A man has been shot dead by armed police close to Kensington Palace.
Officers were called to reports of a gunman seen entering a bank and betting shop near Marloes Road in Kensignton shortly after 3pm on Saturday before leaving the area in a vehicle.
Police marksmen stopped a vehicle at the junction of Kensington Road and Palace Gate a short while later at 3.19pm.
Scotland Yard said ‘shots were fired and a man sustained gunshot wounds’.
Paramedics and an air ambulance were scrambled to the scene but he was declared dead less than an hour later at 4.08pm.
Efforts are under way to confirm the man’s identity and to inform his next of kin.
The Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards has been informed and the incident has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
Several nearby roads remain closed and people are advised to avoid the area.
The Metropolitan Police said the incident is not being treated as terrorism.
A number of police cordons have been put in place along Kensington High Street, and police officers are keeping guard at the largest cordon between a Starbucks and a building named Broadwalk House.
Around 10 police vehicles are in place around the cordon. A tent has been at erected in the middle of a cordon in Kensington High Street.
It has been placed next to a black car and is surrounded by one unmarked police car and three patrol vehicles.
Members of the public are being diverted away from the cordon through Kensington Gardens.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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