A man is in a “life threatening” condition in hospital after he was shot by police at a home in London on Friday afternoon.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has launched an investigation into the actions of Met police officers during the incident at a property in Walthamstow, north-east London.
Police arrived at the property in Stow Crescent about 10am on Friday morning after receiving a report that a man inside “had a firearm and was making threats to kill”, a spokesperson for the Met said.
Police officers and negotiators then spent about four hours at the scene.
“At around 2pm, officers had reason to enter the property by force, and following this, discharged their weapons,” the spokesperson said. “The circumstances of what happened will form part of the investigation.”
The man was treated at the scene by police medics and the London ambulance service, before he was taken to hospital in a life-threatening condition.
Cordons remain in place around the property, and the public is being asked to stay away from the area.
“The incident is contained and there is no wider threat to the public,” the spokesperson said.
The matter has been referred to the Directorate of Professional Standards, who in turn made a mandatory referral to the IOPC.
An IOPC spokesperson said: “We can confirm that we have started an independent investigation into the actions of the Met police during an incident at an address in Walthamstow, east London, where we understand a man was shot by police this afternoon and taken to hospital.
“After being notified by the Met police we declared an independent investigation at 4.13pm this afternoon and have sent investigators to the scene and to the post-incident procedure to begin gathering evidence.
“Our investigation is in the very early stages.”
