Yesterday, we recounted the barbaric London Bridge terrorist attack that left eight innocent people dead and 48 injured. In just six minutes on the night of Saturday, June 3, 2017, three Islamic extremists mowed down passers-by and embarked on a brutal stabbing rampage. Here, in the second and final account — based on inquest reports in the public domain — JONATHAN MAYO pieces together, minute by minute, the final savagery of the attackers and the bravery of those who fought back . . .
10.09pm
Helped by her mother and sister, Helen Kennett, who had been celebrating her birthday, stumbles into The Mudlark pub. Helen has been stabbed in the neck after she accosted one of the attackers, Khuram Butt, 27.
She is trying to disguise the extent of her injures from her mother and sister, but blood is pouring from her neck.
‘Terror attack!’ shouts Louise, Helen’s sister. Helen is feeling weak. She is slipping in her own blood and is carried carefully behind the bar.
As a nurse, Helen knows what to do. She asks a customer for his T-shirt to help her stop the flow of blood and tells her sister to keep her awake and upright. Makeshift barricades are being put against the door of the pub and customers are ushered upstairs in case the attackers appear.
French tourist Xavier Thomas seen on CCTV walking south along London Bridge with his girlfriend Christine Delcros, moments before they are struck by a speeding white hire van driven by the London Bridge terrorists
Gerald Cooke, who had been walking along London Bridge when the terrorists began to mow down passers-by, has got through to emergency services and is describing what he saw.
‘We heard the smashes and the screams and one thing and another and I saw somebody being hit and thrown into the river and the person didn’t swim or anything so I assume the tide is going out and the body will have been carried down river a bit . . . It’s just too bloody awful for words.’
10.09PM and 11 secs
As the Islamist attackers — Butt, Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22 — head down Borough High Street, Marie Bondeville, a French national, and her boyfriend, Oliver Dowling, emerge from an alleyway, having eaten at a nearby tapas restaurant.
Marie looks to her left and sees Khuram Butt heading towards them and thinks he looks like a boxer going into a fight.
Butt walks past Marie. Oliver is his target. Suddenly, she feels a punch on the right-hand side of her face and hears Oliver shout: ‘Oi! What the f***?’ They both tumble to the ground.
Marie curls up in the foetal position, covering her face with her hands.
Oliver tries to get up to hit the man he can see kneeling on Marie, but they are surrounded by all three men and are being stabbed mercilessly.
Marie decides to play dead. ‘I stopped screaming as I couldn’t breathe correctly. It was too much effort, but I also knew that the more I begged, the harder they attacked me.’
Butt then grabs her neck — she realises he is trying to cut off her head, so she rolls on to her front to protect her neck. She is stabbed in the back and loses consciousness.
London Bridge terrorists (left to right) Khuram Shazad Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba
Oliver scrambles backwards to escape, then gets up and runs to the other side of the street, begging bystanders to help them, but no one does, so he runs back to Marie, who is now motionless. He thinks she must be dead.
At The Mudlark pub, Helen Kennett’s sister is frantically calling the emergency services for an ambulance. Helen hears Louise shout in frustration: ‘No, I don’t know the postcode!’
10.09pm and 18 secs
About 40ft away, further south down Borough High Street, British Transport Police officer Wayne Marques, who is on patrol with PC Leon McLeod, is helping injured Richard Livett — the first person to be stabbed. Hearing a woman’s screams, PC Marques turns and sees Khuram Butt methodically attacking Marie and Oliver.
‘He wasn’t hacking or slashing. He was looking for certain areas.’ PC Marques thinks Butt is alone.
10.09pm and 22 secs
PC Marques, armed with only a baton, takes a deep breath — ‘I knew I was going in for a fight.’ He runs and hits Butt hard over the head with the baton.
Butt yelps in pain and reels backwards. Marques pauses for a second, but then thinks: ‘What are you stopping for? Keep going!’ and smashes the knife out of Butt’s fist. Butt puts up both hands to protect himself and crumples on one knee. Again and again, Marques hits Butt until Youssef Zaghba joins the fight and stabs the policeman in the head.
Blinded in his right eye, Marques keeps on fighting — all the time, he can hear what he says is God’s voice, saying: ‘Don’t go down, don’t go down.’
