Streatham Terror Attack: Everything We Know So Far

• Three people injured in attack carried out by convicted terrorist in Streatham on Sunday
• Two people were stabbed by 20-year-old Sudesh Amman, who was wearing a fake suicide vest, at around 2pm
• Amman was shot dead by police at the scene of the incident
• He had recently been freed from jail, where he was serving sentence of three years and four months for terror offences

Police have carried out searches on a number of homes in south London and Bishop Stortford after a terror attack in Streatham on Sunday left three people injured. 

Here’s everything we know about the attack and Sudesh Amman so far. 

How many people have been injured? 

Three people were injured during the attack – two after being stabbed by Amman and one after being injured by shattering glass after police discharged a firearm. 

All three were taken to hospital by ambulance. 

Police have confirmed that a man in his 40s is no longer in critical condition following treatment. 

A woman in her 50s received treatment for non-life threatening injuries and was discharged from hospital. 

A woman in her 20s, who was injured by the glass, is receiving continued medical treatment. 

Reports circulating on social media suggested that it was 30 minutes before medics arrived at the scene, however the London Ambulance Service clarified on Monday morning that they arrived in just four minutes. 

Graham Norton, the services’ strategic commander, published a statement online which explained that first responders had initially been directed to a rendezvous point by police until it was deemed safe for them to approach and treat the injured. 

Scotland Yard also revealed that armed officers had been following the suspect on foot as part of a “proactive counter-terrorism surveillance operation” on Streatham High Road.

Residents of nearby flats and people hiding in shops along the road were quickly evacuated as specialist officers determined that the device worn by Amman was a hoax. 

On Monday evening, the Metropolitan Police said its officers responded within 60 seconds of Amman’s attack but refused to reveal more details about their surveillance operation on the terror convict.

What do we know about the attacker?  

 Police are yet to formally identify the attacker, but have said they are “confident” he is 20-year-old Sudesh Amman.

It is understood Amman, who was jailed for possessing and distributing terrorist documents in December 2018, had been freed in the past six weeks.

Sam Armstrong, from the Henry Jackson Society – a foreign policy think tank – said Amman was thought to have been staying in a bail hostel in Tulse Hill.

He said the society had warned in December that Amman was due for release within the next two months and should not be let out of prison.

Amman, who at the time of his sentencing was 18 years old and had an address in Harrow, north-west London, had been jailed for three years and four months.

Details about his previous convictions emerged in the hours after he was shot dead, with The Independent reporting at the time that he had encouraged his then-girlfriend to behead her parents and had stockpiled a combat knife, an air gun, and a black flag at his family home.

Forensic specialists who investigated him at the time found almost 350,000 media on Amman’s laptop, phone, and other devices, which included manuals on knife-fighting and bomb-making.

The North West London College student had written notes on how to make explosives and outlined his “goal” to be a martyr in a notebook, the Old Bailey heard in 2018. 

Judge Mark Lucraft QC said he was just 17 when he began gathering the material, and called the crimes “a very concerning series of offences”. 

Speaking to Sky News, Amman’s mother Haleema Faraz Khan described him as a “nice, polite boy” who had seemed “normal” when she visited him at his bail hostel on Thursday.

She told the broadcaster that he had become more religious since being in prison, and that she believed he had been radicalised while in high-security jail Belmarsh.

Khan also said that Amman, the eldest of her five sons, had also developed extreme views after looking at Islamist material online.

She said she’d “had a feeling” her son had carried out the attack in south London when she saw the news. “I saw it on the TV, that’s when I knew it was him,” she said.

“His name was there. That was the first time I heard.

“He didn’t answer his phone, I tried to ring him [after the attack].”

What have politicians said?

In the wake of the incident, Boris Johnson said he will announce plans on Monday for “fundamental changes to the system for dealing with those convicted of terrorism offences” following the attack.

He added: “Following the awful events at Fishmongers’ Hall in December, we have moved quickly to introduce a package of measures to strengthen every element of our response to terrorism – including longer prison sentences and more money for the police.”

Robert Buckland, the justice secretary, is expected to reveal more details about the government’s plans later today. 

Home secretary Priti Patel, noting the recently-introduced measures including blocking the early release of terrorist offenders, paid tribute to police “who were able to act very swiftly and also prevent any other further acts of violence and to protect the public”.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan published a statement via Twitter soon after the attack, writing that he was “in close contact with the Met commissioner and local representatives, and want to thank our police, security, and emergency services staff for their swift and courageous response. They are truly the best of us. 

“Terrorists seek to divide us and destroy our way of life – here in London we will never let them succeed.” 

Can I travel through the area? 

Streatham High Road, a major route through the area, remains closed on Monday morning. 

The Sutton and Croydon Guardian have reported extensive congestion in the area as forensic work continues. 

Nineteen bus routes are believed to have been disrupted by the ongoing closure. 

Can I help?

Deputy assistant commissioner of the Met Police, Lucy D’Orsi, released a statement in the aftermath of the incident urging members of the public with information to come forward.