Remember that guy they shot in the London Subway. I said, “he’d better be a terrorist or they’re going to have a problem on their hands.” Guess what? He’s NOT a terrorist. I clicked on the reader response link and saw that the guy’s visa was most likely expired and that they were checking visas at subway stations. Additionally, the police were NOT wearing police uniforms so he had no reason to believe that they were cops. Apparently there have been some problems with people pretending to be cops and robbing and murdering people.
From a related BBC News Story:
‘Met Police chief Sir Ian Blair has apologised to the family of the Brazilian man shot dead by police in south London on Friday.
He said the death of Jean Charles de Menezes was a “tragedy”, but admitted more people could be shot as police hunt suspected suicide bombers.’
Stay tuned to see what develops. (BBC story below)
Police shot Brazilian eight times
Mr Menezes had been in London for more than three years
The man mistaken for a suicide bomber by police was shot eight times, an inquest into his death has heard.
Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes, 27, was shot seven times in the head and once in the shoulder, at Stockwell Tube station, south London, on Friday.
Det Insp Elizabeth Baker revealed the details at a hearing in London.
Security sources have said Mr Menezes had been in the UK on an out-of-date student visa, but his family deny this and are considering suing the police.
Mr Menezes’ cousin, Alex Pereira, who is based in London, said the police would “kill thousands of people” if they were not held accountable for what had happened at Stockwell.
He said: “They just kill the first person they see, that’s what they did. They killed my cousin, they could kill anyone.”
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) will investigate the shooting.
Nick Hardwick, head of the IPCC, said the commission needs to find out the truth of what happened “to ensure it can never happen again”.
He said that “if people haven’t acted in accordance with the law and their training” they would be held accountable.
Tony Blair said he was “desperately sorry” an innocent man had lost his life.
Suspects named
Meanwhile, detectives are still hunting for the men who attempted to blow up three London Tube trains and a bus last Thursday.
A total of five people have been arrested in connection with the attempted bombings and the police have named two suspects.
Muktar Said-Ibrahim, also known as Muktar Mohammed-Said, is suspected of attempting to bomb the Number 26 bus heading towards Hackney, in east London.
Yasin Hassan Omar, 24, is wanted in connection with an attempting bombing on the Victoria line between Oxford Circus and Warren Street stations.
There is also speculation about a fifth bomber, following the discovery of a backpack containing a device in a west London park on Saturday.
Under surveillance
The prime minister said it was right for Britain to express its “sorrow and deep sympathy” to Mr Menezes’ family.
But he said the police must be supported in doing their job.
He added that they would have been criticised had the suspect turned out to be a terrorist and they had failed to take action.
Mr Menezes’ cousin says the police “must pay”
London Mayor Ken Livingstone described Mr Menezes as a “victim of the terrorist attacks”.
He said: “Consider the choice that faced police officers at Stockwell last Friday – and be glad you did not have to take it.”
On Friday morning, Mr Menezes had left his flat in Tulse Hill and boarded a bus towards Stockwell Tube station to go to work.
He had been followed by police, who had his block of flats under surveillance in the hunt for the group behind Thursday’s attempted bombings.
When he was challenged by police in the Tube station, he fled, reportedly leaping the ticket barrier.
If you are going to have a war on terror, you have got to use brains to fight it not just brute force
Maria do Socorro
Over the past year there have been an increased number of immigration checks at Tube stations – a policy widely reported in Brazilian papers in London.
Police chased him on to a Tube train where he was shot dead.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission has opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death.
Cancer treatment
In Brazil, relatives are demanding answers to why Mr Menezes ran and why he was shot by police.
Cousin Maria do Socorro, speaking before details about the visa emerged, said she thought the police had acted “like amateurs”.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “If you are going to have a war on terror, you have got to use brains to fight it not just brute force.”
Friends of Mr Menezes in London said he had recently returned to Brazil for eight months to be with his father, who was being treated for cancer.
Fausto Soares, 26, said Mr Menezes had been sending money to pay for the treatment and was concerned how the family would now cope financially.
BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said the type of visa Mr Menezes had been given would normally be valid for one-and-a-half to two years.
He said Mr Menezes had not renewed the visa, adding: “That wouldn’t explain why he was shot, but it might provide an explanation as to why he ran away if – that is indeed what he did do.”