as much evidence as possible on any plot and to identify any possible collaborators.

However, at this stage, officials believe he was acting alone.

As the arrest was taking place, counter-terrorism officers were watching an address in Willesden as part of a separate intelligence-led operation against a suspected terror network.

Firearms officers equipped with semi-automatic carbines and CS gas stormed the house just before 7pm and residents reported hearing up to six shots.

A woman, described as wearing a hijab, was carried out of the house and given first aid before being taken to hospital, where she remains under police guard in a serious but stable condition.

Suspect: A man aged 27 was detained by police.
Getty Images

Four people, including a boy aged 16, were arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences. The first, a 20-year-old man, was detained near the address and another woman and the boy were held at the house. A 43-year-old woman was arrested in Kent a short while later.

Two further arrests were made when a man and a woman, both aged 28, returned to the Willesden address later last night. Today a series of bullet holes could be seen in an upstairs window at the property.

Whitehall 'Knifeman' incident - In pictures

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Witness Ruth Haile described how the woman who was shot was on the ground shouting at medics and police: “Don’t touch me, don’t touch me,” as they tried to treat her.

Ms Haile said: “She had a wound on the left of her torso. There was a white bandage on it. They wanted to cut her clothes to treat it. She wouldn’t let them, she was angry. She was wearing a hijab — she was in black.

“A male in a grey jumper was also arrested, two policemen were frogmarching him. There was another woman there as well in a black dress and scarf. It was very shocking.”

Neighbour Alex Sabanov, 28, said: “I heard about four shots. There were police everywhere. Their guns were trained on the house. I heard a woman screaming. It was a terrible scream.”

She said the couple living at the address were just “a normal polite Muslim couple”.

Footage of the operation captured by a passer-by shows black-clad police surround the Victorian house, pointing carbines at an upstairs window and shouting “Move!” before battering down the front door.

Alex Paton, 50, said he saw a woman “getting all cuffed up and put in a white suit ... there was coppers and masked men with guns and there was a guy running down the road with a gas mask and a machinegun”.

Justyna Serdakowska added: “It was like something out of a Hollywood movie. There were shots and then police with balaclavas everywhere.”

Mr Basu said: “Due to these arrests, in both cases I believe we have contained the threats they pose.” He said searches were ongoing at three London properties including the one in Willesden.

Mr Basu added that with last month’s Westminster attack “so fresh in people’s minds”, he wanted to reassure the public officers were working around the clock to identify would-be terrorists.

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