Two people have been stabbed at Sony Music’s headquarters, located on Derry Street, Kensington.
Police and firearms were called at around 11am (GMT). Dozens of officers stormed the building and evacuated staff members. According to The Independent, a London Ambulance Service spokesperson said, “We treated two people at the scene. We took one to hospital and one to a major trauma centre.” A statement from the Metropolitan Police clarifies that the injuries “are not life-threatening or life-changing”. One man has been arrested.
We are aware of an incident on Derry Street W8, police on scene including firearms officers and London Ambulance Service. At this time we believe two people are injured. Incident is on-going.
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) November 2, 2018
UPDATE: Incident on Derry Street, W8- One person arrested. Two people with stab injuries. No evidence of firearms involved. Not being treated as terror related. https://t.co/R9fA2LdAX8 pic.twitter.com/LhD6HJkmXQ
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) November 2, 2018
Sony music is being evacuated as armed police and paramedics are on stand by pic.twitter.com/DNA1b1cb85
— Alex Iszatt (@AlexonTV) November 2, 2018
Evacuation @sony hq 😨 pic.twitter.com/xgrwLigiwE
— rachael bee (@rachaelbee1) November 2, 2018
Terribly worrying scenes outside Sony HQ in Kensington. Armed police have arrived pic.twitter.com/4sESrbPquB
— Katie Hind (@katiehind) November 2, 2018
#Kensington
BREAKING: A major incident is developing in the vicinity of the #Sony HQ on Derry Street, #W8.Multiple Police units are on scene including firearms officers from the Met’s SCO19 team.
Scotland Yard confirm that at this stage two people have been injured. pic.twitter.com/7ZMKoJRG61
— London 999 Feed (@999London) November 2, 2018
“I saw two guys who appeared to be fighting. One man was on the floor on his back and the other one was standing over him,” a witness told The Independent. “I thought he was raining punches down but I realised a few moments later that he was holding a large kitchen knife.” The two men were separated, with one bearing a knife wound. Staff members tried to staunch the bleeding with a tea towel, the witness added.
Another witness, a staff member at Sony, said, “There were dozens of police running in with tasers, riot shields. It was all over fairly quickly.“
We will update this story as we learn more. Read more accounts from Twitter below.
Just seen the Sony offices emptied. Workers running down the street. A man being tackled to the ground
— Simon Neville (@SimonNeville) November 2, 2018
Armed police have turned up (although, they are the protection officers from Kensington palace, and always armed). Spoke to a few workers. Won’t tweet what they told me though as all unconfirmed currently.
— Simon Neville (@SimonNeville) November 2, 2018
I would add – the man I saw being tackled to the ground was in the loading bay on Derry Street. He was white, mid-30s, wearing a red jacket and shouting (couldn’t hear what he said). Security seemed to have him under control and closed the loading bay shutters once tackled
— Simon Neville (@SimonNeville) November 2, 2018
Kensington high Street #Sony pic.twitter.com/1yQrV6hXml
— Danny smith (@doglab) November 2, 2018
Update: A spokeswoman for Sony Music UK confirms the incident: “Sony Music confirmed there was an incident at Derry Street resulting in the building being evacuated.”
She adds, “Two members of the catering team were involved in a violent altercation. The incident is now in the hands of the Metropolitan Police.”
Furthermore, the Metropolitan Police have clarified that two men, aged 25 and 36, were both suffering from stab injuries. Both were arrested on the scene. “Thankfully this was not a firearms incident, but the initial reports indicated that there had been gunfire and there may have been an active shooter on the scene,” Commander Kyle Gordon said via a statement. “The response was immediate – within eight minutes of the first call coming in, firearms officers who had joined local officers already on the scene had entered the building to deal with the incident.