THIS POST FEATURES ELEMENTS AND AN UPDATE ADDED ON SATURDAY 25 AND SUNDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2017
After several terror attacks in London and the UK this year, everyone has the threat of terror in the backs of their mind and in London today those fears came to the fore when “numerous” 999 calls reported gunfire at Oxford Circus Tube station and Oxford Street sent people fleeing into “significant panic.” Thankfully it was a false alarm. Armed police responded to the reports as if it was a terror attack under way, and descended in force on the area forcing the closure of Oxford Circus Tube station and Bond Street Tube station as well as nearby streets.
A BBC reporter on the scene, Helen Bushby, said that people said there was gunshots and a “mass stampede” ensued with people dropping their shopping and running in panic: “They were crying, they were screaming, they were dropping their shopping bags. It was a very panicked scene.” One eyewitness told Miss Bushby that she was in Topshop on Oxford Street when people began dropping their shopping and running as quickly as they could. Another witness, Greg Owen, was at Oxford Circus station. He said: “I was next to the Tube station and everyone started screaming and shouting and then a flood of people came up the stairs.”
However, after extensive searches, no evidence of gunshots or casualties caused by an attack could be found and by this evening, the operation had been stood down and the area and Tube stations reopened. Some 16 people were injured, sustaining minor injuries in what one eyewitness described as a “stampede” to get away from the area. The Metropolitan Police (MET) tweeted just after 6pm:
“Our response on #OxfordStreet has now been stood down. If you sought shelter in a building please now leave, and follow the direction of police officers on the ground if you need assistance.”
Meanwhile, British Transport Police tweeted:
“A big thank you for bearing with us whilst we and @metpoliceuk responded to #OxfordCircus. Armed officers were quickly on the scene, no evidence of gunfire found. The area was searched swiftly and we are working to lift cordons and reopen stations.”
Police remain on the scene, partly to reassure people and London Mayor Sadiq Khan praised the emergency services “swift response.” The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were due at the London Palladium theatre for the Royal Variety Performance as the armed response was underway. Their arrival was delayed by an hour by the incident, but according to Kensington Palace they were in time for the start of the performance though a pre-show meet-and-greet with the performers was abandoned.
Today is Black Friday, so Oxford Street – which is always one of London’s busiest shopping streets – would have been even more crowded. The incident also started during the evening rush hour so many more people would have been heading for the Tube on their way home from work. For over an hour Oxford Street was all but deserted except for the emergency services.
The reaction to this alert demonstrates, as The Guardian said, how “jittery many have become at the end of a year in which the capital and Manchester have been targeted by five terrorist attacks.” The incident seems to have been triggered on the westbound Central Line platform at Oxford Circus tube station when people believed they heard gunshots. People began flooding out of the station, which then triggered the crowds on Oxford Street to respond to their panic with more panic. The panic seems to have also been fuelled by instant messages of gunshots on social media. One witness said he saw an elderly woman and a man carrying a child knocked over in the stampede: “There were people running in all directions.”
The stations were closed within minutes as police flooded the area, telling people to take refuge in the nearest building: “If you are in a building stay in a building, if you are on the street in Oxford Street leave the area.” One witness, Andrea Acedo, 21, a student at Westminster University – which is a few hundred metres from Oxford Circus, said that they were locked in: “I was in class and there was a helicopter, lot of ambulances and police cars. Then I heard that someone was shooting people but we didn’t know where, so they had to lock down the university so no-one could come in.”
In a spirit often attributed to the British, the traders on Oxford Street quickly reopened after the police stood down their operation. This spirt of “Keep Calm and Carry On” was tested in the face of fear of another terror attack but the response was completely understandable in light of the four terror attacks London has suffered this year alone. Yet once the incident was over, the people as they always do quickly get back to living their lives. The threat of terrorism has for decades been very real, first from the Irish Republican Army (IRA) terror campaign and now with Islamic terrorism. People in the UK know this but the IRA bombings never stopped the vast majority of them getting on with their day-to-day lives, and Islamic terrorism of late will not do so either.
