Man shot on London Underground unconnected to bombing, says Scotland Yard
{{date|July 23, 2005}}<br>

[[w:Scotland Yard|Scotland Yard]] issued a statement that [[w:Jean Charles de Menezes|Jean Charles de Menezes]], the 27-year-old Brazilian electrician [[Armed police shoot man dead on London Underground|shot to death yesterday]] by police in a London Underground station was "not connected" to [[Four small explosions strike London's transport system|Thursday's bombings]] and called the incident "a tragedy". A day earlier, the police commissioner said the man was "directly linked" to Thursday's attacks.  

The police statement said <blockquote> "We are now satisfied that he was not connected with the incidents of Thursday 21st July 2005. For somebody to lose their life in such circumstances is a tragedy and one that the Metropolitan Police Service regrets."
</blockquote>

The man was followed when he left a flat that had been under surveillence. He did not obey instructions from police (not in uniform) as he ran onto a Tube train at the station. [[Armed police shoot man dead on London Underground#Eyewitness accounts|Eyewitnesses]] said he "was wearing a large coat, unusual for the time of year", but didn't seem to have "any guns or anything like that; I didn't see him carrying anything. I didn't even see a bag to be quite honest."

Mark Whitby, apparently the closest eye witness said; "He half-tripped, was half-pushed to the floor. The policeman nearest to me had the black automatic pistol in his left hand, he held it down to the guy and unloaded five shots into him."

The shooting is being investigated by the [[w:Metropolitan Police Service|Metropolitan Police Service]]'s Directorate of Professional Standards and the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which investigates all fatal police shootings.

Home Secretary Charles Clarke described the shooting of Mr Menezes as an "absolute tragedy" before going on to say "I hope [the family] understand the police were trying to do their very best under very difficult circumstances."

Alex Pereira, a cousin of Mr Menezes, also living in the UK, was interviewed by the BBC and said "Apologies are not enough. I believe my cousin's death was result of police incompetence." He also stated that he believed his cousin had been "a victim of government's mistakes".

== Brazilian government reaction==

The Brazilian Government "look forward to receiving the necessary explanation from the British authorities on the circumstances which led to this tragedy" and have dispatched their foreign minister [[w:Celso Amorim|Celso Amorim]] to London in order to get an explanation from the British Foreign Secretary [[w:Jack Straw (politician)|Jack Straw]].

Mr Amorim said "The Brazilian government and the public are shocked and perplexed that a peaceful and innocent person should have been killed." Going on to say "Brazil is totally in solidarity with Britain in the fight against terror but people should be cautious to avoid the loss of innocent life."

== Sources ==

*{{source|url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050723/ap_on_re_eu/britain_underground;_ylt=AjBEJvlSqZQFVm4bjP5AvxGs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3b2NibDltBHNlYwM3MTY-
|title=UK Police: Man Killed Unrelated to Probe
|author=
|pub=Associated Press
|date=July 22, 2005}}

*{{source|url=http://cms.met.police.uk/news/major_operational_announcements/terrorist_attacks/press_conference_15_45_22_07_05 |title=Press conference - 15:45 - 22/07/05 |author= |pub=London Metropolitan Police |date=July 22, 2005}}

*{{source|url=http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-07-23T171132Z_01_SCH145033_RTRUKOC_0_SECURITY-BRITAIN.xml|title=British police admit shooting wrong man in bomb hunt|author=Matthew Jones and Jeremy Lovell|pub=Reuters|date=July 23, 2005}}

*{{source|url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/07/22/london.eyewitness/index.html
|title='He looked like a cornered fox'
|author=
|pub=CNN
|date=July 22, 2005}}

*{{source|url=http://news.yahoo.com/fc/world/london_bombings
|title=UK Police: Man Killed Unrelated to Probe 
|author={{w|Associated Press|AP}}
|pub=YahooNews
|date=July 23, 2005}}

*{{source|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4711021.stm
|title=Shot man not connected to bombing
|author=
|pub=BBC News Online
|date=July 24, 2005}}

*{{source|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4712061.stm
|title= Police chief 'sorry' over death
|author=
|pub=BBC News Online
|date=July 24, 2005}}

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[[Category:Crime and law]]
[[Category:London]]
[[Category:United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Brazil]]
[[Category:Metropolitan Police]]
[[Category:London Underground]]
[[Category:Independent Police Complaints Commission]]

[[de:London: Erschossener hatte keine Verbindung zum Terrorismus]]
[[es:Un brasileño es confundido con terrorista y muerto por la policía británica por error]]
[[fr:L'homme tué vendredi par police britannique n'était pas lié aux derniers attentats de Londres]]
[[pl:Scotland Yard: Mężczyzna zastrzelony w londyńskim metrze nie miał nic wspólnego z zamachami]]
[[pt:Brasileiro é confundido com terrorista e morto pela polícia britânica por engano]]
Scotland Yard issued a statement that Jean Charles de Menezes, the 27-year-old Brazilian electrician shot to death yesterday by police in a London Underground station was "not connected" to Thursday's bombings and called the incident "a tragedy". A day earlier, the police commissioner said the man was "directly linked" to Thursday's attacks.  

The police statement said  "We are now satisfied that he was not connected with the incidents of Thursday 21st July 2005. For somebody to lose their life in such circumstances is a tragedy and one that the Metropolitan Police Service regrets."


The man was followed when he left a flat that had been under surveillence. He did not obey instructions from police (not in uniform) as he ran onto a Tube train at the station. Eyewitnesses said he "was wearing a large coat, unusual for the time of year", but didn't seem to have "any guns or anything like that; I didn't see him carrying anything. I didn't even see a bag to be quite honest."

Mark Whitby, apparently the closest eye witness said; "He half-tripped, was half-pushed to the floor. The policeman nearest to me had the black automatic pistol in his left hand, he held it down to the guy and unloaded five shots into him."

The shooting is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Service's Directorate of Professional Standards and the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which investigates all fatal police shootings.

Home Secretary Charles Clarke described the shooting of Mr Menezes as an "absolute tragedy" before going on to say "I hope the family understand the police were trying to do their very best under very difficult circumstances."

Alex Pereira, a cousin of Mr Menezes, also living in the UK, was interviewed by the BBC and said "Apologies are not enough. I believe my cousin's death was result of police incompetence." He also stated that he believed his cousin had been "a victim of government's mistakes".

Mr Amorim said "The Brazilian government and the public are shocked and perplexed that a peaceful and innocent person should have been killed." Going on to say "Brazil is totally in solidarity with Britain in the fight against terror but people should be cautious to avoid the loss of innocent life."

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de:London: Erschossener hatte keine Verbindung zum Terrorismus
es:Un brasileño es confundido con terrorista y muerto por la policía británica por error
fr:L'homme tué vendredi par police britannique n'était pas lié aux derniers attentats de Londres
pl:Scotland Yard: Mężczyzna zastrzelony w londyńskim metrze nie miał nic wspólnego z zamachami
Brasileiro é confundido com terrorista e morto pela polícia britânica por engano
Crime and law London United Kingdom Brazil Metropolitan Police London Underground Independent Police Complaints Commission