A man suspected of being armed with a knife who approached the gates of Buckingham Palace before throwing suspected shotgun shells into the park was arrested on Tuesday evening May 2, London police said .
“No gunshots were reported and no officers or members of the public were injured” and the man was “taken into custody”, police said, adding that they are not handling the case at this stage. as a terrorism case.
The arrest, which took place around 7 p.m. local time (8 p.m. in Paris), comes a few days before the coronation on Saturday of King Charles III, which is to be attended by sovereigns and leaders of the planet.
The man approached the gates of the estate and threw several objects into the park, police added. He was arrested on suspicion of being in possession of a weapon.
Neither Charles III nor Camilla were in the palace
“A security perimeter was established after a suspicious bag was found on the man. Specialists attended the scene and, after an assessment, a controlled explosion was carried out as a precaution,” police added in their statement. “Further investigations are ongoing,” law enforcement said.
British media say neither Charles III, 74, nor his wife Camilla, 75, were at the palace at the time. The king’s services did not comment.
The thoroughfare leading to Buckingham Palace has been closed to traffic ahead of Saturday’s coronation, the first to take place in the UK for seventy years. Thousands of soldiers will take part in a procession – from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey – as part of the coronation, and huge crowds are expected.
The security operation to protect this route is one of the largest in recent years. It will rely on rooftop snipers and undercover agents, as well as airport-style detectors, sniffer dogs and a no-fly zone over central London.