Although some shops remained closed due to broken glass or objects in the stores caused by the panicking people, the Washington Post summed up the general return to normal after the police declared it a false alarm: “Minutes after the police lifted the cordon around Oxford Street, normal life resumed. The parked double-decker buses started up their engines. Some storekeepers opened their shops. Thousands of people carrying shopping bags flooded back into the area to seek out Black Friday sales.”
There is of course no alternative but just get on with things. You cannot hide away in fear of terrorism. That would be illogical in that the chances of being killed in a terror incident are very low compared to risk of death in so many other ways. It is also giving terrorists a victory of sorts in that they achieve their aim of terrorising the population and force them and their elected representatives in Government to respond in draconian or disproportionate ways.
Some more eyewitness accounts:
Mattias Nilsson, 45, in town for a Premier League match heard people shouting “Shooting! Terrorists!” He continued: “We just ran. Everyone started running. This is making me nervous.”
Caroline Rigby, 33, a journalist was on Carnaby Street “when a wave of hundreds of people started running towards me screaming and panicking. Police told everyone to get off the street and put it on lockdown. Then it seemed calm, until another wave of panic and screaming and people ran into the shop I was in and we were bundled into [the] basement.”
Witness on Twitter: “There was a fight on the westbound platform than involved about 20 people. There was a lot of screaming, shouting and crying. As I got on to the tube the comms speaker announced the station was getting evacuated and for everyone to leave.”
Julian Druker, on Twitter: “Crowds running through Oxford Circus area, still a v confusing scene.”
UPDATE: Saturday 25 November 2017
By yesterday evening it was becoming clear that the cause of the panic at Oxford Circus was an “altercation” on the westbound Circle Line platform. Police released the images above of two men they wished to speak to in connection with the altercation. The two men have since been questioned by the police, after they voluntarily attended a police station after their photos were released. (NOTE: The two men were released without charge on Sunday 26 November). The altercation seems to have prompted an alert at the station, which then triggered an automatic evacuation of the station. This, and reports of loud bangs, led to people beginning to flee the station fearful it was a terrorist attack. As they poured out into the street, shoppers saw what was going on and the panic quickly spread down the street. There was more panic as people began barricading themselves inside shops and buildings which then went onto lockdown.
The first armed response vehicle was on the scene within one minute of the first 999 call, which is very impressive but aided by the fact that London is permanently on alert for terror attacks having had experienced four this year alone.
“Apparently…” & “Someone said…” Twitter erupts with rumour, gossip and misinformation
As people fled Oxford Circus tube station onto Oxford Street, many were immediately taking to Twitter and other social media to tell people what was happening and what they thought was causing it. This undoubtedly contributed to the panic that ensued as people saw these alerts on social media and responded. The problem of course was that there was no terror attack, no gunshots had been fired, and they had no evidence other than the sight of panicked people and reports on Twitter and what other people were telling them that there was something wrong.
It makes sense if you see a wave of panicked people fleeing a Tube station to assume that something is wrong and to get inside a building or away from the scene as quickly as possible. It seems, however, that many people instead took to Twitter to share gossip, rumour and misinformation as well as instead of seeking cover and safety, to take and share video. Below I have included some examples from Twitter of comments people made on Twitter.
I’ll start with singer Olly Murs (right) who was shopping at Selfridges on Oxford Street at the time of the incident. He immediately took to Twitter to tell his 7.8 million followers: “Get out of Selfridges now gun shots!! I’m inside.” This tweet suggests that their was an attack in Selfridges itself, which of course there wasn’t. The famous store is a mile down Oxford Street from Oxford Circus tube station. The store was evacuated and Mr Murs returned to Twitter, this time a little more cautious: “Really not sure what’s happened! I’m in the back office … but people screaming and running towards exits!”
Mr Murs was criticised for spreading rumours and contributing to the panic, to which he responded: “It’s easy to say now it was nothing but in a state of shock and panic I was trying to make people aware of what was happening. Which I was led to believe by staff and customers that someone was shooting.” Selfridges later said that the store was evacuated “as a precautionary measure” and added: “We have been working with @MetPoliceUK and can confirm that there were no recorded incidents in store.”