Ignacio Echeverria, 39, a financial crime analyst at HSBC, is cycling north up Borough High Street with two friends, Guillermo Sanchez-Montisi and Javier. They have been skateboarding near the Tate Modern gallery.
Pc Charlie Guenigault (left) and Pc Wayne Marques arrive at the Old Bailey in London where they gave evidence at the inquest into the London Bridge and Borough Market terror attacks
They see Marques fighting off men with knives and Ignacio exclaims: ‘What are they doing?’ He drops his bike and runs to help. He takes his skateboard from his rucksack and swings it at Redouane. Ignacio’s friends can hear the skateboard making contact. Enraged, Redouane knocks Ignacio to the floor and Zaghba joins in. Ignacio tries desperately to defend himself using his skateboard as a shield. Guillermo watches in horror as his friend is stabbed.
Redouane looks up towards Guillermo and moves to attack, so Guillermo and Javier run.
PC Marques has been joined in the fight by PC McLeod, who is bravely fighting the terrorists with his baton. Off-duty policeman Charles Guenigault also sprints into the melee and, with his bare hands, pushes the attackers away from his colleagues.
Two of them advance on Guenigault and stab him in the back and the head. After being knifed in the back a second time, Guenigault falls into the road. PC Marques drags Guenigault away. Suddenly, Butt, Redouane and Zaghba move back on to the pavement and stare at the policemen. Marques can’t believe they’ve given up the fight. ‘Breathe, get ready. They’re going to come for you. They’re going to come for you, breathe,’ he thinks.
But Zaghba runs off, followed by the others. Marques tries to follow, but has been stabbed in the leg and is too weak to go far.
PC Guenigault rolls on to his front to limit the blood flow from the wounds in his back. He tells Justin Jones, a passer-by, to place his knee in his back to stem the flow of blood. Justin’s girlfriend, Ellen Gauntlett, dials 999.
10.10pm
Butt, Zaghba and Redouane jog south down the High Street, stabbing anyone who crosses their path. Gerard Vowls, 49, who had been watching the Champions League final in a pub, had seen the attack on Marie and Oliver and starts to taunt Butt, Redouane and Zaghba. ‘You cowards, you c***s, come and get me!’
They ignore him, so Gerard keeps pace with them, running down the middle of the road.
Butt sees U.S. tourists Robert and Joyce Piersant coming out of London Bridge Tube station — he charges into Robert and stabs him in the head. Robert swears at Butt and instinctively pushes him away, but is stabbed in the stomach and passes out. One of the attackers (Joyce doesn’t remember which) hesitates in front of her and stabs her in the throat. Miraculously, both survive their injuries.
Gerard Vowls (pictured above) took-on the terrorists at London Bridge and tried to distract them y throwing metal chairs and glasses
10.10pm and 26 secs
Rachid Redouane bends down to tie the laces on his trainers, then moves on. As he runs past a tapas restaurant, he attacks Brett Freeman, 32, sitting at a table outside, stabbing him three times in the back.
PC Leon McLeod is trying to help Ignacio Echeverria. Ignacio’s grip on his skateboard slackens and it falls from his chest.
10.10pm and 30 secs
PC Clint Wallis of Peckham police station has reached London Bridge. At the top of the steps leading down to Boro Bistro, he finds Sara Zelenak, 21, an Australian au pair who slipped while trying to escape the attackers.
Sara has her eyes open and is lying on her back in a pool of blood, with her legs against a wall. She is still clutching her mobile phone.
PC Wallis can see Sara has a deep wound in her neck and there is no pulse. He shouts to a member of the public to get the first aid kit from his police car and begins cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Sara’s mobile keeps flashing as her friend, Priscila Goncalves, who was with her before the attack, calls to find out where she is.
10.10pm and 36 secs
As Butt, Redouane and Zaghba turn into Stoney Street, Gerard Vowls resumes his attack.
He throws metal chairs, glasses and bottles at them, shouting: ‘Terrorist cowards!’
But the attackers carry on, so Gerard goes in search of police.
