London attack: This victim had a personal moment with the terrorists

 

For 23-year-old Callum Stokes-Newens, the night of June 3 bears scars that are deeply etched. This Londoner was in Borough Market when terror and mayhem unfolded in the streets of UK’s capital. Stokes-Newens said he was in the neighbourhood sharing a few drinks with friends but the night turned ghastly.

He told The Independent that he was seated in the garden area of a local pub when the bouncer asked everyone to move. A few minutes after 10 pm, they were informed of an armed man outside the building. However, Stokes-Newens thought this was just another drunk person causing a ruckus.

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It was only later that he realised what was happening. He saw three men with 12 inch knives walking on the streets of Borough Market. “I believe we may have looked like a target as a lot of people were inside. I looked at one directly in the eye and then they began walking towards us,” he told the publication.

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In the next few minutes, the 23-year-old ran towards the pub, saw glass shattering, people running for safety and even heard a smash through the window. Stokes-Newton took refuge in the pub’s restroom and said he was holed in with seven other people.

One of the women in the cubicle panicked and the rest of them tried to calm her down, he said, adding that people were scared and shocked initially. Then they heard the gunshots.

“The shots echoed through Borough Market right beneath us, I recall hearing 20 shots,” The Independent quoted him as saying.  

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What he didn’t know was that the police had shot down suspects and later guided people out of the pub. When the ordeal ended, this resident of London’s Brixton area felt as if he gained a new lease of life. He ran out of the pub, placed his trust in the police, and found several like him being escorted to safety by the law enforcement personnel who took control of the situation.