Scotland Yard says woman in her 20s was injured when officers descended on an address in Willesden, north London

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

A woman has been shot and four people arrested during a raid by counter-terrorism police at an address in north London.

Local residents reported hearing gunshots as heavily armed officers swooped on the terraced house in Willesden on Thursday evening as part of an operation by specialist officers.



The raid was unconnected to the detention of a man reportedly carrying a bag filled with knives in Westminster earlier in the day, police said.



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A cordon was quickly set up around the area of Parkfield Road and Harlesden Road and residents were escorted from their homes.



The woman who was shot was taken to hospital by the London ambulance service. She was “one of the subjects of the investigation”, the Metropolitan police said, but had not yet been arrested due to her condition –described as “serious but stable” – and remained under a police guard in hospital. There were no other reported injuries.

The four people in custody are a man and a woman, both aged 20, a 43-year-old woman and a 16-year-old boy. All four have been arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of terrorist acts under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000.



The police said in a statement: “This incident is not connected to the arrest in Whitehall earlier today. In line with established post incident procedures, the incident has been referred to the Met’s directorate of professional standards. This matter has also been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission as a matter of course.”

A video recording of the police raid suggested multiple gunshots being fired. Armed officers took position outside a home on Harlesden Road, and then gunfire can be heard, seemingly some five shots, according to the audio on the recording.



Further searches at linked addresses across London and in Kent are under way, although Scotland Yard did not reveal the locations.

An IPCC spokesperson said it had sent investigators to the scene of the “non-fatal” police shooting, but was yet to declare it had started an independent investigation. “We are currently in assessment mode,”, the police watchdog said.