Several feared injured in stabbing near London Bridge; British Transport Police fire shots, detain suspect

London: British police say several people have been stabbed near London Bridge in the heart of the British capital, while a man has been detained. The news came after witnesses reported hearing gunshots in the area. According to Sky News, police had shot the apparent attacker. The Metropolitan Police force said officers were called Friday afternoon “to a stabbing at premises near to London Bridge.” [caption id=“attachment_7718931” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The Metropolitan Police force tweeted that officers were ‘in the early stages of dealing with an incident at London Bridge.’ AP[/caption] “A man has been detained by police. We believe a number of people have been injured,” the police said. BBC reporter John McManus was in the area and said he saw figures grappling on the bridge. He said: “I thought it was initially a fight, but then shots rang out.” London Ambulance Service said it had crews on the crime scene. Police could be seen ushering people away from the northern end of the bridge, which links the city’s business district with the south bank of the River Thames. Cars and buses on the busy bridge were at a standstill, with a white truck stopped diagonally across the lanes. British Transport Police said London Bridge station, one of the city’s busiest rail hubs, was closed and trains were not stopping there. City of London Police, the force responsible for the business district, urged people to stay away from the area. In June, 2017, London Bridge witnessed an attack when Islamic State-inspired attackers ran down people on the bridge, killing two, before stabbing several people to death in nearby Borough Market. In another incident in March, 2017, an attacker fatally struck four people with a car on nearby Westminster Bridge then fatally stabbed a police officer before security forces shot and killed him in a courtyard outside Parliament.