The man who carried out Friday’s stabbing attack at London Bridge was a former prisoner convicted of terrorism offences, the Metropolitan Police has said.
The attacker, named by police as 28-year-old Usman Khan, was out of prison on licence when he carried out the attack, which led to a man and woman being killed and three others were injured.
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Khan, who was eventually shot dead by police officers on the bridge, was known to the authorities, having been convicted for terrorism offences in 2012, according to a statement by Met Police Assistant Commissioner, Neil Basu.
“He was released from prison in December 2018 on licence and clearly, a key line of enquiry now is to establish how he came to carry out this attack,” the statement read.
Khan was released from prison after he agreed to wear an electronic tag and have his movements monitored, The Times reports.
Officers are carrying out searches at an address in Staffordshire, where Khan had been living.
The attack began at 13:58 GMT on Friday at Fishmongers’ Hall, at the north end of London Bridge, where a Cambridge University conference on prisoner rehabilitation – called Learning Together – was taking place.
The suspect had been attending the event, where dozens of people – including students and former prisoners – were present.
According to Basu, the attack is understood to have started inside the building before proceeding onto London Bridge itself, where Khan was confronted and shot by armed officers.
Police have declared the attack a terrorist incident.
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