Streatham terror attack: Inquest to probe attacker's shooting

Streatham attacker Sudesh Amman was aged 18 when he was jailed for terror offences in 2018

A jury inquest will examine the armed police operation that intervened in the Streatham terror attack.

Sudesh Amman, 20, was shot dead by a police surveillance team after he went on a daytime stabbing spree on Streatham High Road on 2 February.

Two minutes before the shooting, Amman - who was wearing a hoax suicide vest - stole a knife from a shop and stabbed two people in the street.

A man and woman who were attacked by Amman survived their injuries.

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Amman had been released from prison into a bail hostel days before the attack where he had served half of a three years and four months sentence.

He had been jailed in 2018 after admitting six counts of possessing information useful to a terrorist, including knife fighting manuals, and seven counts of disseminating terrorist publications.

The incident happened at about 14:00 GMT

Jonathan Hough QC, counsel to the inquest at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, said a jury was mandatory due to the fact Amman was "killed by the acts of police officers".

Jury inquests are automatically triggered when a person dies because of the actions of a state agent, regardless of whether there is any suggestion of wrongdoing.

Official participants in the inquest will include Sudesh Amman's mother, the Met Police, Ministry of Justice, and police watchdog the IOPC, he added.

Following the attack, counter terror police gathered 349 witness statements and obtained body worn video from 35 police officers who were at or around the scene.

Armed police guarded the the sealed-off street after the attack

Mr Hough said some of the issues likely to be examined by the inquest jury include the attacker's behaviour and movements in the days leading up to his death, the monitoring of Amman after his release from prison and the surveillance operation on the day of his death.

The inquest is expected to take up to three weeks and will begin in 2021.