Mr Murs was also condemned by TV presenter Piers Morgan. It the criticism by Mr Morgan, Mr Murs responded: “Listen Piers! I was shopping and than all of sudden the whole place went mad, I mean crazy people running & screaming towards exits. We found a small office to hide to which loads of staff and people were saying there was shots fired. If you was there you’d have understood mate.”
Another celebrity in the area was comedian Russell Brand (left) who posted a video to Twitter from Barclays Bank on Hanover Square, where he said he was with “about 20” other people. With 12.3 million followers, his comments could certainly have contributed, at least, to the confusion around Oxford Circus and Oxford Street. In the video he said: “To be here in the present, what you experience is people running down the street, people sort of like panicked and the spread of panic. Some people saying they’ve heard gun shots, a young guy on Oxford Street, other people are worried because their relatives are still shopping and it’s amazing to be in news as news develops and it’s amazing to be in a bank on lockdown unable to leave it. It’s an absolutely fascinating situation to see how people respond in crisis in the middle of an incident like this. Within an hour we’ll have more information.”
One celebrity who took a more measure and calm response on Twitter was the comedian Jason Manford (right) who was in the area for the Royal Variety Performance at the nearby London Palladium Theatre. He marked himself as “safe” on Twitter and posted: “Round corner from Oxford Circus Station at Royal Variety Performance, seems to have calmed down pretty quickly. Brief panic, but everyone looks safe hopefully. Police marvellous as usual.” He posted this tweet around half-an-hour after the first 999 calls were made.
The following comments were all posted to Twitter using the hashtags #OxfordCircus and #OxfordStreet. It is interesting to see also that many Tweets were bemoaning the crowding on Oxford Street on Black Friday and that Oxford Circus was closed because of overcrowding, seemingly unaware of the incident.
@GregOwen – “Guy with gun on #oxfordstreet near #oxfordcircus I’m in the middle of it. Currently taking cover in French Connection.”
@GregOwen – “Latest update from the police: ‘we can’t give you specifics. But there’s been shots fired and explosives. So please stay in the shop and move to the back’.”
@GregOwen – “I have an inbox full of journalists asking for phone interviews. I can’t take calls right now. I think it’s a bit off key to be doing median the middle of a packed shop full of scared people. I’ll continue to tweet.”
@SarahDavies64 – “I’m in a cafe toilet near #oxfordstreet. People running and screaming from Argyll St towards Liberty’s.”
@DessieRascal – “Bomb goes off in John Lewis #OxfordStreet.”
@AlanFisher100 – “Gun shots heard at Oxford Circus underground station in London. #OxfordCircus #OxfordStreet.”
@malsimons – “Hearing a lorry has run into pedestrians on Oxford Street. Someone just popped in to say. Rumour at the moment. #oxfordstreet But only around the corner / downstairs.”
@JustCallMeSophs – “Horrific scenes at Oxford Circus today. Hope the mans okay.”
@DailyMailUK (A British tabloid) – “’Gunshots fired’ as armed police officers surround Oxford Circus station after ‘lorry ploughs into pedestrians’.”
@DailyMailUK – “Witnesses describe seeing a lorry surrounded by police on a pavement covered with blood.”
@ITVNews (A British TV channel) – “Live now on our Facebook page. Armed police respond to incident at Oxford Circus.”
@TheSun (A British tabloid) – “Olly Murs caught up in panic as thousands evacuated on #OxfordStreet as ‘gunshots fired’.”
@Telegraph (A British newspaper) – “#OxfordCircus evacuated as armed police respond to a ‘gunshot’ incident.”
@Izzaizelan – “Gunshots were heard on Oxford Street amidst Black Friday shopping, while shoppers panicked looking for safe areas #OxfordCircus #OxfordStreet.”
@KayBurley (Sky News presenter) – “Man with gun in Oxford Street. Stay away from the area. Tune to @SkyNews NOW.”
@bakingjames – “In the Royal Society for Medicine opposite John Lewis, Oxford Street. Crowd run into lecture theatre, crying, saying there’s a shooting. Now locked. Police say gang incident involving automatic weapons; no confirmation of this.”
