How the Streatham terror attack unfolded

Sudesh Amman was shot dead around a minute after launching a terror attack in a busy south London high street.

The fanatic, 20, was being followed by armed surveillance officers, having been released from prison on January 23.

Wearing a fake suicide vest, he left a bail hostel on Leigham Court Road just after 1.20pm on Sunday.

Amman then walked around a mile to Streatham High Road where he entered the Low Price Store shortly before 2pm.

Scotland Yard said it was around 60 seconds between him going inside the store and launching the attack outside, while he was shot about a minute after he started stabbing people.

According to witnesses, he took a cheap knife from the shelves, described as up to 10 inches in length with a white handle.

Despite the shopkeeper’s attempts to stop him, the convicted terrorist fled from the store, removed the packaging from the blade and stabbed a woman in her 50s in the back.

Seconds later, Amman stabbed a man outside the White Lion pub just a few buildings further up the road, as armed police officers gave chase.

Members of the public went to the aid of the man in his 40s as he collapsed to the ground, while the woman asked for help for her injuries.

Other members of the public were later seen huddled around a second woman outside a Cash Converters store, who is thought to have been injured by glass after police fired a shot at the terrorist.

Up to three armed officers, dressed in civilian clothing, shouted after Amman as he ran up the road in the direction of Streatham Hill railway station.

People including children took shelter in nearby shops as the incident unfolded on the high street, and a helicopter was seen hovering over the area.

A witness heard the first shot, followed by a 20-second gap, then up to four shots as Amman was finally stopped outside a branch of Boots just 100 metres from the shop where the rampage began.

Video footage showed three officers as they kept their weapons fixed on Amman while he flailed on the ground, his arms and legs kicking into the air.

A fourth officer rushed onto the scene on a blue motorbike while a witness filmed from a passing bus, saying: “This ain’t real, this ain’t real.”

As Amman fell still, an officer with a gun kicked away the knife before rushing back as he spotted the hoax suicide vest on the 20-year-old’s chest.

One witness described the device as “silver canisters on his chest”.

After the fake vest was spotted, officers began shouting at each other and members of the public, clearing the area.

Movie-goers at the nearby Odeon were evacuated and urged to leave by the back of the cinema, as officers went into cafes and shops to evacuate.

Amman’s body lay untouched outside Boots as police officers kept the area clear before determining the vest was a fake.

The London Ambulance Service was called just before 2pm and three victims were taken by ambulance to south London hospitals.

The man in his 40s is no longer considered to be in a life-threatening condition following treatment, and is now said to be in a serious but stable condition.

The woman in her 50s has been discharged from hospital, as well as the second woman, in her 20s.