LONDON – Police officers in London were appealing on Saturday to speak to two men believed to have been involved in an altercation on a central London Underground platform, after an incident sparked panic and resulted in Oxford Circus station being evacuated, according the British Transport Police.
Police had received reports of shots being fired on Friday afternoon on Oxford Street – a busy shopping street in central London, and at Oxford Circus underground station, but found no evidence, the Metropolitan Police Service said in a statement.
“Officers believe an altercation erupted between two men on the platform,” a BTP statement said.
“They would now like to speak to these two people in the CCTV images, who they believe may have information and the incident and the circumstances around the incident,” it added.
Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police Service said: “No casualties, evidence of any shots fired or any suspects were located by police.”
The force said it had responded to the incident “in line with our existing operation as if the incident was terrorism.”
The Met said that its officers had been at the scene “in less than one minute,” after the force received its first call.
BTP Chief Superintendent Martin Fry said the force’s officers “reacted quickly and responded professional in line with our well prepared plans.”
The incident occurred at a time when the area around the station was full of shoppers, who were out to make the most of the “Black Friday” sales in one of London’s popular commercial hubs.
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