Oxford Street incident: No evidence of shots fired or casualties, according to Metropolitan Police

POLICE have not located any trace of suspects, evidence of shots fired or casualties at the Oxford Street incident, Scotland Yard have said.

The Metropolitan Police Twitter account reported: “We have not located any trace of suspects, evidence of shots fired or casualties. Officers still on scene. If you are in a building stay there, if you are on the street in #Oxford Street leave the area. Officers continue to search the area. More updates as soon as we have them.”

British Transport Police said they have received one report of a woman sustaining a minor injury when leaving Oxford Circus station, but there are no other reported casualties.

The sound of gunshots had been reported by many on the scene, including pop star Olly Murs who claimed he heard them inside nearby Selfridges.

He tweeted: “Everyone get out of Selfridges now gun shots! I’m inside.

“Really not sure what’s happened! I’m in the back office… but people screaming and running towards exits.

“Evacuating store now!!! heart is pounding.”

He has since added: “Being told no shots in Selfridges! Have no idea the whole store went crazy!”

One woman named Maaiysa, a journalist for TRT, tweeted that she heard “gunshots” as well as screams and sirens from her office near Oxford Circus, and posted video of people running away from the station.

“Never seen such panic. People flooded into our offices, looking for shelter, shaking,” she wrote.

There were also false reports on the Mail Online website that a lorry was on Oxford Street with “police all around it and blood on the floor.”

It was however, found to have been based on a tweet from an incident on November 14.

Both Oxford Circus and Bond Street Tube stations are now open again.

London Fire Brigade said three fire engines and 15 firefighters at the scene.

An eyewitness overlooking the Tube station from his office told BBC 5 live said: “I can see about 17 police cars, lots of normal police officers, almost like an army of them.

“I can see a number of police officers with machine guns. They came racing up in a very fast car and ran down into Oxford Circus Tube.

“Now it is calming down a bit. The police presence is heavy here. It was amazing to see the super quick response.”

BBC producer Helen Bushby, who was shopping in the area, said: “I was just walking down from the BBC towards the tube and there was a mass stampede away from the tube as fast as they could.

“They were crying, they were screaming, they were dropping their shopping bags. It was a very panicked scene.

“People said they heard a gunshot and panic was just spreading.”

Video posted to Twitter showed police shouting “get inside somewhere” as they escorted people away from Oxford Street.

Footage also showed people calmly filing out of the tube station as an automated message urged passions to “leave the station immediately”.

Video posted to Twitter later showed people walking away from the station.

Greg Owen, 37, from London, said: “I was next to the tube station and everyone started screaming and shouting and then a flood of people came up the stairs.”

And a witness who only wanted to be known as Emma said: “There were shots fired on Oxford Street and then armed police ran into me and my friend.

“Armed Police were running up Argyll Street and now we’re locked in French Connection.”