Lewisham (Parliament Politics Magazine) – A man arrested following an armed police standoff that locked down Lewisham has escaped custody, prompting a renewed manhunt by authorities.
Around 10.45 a.m. on February 10, a shirtless man was observed brandishing a knife from a window above a store, prompting police to evacuate Lewisham High Street.
Armed officers gathered in the street below as the man, dressed in a dressing gown, was seen ranting into it on camera. This led to a 15-hour standoff.
Eventually, at around two in the morning, a 33-year-old male was arrested and brought to a secure medical facility.
He was taken into police custody and freed on bail after being arrested on charges of affray and making death threats.
But the suspect never came back, and the police are now looking for him.
A doctor who works at Herbs & Acupuncture, a shop below the flat the man was seen shouting from, told Metro:
“It started from 11am. The guy is crazy, he was just in his room, and he’s just shouting.
He was just shouting, shouting, shouting. There are some police, the police came with their guns, they were all dressed in black and asked if they could get up to his flat.
It was quite scary, I think the guy has some issues. I’m scared now, we’ve locked the door and the police told us to do that.”
A food retailer at Lewisham Market said:
“It’s a waiting game.
He’s hiding himself around the corner because he knows they’re pointing guns at him,”
the woman, who did not want to be named, said.
“At first nobody knew what was going on. They keep moving the police cordon back.”
After being blocked off from their houses overnight in temperatures as low as two degrees, residents were permitted to return to their homes once all cordons were removed at six in the morning.
As a precaution, the HSBC branch across the street closed, and the bank claimed that neither employees nor clients were impacted.
The South East Area’s police chief, Detective Chief Superintendent Trevor Lawry, commended the locals for their patience.
What measures are in place to prevent similar incidents in Lewisham?
Lewisham invests heavily in training officers for professional and community-sensitive stop and search practices, including the use of Section 60 powers that allow searches without reasonable suspicion in serious violence contexts. Body-worn cameras help reduce complaints and increase accountability during these operations.
This aims to prevent violent incidents through proactive policing while maintaining strong community oversight and engagement.
Lewisham participates in the national Prevent program, part of the Government’s counter-terrorism strategy (CONTEST), which aims to stop people being drawn into terrorism or violent extremism. This involves safeguarding vulnerable individuals through early intervention, referrals, and multi-agency support, including mental health, education, and social services.