A man has died after an incident involving armed police in Kensington.
The police watchdog is investigating what happened in west London on Saturday afternoon when the man died after he sustained gunshot wounds.
The Metropolitan Police said officers were called to reports of a man with a firearm seen entering a bank and bookmakers near Marloes Road at 3.04pm.
A taxi and a police tent erected in the middle of a cordon in Kensington High Street, London, where a man died after sustaining gunshot wounds in an incident involving armed officers close to Kensington Palace. Picture date: Saturday December 11, 2021.
Aaron Chown
The force said the man was then seen getting into a vehicle and leaving the area.
At 3.19pm, armed officers stopped a vehicle at the junction of Kensington Road and Palace Gate next to Kensington Gardens.
The Met said: “Shots were fired and a man sustained gunshot wounds.
“The London Ambulance Service and London Air Ambulance were called and the man was treated at the scene.”
Police said that despite the efforts of the emergency services, he was pronounced dead at 4.08pm.
Witnesses heard three shots, according to reports.
On Saturday night, forensic officers were working inside a police cordon that had been extended on Kensington High Street, while a tent erected next to a black car was surrounded by an unmarked police car and patrol vehicles.
Members of the public were being diverted away from the cordon through Kensington Gardens.
The Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards has been informed and the incident has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
The IOPC confirmed it has begun an investigation, with a spokesperson adding: “After being notified of the incident by the MPS, we sent investigators to the scene and the post-incident procedure to start gathering evidence,” a spokesperson said.
Police said efforts are under way to confirm the man’s identity and inform his next of kin.
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said crews were called at 3.23pm to reports of a shooting.
“We sent an ambulance, an incident response officer, a tactical response unit, a motorcycle response unit and an advanced paramedic. The London Air Ambulance car also responded,” they said.
“We treated a man on scene, who unfortunately died.”
