Police still working to find out whether anyone else is in flat as incident forces closure of Lewisham High Street. A London high street has been closed off after armed police were in a stand-off with a man seen brandishing a knife and shouting out of a window. Pictures were posted on social media of a man in a dressing gown waving a knife out of the window of a flat above HSBC in Lewisham High Street on Monday.
The Metropolitan Police said officers are speaking with the man and are still working to find out whether anyone else is in the flat. A local shop worker, who asked to remain anonymous, told The Independent: “Some guy is shouting out the window. They’ve locked half the high street off.”. Describing the man as growing “more irate in the last hour”, he added: “You can see he has a knife.”. A food retailer at Lewisham Market said the stand-off had been going on since late morning. The woman, who did not want to be named, added: "It's a waiting game.
"He's hiding himself around the corner because he knows they're pointing guns at him. At first nobody knew what was going on. "They keep moving the police cordon back.”. A branch of HSBC opposite closed as a precaution, and the bank said no customers or staff were involved. The Lewisham High Street section of the A20 remains closed. Officers were called to the scene at around 10.45am and the incident is still ongoing, with the London Ambulance Service and the London Fire Brigade also in attendance.
The force said in a statement: “Police were called to a disturbance on Lewisham High Street, at around 10.45am on Monday. “Officers are currently in attendance at the scene alongside the London Ambulance Service and the London Fire Brigade. “We are speaking to a man inside an address at the location. “Inquiries are ongoing to establish whether anyone else is inside the property.”. The high street remains closed while the police, ambulance and fire services are at the scene.