10.11pm
Butt, Redouane and Zaghba run down Stoney Street, attacking people outside pubs and in cafes. Their knives are red with blood. There is chaos as customers flee down the street. Shutters are pulled down and doors bolted.
Zaghba and Butt pause to take off their jackets — revealing fake improvised explosive devices consisting of metal canisters and wires. Butt is wearing an Arsenal FC shirt. Injured policeman Charles Guenigault tells Justin Jones to hold his hand and keep him awake by talking to him. Justin asks him what his favourite Bee Gees song is. ‘Stayin’ Alive,’ the policeman replies.
Police and members of the emergency services were pictured attending victims of a terror attack
In Elliot’s cafe, roughly 20 customers are at the rear and in the kitchen trying to hide.
Waitress Candice Hedge, 36, sees two of the attackers come in the door and notices wires around the waist of one of them. She hides in a booth between the table and the wall. ‘They were shouting something along the lines of they were not happy with the way we were living our lives,’ she said.
One attacker stands just a few inches from Candice and is about to leave when he notices her hiding. He plunges his knife in her neck and leaves her for dead. Candice survives her injuries.
10.12pm
The attackers cross to Black and Blue restaurant, a large, glass-fronted building full of customers.
However, alerted by the panic outside, a waitress has hastily locked the doors. Customer Sean Duhig is watching the three men approach. ‘They’ve got knives!’ he warns his friend, Roy Larner, who isn’t paying attention to what’s going on outside.
Butt tries to force open the glass doors, then Redouane kicks them twice and they become loose. One by one, the attackers squeeze through and Butt smirks as the diners scatter.
Sean Duhig runs up the stairs and shuts himself in a toilet.
Butt shouts: ‘Everyone lie down on the f***ing floor. Lie down on the f***ing floor!’
Journalist Geoffrey Ho, 39, doesn’t move. He knows if he lies down, he won’t be able to defend himself. Butt points his knife at him. ‘Lie down on the floor. Lie down on the f***ing floor now!’
Geoffrey stands up to him. ‘No, you don’t need to do this,’ he replies. Once more, Butt orders him on the floor, and again Geoffrey doesn’t move, so Butt stabs him in the throat and then turns on another customer, Gavin Joseph.
Zaghba goes behind the bar and drinks from the water tap. Butt joins him and, in a chilling gesture, washes his knife and wipes it on his beard.
The graphic above shows the various points in the London Bridge and the surrounding areas which were affected
10:13pm
Gavin Joseph and Geoffrey Ho help each other up and, despite their injuries, make their way to the restaurant staff room and lock the door. Gavin finds a pair of jeans to use as a bandage; Geoffrey places his hand against his neck to stop the bleeding. Both men survive.
10:14pm
Before Butt and Redouane leave the restaurant, they grab bottles. Upstairs in the toilet, Sean Duhig calls his friend Roy who he last saw downstairs.
After a number of tries, Roy answers, saying: ‘Help me, I’m dying.’ Then the call cuts out. Although he had been stabbed multiple times, Roy survives.
Butt, Redouane and Zaghba leave Black and Blue.
Police boats have arrived under London Bridge, following reports of a person falling in the water.
10.15pm and 23 secs
Walking up Middle Road in the opposite direction are five Met Police officers: PC Bartosz Tchorzewski, PC Tim Andrews, PC Sam Balfour, PC Ian Rae and PC Sophie Conning.
Butt, Redouane and Zaghba start to chant ‘Allahu Akbar’ at them. Seeing what look like improvised explosive devices, the unarmed officers slowly withdraw, still facing the terrorists, taking care not to trip on litter scattered on the market floor.
Butt, Redouane and Zaghba start to run at them and Butt throws the bottle he seized at Black and Blue. It hits PC Tchorzewski on the head, the blood almost blinding him.
The officers retreat, until they reach a wounded person being treated by other officers outside a pub. Outnumbered, Butt, Redouane and Zaghba turn back.
The van (pictured above) which had been used by the terrorists during the attack, before they mounted the pavement
10.16pm and 29 secs
Butt approaches the Wheatsheaf pub, which is full of people hiding inside. He kicks at the glass-panelled door and it bends at the bottom because it’s only been bolted from the top.
