Shocking footage shows Talhat Rehman, 54, a former Halal meat butcher shop owner (Kassam Halal Meat in Kingsbury Road), holding huge knife to his throat before being tasered by police as he ran towards them wielding two blades during Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace
Metropolitan Police confirm taser was used in central London at 11:50am
Photos show man holding knife to his throat during Changing of the Guard
Queen and Prince Philip were at Sandringham Estate in Norfolk at the time
Man arrested on suspicion of affray and has been taken to a police station
Read also a past article about the same man:
Held at gunpoint and beaten up with sticks
Held at gunpoint and beaten up with sticks
A man was tasered by police today after holding a knife to his throat outside Buckingham Palace.
The dramatic incident saw the man, Talhat Rehman, brandish two knives in front of hundreds of terrified tourists watching the popular Changing of the Guard event at 11.50am outside the palace in central London.
The scene was cordoned off 30 yards from the palace gates and an ambulance was nearby. Two knives with six-inch blades and a pair of Nike high top trainers lay inside the cordoned-off area.
Scary: The dramatic incident saw the man brandish two knives in front of hundreds of terrified tourists
Down: The man charged towards a police officer outside Buckingham Palace who fired a taser gun at him
Taser wire also lay on the floor with four plastic tubes for removing sharp objects. A hat and a black carrier bag containing paper material with a handkerchief beside it also lay on the ground.
Police at the scene were telling members of the public that a man ‘tried to make an exhibition of himself during the guard change’ and that there were ‘mental health issues’.
The Queen and Prince Philip were at the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk at the time of the incident. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said they would not comment as it was a police matter.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: ‘It was approximately 11.50. A man was seen outside the centre gate in possession of two knives.
The moment: This photo (unpixelated at source) was posted on Twitter by Josh Greenberg, captioned: ‘Another photo from #Buckingham palace moments ago – Male with a #knife to his neck #Tasered by #Police’
Police response: Twitter user Josh Greenberg also posted this picture from outside Buckingham Palace‘He was not making threats to members of the public but he was challenged by police. He acted aggressively and a taser was discharged.
‘There must have been about 15 police officers on foot who surrounded him once he’d been tasered’
Witness Kevin Burrows
‘He is thought to be in his 50s. He was arrested on suspicion of affray and has been taken to a central London police station.’
A video on YouTube shows the man putting a blade to his own neck and shouting before police shoot him with the taser.
Eyewitness Kevin Burrows, 33, from Surrey, said the man broke through a cordon as the Changing of the Guard was about to happen.
Left behind: Knives, a hat and taser wire in an cordoned off area outside Buckingham Palace in central London
On the ground: A pair of trainers and a backpack in a cordoned off area outside Buckingham Palace in LondonThe kitchen porter said: ‘I thought “Oh my God, I can’t believe it”. There must have been about 15 police officers on foot who surrounded him once he’d been tasered.
‘He was challenged by police. He acted aggressively and a taser was discharged’
Metropolitan Police spokesman
‘The police saw him really quickly and were obviously cautious. He was in his 40s I’d say and I think he had knives in both hands.
‘Everybody was standing back when it happened and people were actually quite calm, I think everyone was surprised.
‘They had to divert the procession away from him. I think he was making his way to the guards.’
On scene: Twitter user LondonPRGuru posted these pictures of the aftermath of the incident in central London
Police standing guard: A cordoned off area containing knives, a hat and taser wire outside Buckingham PalaceWitness Grant Shepherd posted a video of the incident on YouTube after tweeting: ‘Crazy man with a knife to his throat just stopped the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace.’
‘The man didn’t have the chance to get close to anyone as the police were right on him in seconds’
Witness Kevin Burrows
In the YouTube video, the man takes a series of swipes at an officer as the stun gun is fired.
But as it connects he falls to the ground watched by hundreds of tourists who had assembled to watch the changing of the guard and take photographs of the palace.
Witnesses said the band played on as the chaos unfolded. Mr Burrows added: ‘The man didn’t have the chance to get close to anyone as the police were right on him in seconds.’
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