Streatham attack: Mother 'instantly knew' son was responsible for attack

Sudesh Amman was killed by police on Streatham High Road

The mother of a terrorist shot dead by police during a stabbing spree said she instantly knew he was responsible when she first heard about the attack, an inquest has heard.

Sudesh Amman, 20, was shot in Streatham, south London, on 2 February 2020 after stabbing two people.

Haleema Khan told his inquest he had called her shortly before the attack and said: "Bye bye, I love you Mummy."

However, Ms Khan said she had had "no idea" her son was going to strike.

Amman was shot by police who had been tracking his movements, within 62 seconds of launching the attack. The man and woman he targeted both survived.

Speaking at the Royal Courts of Justice through a Tamil interpreter, Ms Khan said she had been on the phone to her husband when she saw a news alert about the stabbing on Streatham High Road.

The 20-year-old was captured on CCTV during the attack

In her witness statement, she said: "I saw that someone was shot dead in Streatham at 2pm.

"I knew it was Sudesh. I saw on a website that the dead man was wearing (his brother's) jacket and his shoes."

Ms Khan then called the Probation Service to tell officers that her 20-year-old son had been wearing the clothing, the inquest heard.

She told Jonathan Hough QC, counsel to the inquest, that she called her husband and they both tried to call the 20-year-old.

"I was shocked," she said. "I kept crying. All my children were running to me and asking why I was crying."

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The inquest previously heard how Amman was deemed to be "one of the most dangerous individuals" that police and MI5 teams had investigated and that the Probation Service denied there had been a "missed opportunity" to stop him.

Jurors have also been told that police had asked the prison governor not to release Amman from HMP Belmarsh, the month before the attack. However, this happened on 23 January as there was no mechanism to prevent it.

The inquest continues.

Amman served his sentence at HMP Belmarsh