THIS is the tense moment a cop points a rifle at an alleged gunman's head after he reportedly raided a bookies and a bank.
Cops scrambled to a street just minutes from William and Kate's home in Kensington, West London, yesterday afternoon where the man was shot dead.
Officers were called to reports of a man with a firearm entering a bookmakers and a bank around Marloes Road in the capital yesterday.
Loud bangs were heard earlier yesterday afternoon, just yards from Kensington Palace after police were said to have fired several shots at the gunman in the back of a vehicle.
The force confirmed that despite emergency service's best efforts, the man could not be saved and died shortly after.
Efforts are under way to confirm the man's identity and to inform his next of kin.
Witnesses described hearing "three loud bangs" after a black vehicle was stopped by police around 3.20 yesterday at the junction.
Cops flooded the streets with blue lights as they responded to the incident at the junction of Kensington Road and Palace Gate.
An eyewitness who said they saw the horrific scenes unfold claims cops dragged the suspect from a cab after he was shot, before handcuffing and searching him.
He told The Sun: "He was shot in the car, then police handcuffed him and searched him at the same time."He was bleeding from his mouth and it looked like he was struggling to breathe.
The eyewitness added: "He was in the back of a cab, as a passenger, the police pulled in front of the car and forced it to stop.
"They shouted at him for about ten seconds to get out, saying 'hands up' and whatnot - it looked like he wasn't listening to them.
"And then they just went bang, bang, bang."
Katie Roberton, 40, was visiting the palace with her son. She said: “We heard these shots and I said to my boy, ‘My God, that sounds like gunshots’.
“It was not ‘bang, bang, bang’ but slower, all over in seven seconds.
“I stopped in my tracks, then we saw people running.
“It was really scary. I was with my son, so I had to stay calm for him. We just got out of there as soon as we could.”
NO TERROR THREAT
Other witnesses saw paramedics performing CPR on at least one person.
The Met Police said the incident was not terror-related and there was no risk to the public.
It has been referred to the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
A spokesperson for the Met said: "Shots were fired and a man sustained gunshot wounds.
"The London Ambulance Service and London Air Ambulance were called and the man was treated at the scene.
"Despite the best efforts of the emergency services, he was pronounced dead at 16:08hrs."
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said crews were called at 3.23pm to reports of a shooting.
"We sent an ambulance, an incident response officer, a tactical response unit, a motorcycle response unit and an advanced paramedic. The London Air Ambulance car also responded," they said.
"We treated a man on scene, who unfortunately died."
The IOPC confirmed it has begun an investigation following the incident.
"After being notified of the incident by the MPS, we sent investigators to the scene and the post-incident procedure to start gathering evidence," a spokesperson said.
A number of police cordons have been put in place along Kensington High Street, and police officers are keeping guard at the largest cordon between a Starbucks and a building named Broadwalk House.
Around 10 police vehicles are in place around the cordon.
A tent has been at erected in the middle of a cordon in Kensington High Street.
It has been placed next to a black car and is surrounded by one unmarked police car and three patrol vehicles.
Members of the public are being diverted away from the cordon through Kensington Gardens.
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