Stun gun used on armed man near Buckingham Palace
LONDON (AP) - Police used a stun gun to arrest a man armed with knives outside Buckingham Palace on Sunday, as throngs of tourists gathered to watch the Changing of the Guard ceremony there.
Scotland Yard said the man, thought to be in his 50s, was spotted carrying two knives outside the central gate of the London tourist landmark. He did not threaten other people at the scene, but when challenged by police he acted aggressively.
Officers used the stun gun on him and took him to a London police station, Scotland Yard said. No one was injured.
A video posted onto YouTube by a witness showed mounted police clearing tourists from the area as the unidentified man put a kitchen knife to his neck and shouted. The man took several swipes with one of his knives at an approaching policeman, who fired the stun gun. The man then fell to the ground and was surrounded by policemen in front of hundreds of onlookers.
Other witnesses said the man had broken through a security cordon and was attempting to walk toward the palace guards when he was stopped by police.
About 15 officers surrounded the man once he'd been subdued, said witness Kevin Burrows, 33. "Everybody was standing back when it happened, and people were actually quite calm. I think everyone was surprised," said Burrows.
The confrontation took place just before noon - a busy time when visitors from around the world flock to the front of the palace to watch the Changing of the Guard ceremony, which takes place every other morning during the winter.
Two knives and a pair of sneakers were left inside a cordoned off area outside the palace gates.
Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, were not at the palace at the time, and its staff declined to comment about the confrontation.
Scotland Yard said the man, thought to be in his 50s, was spotted carrying two knives outside the central gate of the London tourist landmark. He did not threaten other people at the scene, but when challenged by police he acted aggressively.
Officers used the stun gun on him and took him to a London police station, Scotland Yard said. No one was injured.
A video posted onto YouTube by a witness showed mounted police clearing tourists from the area as the unidentified man put a kitchen knife to his neck and shouted. The man took several swipes with one of his knives at an approaching policeman, who fired the stun gun. The man then fell to the ground and was surrounded by policemen in front of hundreds of onlookers.
Other witnesses said the man had broken through a security cordon and was attempting to walk toward the palace guards when he was stopped by police.
About 15 officers surrounded the man once he'd been subdued, said witness Kevin Burrows, 33. "Everybody was standing back when it happened, and people were actually quite calm. I think everyone was surprised," said Burrows.
The confrontation took place just before noon - a busy time when visitors from around the world flock to the front of the palace to watch the Changing of the Guard ceremony, which takes place every other morning during the winter.
Two knives and a pair of sneakers were left inside a cordoned off area outside the palace gates.
Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, were not at the palace at the time, and its staff declined to comment about the confrontation.
If he had done this in some parts of the US, 10 people would have been injured or killed by the 50 bullets fired by 3 or 4 armed 2nd amendment leaning bystanders...
@OrcasThunder Wow you're stupid. It's just lucky a cop wasn't killed.
 @Common Sense  @OrcasThunder "It's just lucky a cop wasn't killed."
No, luck had nothing to do with it.
It was training and teamwork that allowed them to subdue the man without firing a gun.
Of course, these aren't Seattle cops we are talking about....
 @Common Sense  @OrcasThunder Ah, right...you are an expert on stupid...
Did you even watch the video? With that crowd so close around them there was no way they could safely use a gun to take him down.
@OrcasThunder Please get fresh air as it could be CO2 poisoning.  You're getting more stupid with every post.
And 2 of the dead would have been the hero citizens shot by the other heroes - who thought they were more bad guys shooting into the crowd...
@OrcasThunder Meanwhile, thousands of Americans die each year at the hands of incompetent doctors. Hundres more will die by drunk drivers. But let's just concentrate on gun control! (sarcasm)
 @Datsuyama http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-19/american-gun-deaths-to-exceed-traffic-fatalities-by-2015.html
 @DarkParty Cool, thanks!  That was an interesting read for sure... but I was hoping to get the citation from @T H I S  when he said, "Did you know by 2015, it is projected that gun deaths will outnumber traffic deaths? I am guess that you did not. "
 @Datsuyama http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/11856.php
 @T H I S  @cawlnaduckaduck Can you post the cite for that stat? I'd like to check it out. Thanks.
 @cawlnaduckaduck  Don't forget the ever so ignored under the counter poisonings. Kids that are poisoned die every day because an incompetent parent left poisons where kids could get to them. But no gun is involved so the problem is kept out of sight by the progressive lying media.
 @cawlnaduckaduck and yet we have passed regulations to reduce incompetent doctors and protect the public from them, right?Â
And we have reduced the number of DUI deaths through regulation and law enforcement, correct?Â
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Did you know by 2015, it is projected that gun deaths will outnumber traffic deaths? I am guess that you did not.Â
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 @cawlnaduckaduck  @OrcasThunder The difference between the doctors and drivers - and the open carry gun nuts in this case - is that the drivers and doctors are licensed, the gun nut aren't.
Ban to time knives!
 @dylandawgie https://www.gov.uk/find-out-if-i-can-buy-or-carry-a-knife
mean while, two men are shot and killed at gun range in the US.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/03/justice/texas-sniper-killed/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
If only he had been armed, he could have defended himself.Â
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December, 20+ kids killed in gun attack on same day 20+ kids injured in knife attack in China.
Now, man with knife stoppped by stun gun in UK on the same day people are killed by guns, at a gun range.Â
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But remember folks. more guns is the answer. We need more people with more guns. That is how we are going ot get gun violence down.Â
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 @T H I S
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http://www.ibtimes.com/chinas-increasingly-common-stabbings-turn-fatal-993026
 @beetle73 You do realize that you posted a news story about the account I mentioned above, and one other account of 1 other kife attack with 1 fatality.  And that is it, right?Â
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Did you have a point, or..... let's just stop that and say no.