An investigation has been launched after an armed Metropolitan Police officer shot himself dead at a Docklands police station.
The constable, in his thirties, who helped guard London City Airport, was found by a colleague with gunshot wounds at North Woolwich station in Newham on Sunday.
Paramedics battled to save his life but he was pronounced dead 22 minutes later. Scotland Yard today said no one else was being sought in connection with the shooting.
The station is used as a base by armed officers on the nearby airport’s Aviation Security Command, and the constable had just started his shift. A labourer said: “I went to the pub with a couple of mates at around 2pm. Pretty soon after we heard a bang. It was really loud.
“It sounded like a gunshot but I thought at worst it was someone getting rid of the pigeons. When we came out there were police cars lining the road along the side of the station and we knew something serious had happened.”
Zane Hussain, 27, who works at Masala Indian restaurant in Pier Road, said: “Emergency services started arriving at around 2.30pm. First police, then ambulances and then we saw the forensics teams.
“I know a lot of the coppers who work in the station, but I didn’t want to ask any of them what was going on because they looked upset and busy I could sense it was something unusual.”
An inquest is due to open tomorrow as a report is prepared by officers from the Directorate of Professional Standards. A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “A serving Metropolitan Police officer was found suffering gunshot injuries at North Woolwich police station at around 2.30pm on Sunday. London Ambulance Service attended. The male officer, aged in his thirties, was pronounced dead at 2.52pm. Next of kin have been informed. We await formal identification.
