Tulse Hill incident: Man with 'massive machete' tasered by police at train station in rush hour

Suspect arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and possession of offensive weapon

A man with a “massive machete” was tasered by police at a south London train station and arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

The suspect, aged 59, was caught by officerson Monday evening on the platform while terrified commuters looked on.

Videos posted on social media show the man, who was wearing camouflage trousers and a hoodie, waving a foot-long blade.

He was then shot with a taser and fell to the ground, dropping the machete. At least five officers then pinned him to the floor.

British Transport Police said there were no reported injuries and the incident was not thought to be terror-related.

The man was also arrested on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon, the force added.

Witnesses described being told by their train’s conductor not to get off at Tulse Hill because there was a “dangerous man on the platform”.

Conor Fortune, 39, said he was on a Thameslink train heading out of central London through Tulse Hill when he heard a man’s voice shouting loudly.

“After several minutes of being sat on the platform, the driver announced that we were being held and she shut the doors as a precaution, and advised nobody to get off as there was 'a dangerous man on the platform'.

One witness posted a video of the moment police tasered the man on Twitter and said they had seen him “running around chasing people with a machete”.

Another person reported they had seen at least 12 police cars and 30 officers at the station, which is five miles south of the city centre.

British Transport Police said anyone with information about the incident should contact them by texting 61016 or calling 0800 40 50 40 and quoting reference 478 of 14/01/2019.