Police officers man a cordoned-off area in Woolwich (Picture: AFP/Getty)

Update: Suspect filmed attempting to justify attack while body of ‘soldier’ lies in street

A man wearing a Help For Heroes T-shirt has been hacked to death by two machete-wielding assailants in broad daylight in south-east London, in an attack condemned as ‘sickening and barbaric’.

The two knifemen were shot by armed police and are currently being treated in separate hospitals.

Prime minister David Cameron has described the killing as ‘truly shocking’ and called an emergency Cobra meeting amid reports the attack was terror-related.


The Ministry of Defence said it was ‘urgently investigating’ reports the man killed was a serving member of the armed forces, with the attack taking place close to Royal Artillery Barracks.

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Eyewitnesses said the two men had attacked the victim at around 2.20pm then dragged his body into the middle of John Wilson Street, before urging bystanders to take photographs of them.



When police arrived at the scene they then reportedly charged at them armed with machetes and at least one firearm.

The London ambulance service said both suspected assailants were in hospital, one in a serious condition.

Graham Wilders said he was returning from visiting his mother when he saw two men standing over another man in the street.

A police forensics investigator approaches the crime scene (Picture: Reuters)

He told Metro: ‘I saw a car on the pavement and I saw a geezer lying on the floor and two geezers standing over him. I thought they were trying to revive him. I thought it was an accident.’

The 50-year-old drove back to his home nearby with his wife and parked the car and was about to return to the scene when he saw one of the two men brandishing what he believed to be a handgun.

MORE: Woolwich killing: Reaction to machete ‘terror attack’

He said: ‘The guy with the gun was dressed all in black. He was waving [the gun] all about. He pulled it out from the back of his trousers.

‘I went back towards my gate and I saw a bunch of school kids aged about nine or ten coming up and I told them to get in the school.

Police and ambulance crews at the scene (Picture: Yusuf Kayalar)

‘The next minute the police came up… and I heard four shots go off. I heard they went towards the police with a gun, machete and knife and then the police shot them.

‘I’ve seen things like this on TV and in films but never in real life. It’s unbelievable.’

James Heneghan told LBC 97.3 he and his wife had witnessed two men hacking at a third with two large kitchen knives.

‘We saw the whole incident,’ he said fighting back tears. ‘They were hacking at this poor guy, hacking him, chopping him.’

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He went on to claim that after the men had attacked the victim they dragged him into the middle of the street ‘like a piece of meat’.

London mayor Boris Johnson said his thoughts were with the victim’s family and Labour leader Ed Miliband said the ‘whole country will be horrified’ by what took place, while home secretary Theresa May – who said she had been briefed by the head of MI5 – condemned the killing as ‘sickening and barbaric’.

Woolwich and Greenwich MP Nick Raynsford said that he understood the victim to be a serving soldier.



‘I’ll be talking to everyone who is involved, we will be trying to do everything possible to try and ensure calm in the area. People will be very, very shocked,’ he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

A police forensics investigator at the scene (Picture: Reuters)

Councillor Chris Roberts, the leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, said: ‘We are deeply shocked by today’s events by the Barracks in Woolwich and our thoughts are with the family of the victim.

‘Greenwich is a borough whose history and evolution is intertwined with military, both army and navy and any attack by the barracks feels like a strike at the heart of our community.

The scene of the attack in Woolwich (Picture: Google)

‘The council will assist the police with their investigations and provide any support requested of us.’

The headteacher of the nearby Mulgrave primary school David Dixon said the air ambulance had landed in the school playground.

Pictures taken at the scene showed at three men lying in the street (Picture: Yusuf Kayalar)

Mr Dixon told BBC News the school had followed its emergency procedures but had now allowed children to leave, apart from those who walk home by themselves.

Pictures posted by people on the scene on Twitter showed at least three men on the ground, although it was not certain what their condition was.

Two of the men appeared to be being restrained by police, while a third was surrounded by bystanders.

Twitter user @boyadee said he had witnessed two men decapitate another while he went to a nearby shop.

The closed road on Artillery Place near the scene in Woolwich (Picture: PA)

Scotland Yard commander Simon Letchford said the police investigation into the killing was at a ‘very early’ stage, and confirmed the Independent Police Complaints Commission had also launched a separate inquiry.


‘I can understand that this incident will cause community concerns, and I would like to reiterate that we are investigating what has taken place today,’ he said.

‘There will continue to be an increased police presence in this area, and the surrounding areas this evening. That presence will continue as long as is needed.

‘I am asking people to remain calm, and avoid unnecessary speculation.’