Gunman who was involved in a five-hour stand-off with armed police in west London Tuesday is dead

Gunman who was involved in a five-hour stand-off with armed police in west London Tuesday is dead, police said, although there was no immediate confirmation of how he died."Following the incident a man has been pronounced dead. This is now a matter for the Independent Police Complaints Commission (watchdog)," a force spokesman told AFP by telephone.IPCC spokesman Richard Offer told AFP: "The IPCC will independently investigate the fatal shooting of a man in the King's Road area of Chelsea tonight.
"At 9:50 pm (2050 GMT) the Metropolitan Police Service referred the incident to the IPCC. IPCC investigators are going to the scene to start the inquiry."There were three separate exchanges of fire between police and the man, after they were called to the scene at 4:50 pm following reports of gunshots in the area.Trained negotiators were also sent to the area, much of which was closed off to traffic and residents, causing chaos at rush hour. The man holed himself up in a house in Markham Square.Speaking at the scene, Commander Ali Desai told reporters earlier: "This is clearly a very very serious incident but our prime task is to contain the situation and negotiate our way through this."An eyewitness told Sky News television the shooting started after an argument between a man and a woman. The woman was heard to say the gunman was her ex-boyfriend, who is licensed to hold guns.Another said her house was shot at by a man brandishing a shotgun. He fired into one of her second floor bedrooms, sending shot spraying over pictures.
Local shop owners and householders were reported as saying that police had told them to lock themselves inside while the stand-off continued.

Posted in: London