Chilling footage shows moment police come face-to-face with London Bridge terror attackers
Terrifying new footage has emerged of the moment three armed men advanced towards police officers and civilians during the London Bridge terror attack.
Off-duty police constable Bartosz ‘Bartek’ Tchorzweski can be seen sprinting towards the men before quickly retreating when he sees the immediate threat present.
"Straight away, I see that he has a vest, or suicide belt," he told the BBC.
Khuram Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba can be seen wielding knives moments after ploughing a van into pedestrians on the bridge and stabbing people at Borough Market on the evening of June 3, 2017.
PC Tchorzweski heads back into the market alongside other officers, who decide to retreat and call for firearms officers.
Moments later, the officers press forward again in a bid to distract the men from further attacks.
They are followed by two bakers who have left their premises armed with a broom and bread crates.
The bakers can later be seen throwing their makeshift weapons at the attackers as further police backup arrives.
The clip, shot by bystander Paul Clarke, was shown at the inquests into the victims’ and attackers’ deaths, which concluded the three men were lawfully killed by police just 10 minutes after their attack began.
The jury found the attackers "ignored clear warning shouts" from the police, BBC reported.
Chief coroner Mark Lucraft QC informed the jury the only "safe" conclusion was that the three men were lawfully killed after officers were left with no choice but to use “lethal force”.
Officer reveals moments leading to attackers’ deaths
PC Iian Rae described how he approached one of the men wearing an explosive device, later found to be fake, in an attempt to handcuff him to prevent any further fatalities from an impending explosion.
"I had to handcuff him and stop him from detonating that device, if they were real or not,” he said.
Firearms officers then directed him to step back before shooting the attackers dead.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick praised the response on the ground, hailing both armed and unarmed officers for showing “tremendous courage and professionalism”.
"Faced with an appalling and confused scene, they acted calmly, quickly, decisively, and in accordance with their training," she said.
Among the eight victims were Australians Sara Zelenak, 21, and Kirsty Boden, 28.
Ms Boden’s partner was planning to propose to her just days after the attack, it has been revealed.
Canadian Christine Archibald, 30, Briton James McMullan, 32, Frenchmen Xavier Thomas, 45, Alexandre Pigeard, 26, and Sebastien Belanger, 36, and 39-year-old Spaniard Ignacio Echeverria also died in the attack.
A jury found all victims were unlawfully killed.
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, download the Yahoo News app from iTunes or Google Play and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoo’s daily newsletter. Sign up here.
