London police respond to reports of shots fired at major transit station
London Metropolitan police responded to an “incident” at the Oxford Circus tube station but found no evidence of shots fired, according to a statement released Friday afternoon.
Police officials said in an update that they had no suspects after previously announcing they were responding to a possibly “terrorist related” incident.
No casualties have been reported, though Reuters reports that one woman sustained a minor injury while evacuating the station.
“We have not located any trace of suspects, evidence of shots fired or casualties. Officers still on scene,” tweeted Metropolitan Police. “If you are in a building stay there, if you are on the street in #OxfordStreet leave the area. Officers continue to search the area. More updates as soon as we have them.”insert new tweet:
We have not located any trace of suspects, evidence of shots fired or casualties. Officers still on scene. If you are in a building stay there, if you are on the street in #OxfordStreet leave the area. Officers continue to search the area. More updates as soon as we have them
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) November 24, 2017
A tweet from a nearby department store confirmed that the tube station had been reopened.
Selfridges London was evacuated today as a precautionary measure. We have been working with @MetPoliceUK and can confirm that were no reported incidents in store. Oxford Circus and Bond Street tube stations are now back open.
— Selfridges (@Selfridges) November 24, 2017
An earlier tweet stated that officers were on scene responding to reports of gunshots, and were treating the incident as if it was “terrorist related.”
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“Police called at 16:38 to a number of reports of shots fired on #OxfordStreet & underground at Oxford Circus tube station. Police have responded as if the incident is terrorist related. Armed and unarmed officers are on scene and dealing along with colleagues from @BTP,” read a tweet from London police.
“If you are on #OxfordStreet go into a building and stay inside until further direction. Avoid travelling to the Oxford Street area. At this stage police have not located any causalities.”
Tweets from British transit police urged nearby civilians to stay indoors, and said that officers were on scene to determine “exactly what happened.”
“At 16:37 we were called to Oxford Street Tube following reports of shots fired. Armed officers from BTP and @metpoliceuk are on scene working to establish exactly what happened,” read one tweet.
“Please continue to avoid the Oxford Street and Regent Street area. If you are in the area, go into a building and stay inside until further notice.”
Friday’s incident comes just two months after the last incident targeting the city’s tube system, which services millions of Londoners and tourists every day. Oxford Circus is one of the city’s most popular stops.
In September, an explosion at a subway station in southwest London caused injuries including burns and others caused by fleeing passengers.
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