@Noorrii3 – “I’m pretty sure I heard three gun shots in Selfirdges. Man the incident just keeps replaying in my head #oxfordcircus #oxfordstreet.”
@vytautepr – “Were just at the epicenter of #OxfordCircus accident yesterday, heard the shots as well. This is the first time when I truly don’t know if we should trust media and police when claiming that it was just a false alert. For all of us, hiding in the basements and shops, it wasn’t.”
@jasmineacopper – “London is hiding the truth about what happened in #OxfordCircus today, no mention of what happened in Selfridges. I ran from multiple gunshots that came from within the store about 30 ft away from me and so did everyone else, that was no false alarm.”
Sources & Further Reading:
- Oxford Circus Tube station: Police reopen Tube stations after alert – BBC – Friday 24 November 2017
- Oxford Circus Tube incident: As it happened (VIDEOS) – BBC – Friday 24 November 2017
- Oxford Street panic subsides after central London alert (inc. VIDEO) – The Guardian – Friday 24 November 2017 – by Ian Cobain, Vikram Dodd and Patrick Greenfield
- Oxford Circus: police stood down after incident in central London – as it happened – The Guardian – Friday 24 November 2017 – by Haroon Siddique
- Oxford Circus incident: share your eyewitness accounts (inc. VIDEO) – The Guardian – Friday 24 November 2017 – by Maeve Shearlaw and Guardian readers
- Oxford Circus Station in London Reopens After Panicked Evacuation – New York Times – Friday 24 November 2017 – by Stephen Castle and Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura
- Oxford Circus: Platform ‘altercation’ caused tube panic – BBC – Saturday 25 November 2017
- Oxford Circus: Two men quizzed after Tube panic – BBC – Saturday 25 November 2017
- As holiday shopping season opens, a scare on London’s Oxford Street – Washington Post – Friday 24 November 2017 – by Katie Adam and William Booth (VIDEO)
- We live with terror attacks. The panic on Oxford Street makes perfect sense – The Guardian – Sunday 26 November 2017 – by Matthew d’Ancona
- No terrorists, but Oxford St panic was still terrifying – The Guardian – Sunday 26 November 2017 – by Barbara Ellen
- Oxford Circus incident: Two men who handed themselves in to police released – The Independent – Sunday 26 November 2017 – by Samuel Osborne
- Oxford Circus: Armed police response after ‘shots fired’ at Tube station and on London’s busiest shopping street – Evening Standard – Saturday 25 November 2017 – by Hatty Collier, Patrick Grafton-Green, & Fiona Simpson (inc. VIDEO)
- Terror scare sparks mass panic on London’s busiest shopping street as false alarm sees armed police swoop on Oxford Street – Evening Standard – Saturday 25 November 2017 – by Fiona Simpson (inc. VIDEO)
- Oxford Circus: Alarmed shoppers flee as swathe of central London put on lockdown – Evening Standard – Saturday 25 November 2017 – by Patrick Grafton-Green (inc. VIDEO)
- Oxford Circus: Terror alert on London’s busiest shopping street declared false alarm – Evening Standard – Saturday 25 November 2017 – by Hatty Collier & Patrick Grafton-Green (inc. VIDEO)
- Oxford Circus: Piers Morgan accuses Olly Murs and Russell Brand of sparking hysteria with ‘fake news’ tweets amid major terror scare – Evening Standard – Saturday 25 November 2017 – by Patrick Grafton-Green
- Oxford Circus terror scare: Nine people rushed to hospital as false alarm sparks mass panic on London’s busiest shopping street – Evening Standard – Saturday 25 November 2017 – by Fiona Simpson (inc. VIDEO)
- Oxford Circus: Platform ‘altercation’ could have sparked mass terror scare in central London – Evening Standard – Saturday 25 November 2017 – by Chloe Chaplain
- Oxford Circus: Two men quizzed by police after terror scare in central London – Evening Standard – Saturday 25 November 2017 – by Sean Morrison
- Is it right to say people caught in a terror scare ‘panic’? – BBC – Tuesday 28 November 2017
