LONDON • Armed police shot a man after a possible terrorist attack sent hundreds of people running for their lives in the heart of London.

Several people were injured in a stabbing incident just before 2pm in the London Bridge area on the edge of the capital's financial centre, police said.

The streets around London Bridge were locked down and armed police cleared restaurants and shops in the area.

Officers later described the incident as terror-related, although the circumstances were still unclear.

A video posted on Twitter showed about half a dozen men wrestling with someone on the ground on the sidewalk of the bridge. One of them backed away from the scene carrying a knife.

An armed police officer then dragged another person away from the man on the floor. Soon after, what sounded like two gunshots rang out, and the man on the ground stopped moving.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson broke away from the general election campaign to rush back to his Downing Street offices to be briefed on the events.

Britain is set to hold elections on Dec 12 and the last election campaign in June 2017 was interrupted by attacks, including one that killed eight people and injured 48 others in the same area of London.

Three terrorists had driven a van into pedestrians on the bridge before arming themselves with knives and running into Borough Market, where they stabbed people in restaurants and pubs. Armed police responded and killed the attackers.

BLOOMBERG