London Police Respond to Incident at Oxford Circus Subway Station
By RJ Johnson - @rickerthewriter
November 24, 2017
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 24: Armed Police officers are seen near Oxford Circus underground station on November 24, 2017 in London, England. Police are responding to reports of an incident at London's Oxford Circus Tube station and have urged the public to avoid the area. (Photo credit: Getty Images)
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.
— BTP (@BTP) November 24, 2017
Police in London responded to reports of shots fired at the Oxford Circus underground station, but later said had been unable to identify any evidence of gunshots and have reopened the terminal.
What exactly happened is unclear, but London's Metropolitan police have tweeted that they are on-scene and are continuing to investigate the incident. According to earlier reports, London police responded to "a number of reports of shots fired" on Oxford Street and its underground station at around 4:43 p.m. local time.
Police responded to the reports of gunfire as if it were "terrorist related" according to a release from the Metropolitan police. The station has been re-opened and trains are back to running as normal authorities said.
Hundreds of shoppers were in the area for Black Friday sales when the reports of gunfire initially came in. Eyewitnesses reported scenes of panic as dozens of people ran to escape Oxford Circus. The subway station doubles as a retail area where about 98 million passengers pass through, making it the busiest in London.
So far, there have been no other reported casualties. Officers remain on-scene investigating the incident.
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
We were called at 1643 to an incident at Oxford Circus tube. Three fire engines & 15 firefighters are in attendance. Please avoid the area. Follow @BTP & @metpoliceuk for more information #OxfordStreet
— London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) November 24, 2017