Tulse Hill station: Man with machete Tasered
- Published
A machete-wielding man was Tasered on a railway station platform as "terrified" rush hour commuters looked on.
Police pinned the man - filmed waving a "massive" blade at Tulse Hill station in South London - to the ground shortly after 18:30 GMT on Monday.
Witnesses described "chaos" as he chased people with the weapon.
A 59-year-old man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and possessing an offensive weapon has since been sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
The suspect, from Croydon, was sectioned after being assessed by medics, British Transport Police (BTP) said.
Asst Ch Con Robin Smith, from BTP, added: "This would have been a particularly frightening incident for those passengers at the station or on board trains a Tulse Hill station.
"I am especially grateful to our Metropolitan Police colleagues who did a great job in detaining this man."
Image source, @Vikjas85Just at Tulse Hill Station where the guy was wielding a machete - he's been subdued by the police, I don't believe anyone was hurt. Massive thank you and well done to the Police!
— Ben Mac (@BlueofButtsAsh) January 14, 2019
@BBCNews @SkyNews @LBC women screaming and station in small chaos as a guy at Tulse Hill Station has just been tasered by #police after running around with a machete. 😐 must of had more than one weapon though as police seem to have multiple evidence bags. pic.twitter.com/SozVJ4XIej
— Daniel Roberts (@the1dan) January 14, 2019
One witness @Vikjas85 tweeted: "Man at Tulse Hill Station with a massive machete just been Tasered by the police."
Terrifying incident at Tulse Hill station where several of us had to run from a man wielding a machete. He has now been subdued by police - very grateful
— David Northfield (@DANorthfield) January 14, 2019
for them being there quickly and acting bravely.
Many people have also taken to social media to praise police for their quick action.
Mattvan Pricey said: "Congratulations to the officers who responded to last night's incident at Tulse Hill completely professional in managing a volatile situation in a safe manner."
Great work from the police and railway staff at Tulse Hill. Glad everyone is safe.
— Unique Languages (@uniquelanguages) January 15, 2019
Social media user Caroline said: "Well done as always to the police - you do a great job all the time and thank you for preventing fatalities and injuries - my husband at Tulse Hill at the time."
Well done as always to the police - you do a great job all the time and thank you for preventing fatalities and injuries - my husband at #TulseHill at the time 🙏
— Caroline (@WonkyWardrobe) January 14, 2019
BTP said there were no reported injuries and what happened was not believed to be terror-related.
The arrest came on the day Sadiq Khan announced Lambeth Council leader Lib Peck as the director of his new Violence Reduction Unit.