I was really happy when I heard that the police had shot and killed one of the London Bombers, and even happier when I heard he’d been shot five times in the head. No I’m not blood thirsty, just an eye-for-an-eye kinda gal.
I was happy at least until I learned that he was totally innocent. He was a Brazilian man who’d been at a house that the police had been watching closely.
Apparently they followed him to Stockwell tube station, where they shouted for him to stop three times, but instead, he took off running, and jumped onto a train.
The police chased him, and proceeded to shoot him five times at blank-point range. They were under orders to shoot-to-kill suspected suicide bombers.
Unfortunately, this man wasn’t their guy. Sigh.
I’m not going to blame the marksman for his actions, he was always in a no-win situation.
The intelligence on the other hand was fatally flawed. How did they get it so wrong?
My heart goes out to his family.
Sarah McCarty
July 25
10:00 am
The one thing I don’t understand is WHY he ran. (Reports here are sketchy and a bit sensatioalized) Were the police in uniform? (Not familiar with British Police preocedure) I can see if they were not. He might not know or trust who was telling him to stop and assumed the worst, but if they were in uniform, what was his inspiration to run like that?
How awful if this tragedy came about through miscommunication.
Anne
July 25
5:21 pm
If he hadn’t run, none of this would have happened. Damn it, if you’re not guilty, DON’T RUN! He was being a total idiot by running. Right now, running is the wrong thing to do. The police are on very high alert and told to shoot first and ask questions later. I’m sure those officers feel horribly right now, but it honestly wasn’t their fault. They were just doing their jobs.
Michelle
July 25
5:42 pm
I have to agree here. If he was innocent, why run? Makes me think he was guilty of SOMETHING even if it wasn’t the bombings…
Tammy
July 25
5:52 pm
Karen, have the authorities figured out why he ran yet? I agree with Michelle and Anne, if it was me, I would have thrown my hands up, and just stayed where I was. Running makes you look guilty, look at OJ, although I happen to think he was guilty.
Meg
July 25
6:47 pm
I can totally understand why he ran. If the cops there are like the ones here in the US, they’re scary. It’s human nature to run when you’re scared.
McVane
July 25
8:02 pm
The one thing I don’t understand is WHY he ran.
His visa expired and he didn’t want to be deported or get in trouble with the police, so he ran, ignoring their orders to stop.
I’m still quite shocked that the police actually used guns. It’s rare to have them using guns like this in this country.
McVane
July 25
8:12 pm
If the cops there are like the ones here in the US, they’re scary.
Oh, I missed that comment. Those who shot the Brazilan aren’t typical police officers, but members of the anti-terrorism unit who are licensed to carry guns.
The British police [e.g. cops] don’t carry guns in public, let alone use them at all.
Desiree Erotique
July 25
9:56 pm
Hi Karen,
I have to wonder if the poor man could even speak English? I wonder if maybe he was deaf. Perhaps he had a reason other than fear for running? Did he think he was late for his train?
Poor man. I am so sorry to hear about this.
Rocio
July 26
1:05 am
It’s a shame that mistakes like this happens, but at times like this it is a really bad choice to just ran from the police like that! I totally agree that at times like this with so much craziness going on..is better to loose one man by mistake than loose hundreds of live for the police following too much procedures!
Karen Scott
July 26
4:14 pm
Guys, I’m not so sure why he ran either, but I know that if that had been me, passport issues or not, I would have stopped.
In England, cops here don’t carry guns, so you can imagine the furore this shooting has caused. His family are thinking about suing the police.
It’s a tragedy, all the way round, but I don’t believe the marksman didn’t have any other viable choice.
If the guy had been a suicide bomber, and there would have been hell to pay.