Shootout in London suburb

2008-05-06 21:53

London - Armed police returned fire after they were shot at in an upmarket west London suburb late on Tuesday, Scotland Yard said.

The shooting, in Markham Square, Chelsea, just off the suburb's popular shopping street, Kings Road, took place just before 17:00, a spokesperson said.

Armed police, she said, were forced to return fire after they were shot at. It is unclear how many gunmen were involved.

Witness reports said more than half a dozen shots had been fired. It is also not known what sparked the incident.

"It is an ongoing incident," the spokesperson said.

"Officers, including armed officers, are attending the address. "It is believed shots have been fired at police. Firearm officers have discharged their weapons."

The spokesperson said there were no reports of injuries and no arrests had been made. She could not say how many gunmen were involved or how many shots had been fired.

She said Kings Road, a busy and upmarket road that usually thronged with shoppers, was closed.

Shoppers have told to stay in the shops and residents have been told by police to lock their doors and stay away from the windows.

A waiter at the nearby Benihana restaurant described it as a scary situation.

"We have just heard some gunshots - about half a dozen," the worker, who did not want to be named, told Reuters by phone.

Another eyewitness told Sky News: "I heard six or seven shots coming from an area near a bank - they sounded like fire-crackers."

Shop manager Shan Nimalakumar, 36, told the Daily Mail's website that he was locked inside the health store Holland and Barratt with one customer and two members of staff.

"The police won't let us anywhere near," he said.

"We are now stuck in the shop. They said 'stay in the shop, lock the door and go to the back'."

The Kings Rd is a favourite shopping strip to London's rich and famous while the area is home to dozens of million-pound plus homes.

No other details were immediately available.

- Reuters