Rudi Thirion, a customer, desperately holds his foot against the base of the door. Through the glass, he can see Butt looking calm and determined as he kicks the door a few more times and then starts to smash the glass with the handle of his knife.
Then Butt sees an easier target. Passer-by Antonio Filis, 35, unaware of the drama, is walking slowly past the pub.
10.16pm and 36 secs
Police officers who have emerged from Middle Road see Antonio — who hasn’t seen Butt and the other two advancing towards him from behind. They shout at him to run, but it is too late.
‘I saw all three of them running towards him, literally jumping over him, attacking him, stabbing, slashing,’ PC Tchorzewski said.
10.16pm and 42 secs
Three police Armed Response Vehicles (ARVs) turn into Stoney Street. Antonio Filis is still on the ground being attacked by the three men and is thinking: ‘Whatever is going to happen, please make it quick so that it can be over with.’
In the lead ARV are three armed officers subsequently given the pseudonyms BX44, BX45 and BX46 to protect their identity. BX46 gets out of the front passenger seat and shuts the door.
Butt, Redouane and Zaghba leave Antonio Filis and start to walk towards the ARVs.
Armed officers shout: ‘Drop the knife! Drop the knife!’
As the attackers get closer to the policemen, PC Tchorzewski is concerned they’ll grab their guns and shouts: ‘Shoot them!’
Butt starts to sprints towards officer BX46, who shouts a warning. Butt keeps coming, knife raised.
10.16pm and 50 secs
Butt is only an arm’s length away when officer BX46 shoots him and he falls to the ground. Redouane and then Zaghba run at officers BX45 and BX44.
10.16pm and 51 secs
Redouane is shot, then Zaghba. Only ten minutes have passed since the terrorists’ van crashed on London Bridge. All three are now killed.
10.20pm
PC Stephen Attwood, who has been giving injured Boro Bistro waiter Alexandre Pigeard, 26, chest compressions, realises there is nothing more he can do for him. He has been stabbed in the neck and stomach.
10.23pm
PC Clint Wallis stops trying to resuscitate Sara Zelenak, 21.
10.23pm
With no signs of life, Dr Kahn, a GP, stops cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Kirsty Boden, 28, an off-duty nurse attacked while trying to save an attack victim.
The victims of the attack (Top, from left) Christine Archibald, James McMullan, Alexandre Pigeard, Sebastien Belanger, (bottom, from left) Kirsty Boden, Sara Zelenak, Xavier Thomas and Ignacio Echeverria
10.40pm
Police have arrived at The Mudlark pub. When they realise no ambulance is going to arrive to help injured nurse Helen Kennett, they suggest they should carry her out.
Helen refuses ‘because I’m stubborn’. Surrounded by police carrying shields, Helen and her mother and sister walk past the debris and chaos of Boro Bistro and back up the steps to London Bridge to find medical help.
10.53pm
Attempts to resuscitate Sebastien Belanger, 36, a French chef, cease.
10.54pm
James McMullan, 32, who tried to save Sara Zelenak, is pronounced dead by a paramedic.
10.58pm
Ignacio Echeverria, who bravely fought the terrorists with his skateboard, is pronounced dead.
11.00pm
Oliver Dowling is carried over London Bridge by paramedics and police officers. His girlfriend Marie has been taken away by ambulance. Both survive.
In the toilet of Black and Blue, Sean Duhig is on the phone to the emergency services when there is banging on the door and a voice claiming to be a policeman.
Concerned it might be the terrorists pretending to be the police, he hesitates, but is relieved to open the door and see an armed officer.
11.10pm
Paramedics stop trying to resuscitate Christine Archibald, a 30-year-old Canadian who had been mowed down by the van on London Bridge.
Her fiance, Tyler, looks for their engagement ring, which had come off her hand when the van hit her, but can’t find it.
On June 6, Xavier Thomas’s body is found near Shadwell Basin, east of London Bridge. It had been flung off the bridge into the Thames when the terrorists mowed into him and his fiancee.
In total, eight civilians were murdered in the attack. A further 48 were seriously injured.
George Medals, for confronting armed terrorists to protect others, were awarded to PCs Wayne Marques and Charles Guenigault and posthumously to Ignacio Echeverria.