A photographer who witnessed two men allegedly brandishing weapons in a Stratford street during broad daylight says the police must act.
Mitchell Gunn told the Recorder police have not contacted him since he made a 999 call about the alleged road rage incident in West Road yesterday afternoon despite telling the operator he had photographed the “aggressive” confrontation.
He took a series of pictures over “40 seconds” outside his window during which two men are said to have jumped out of their vehicles waving a knife and axe at one another. The pictures have been widely circulated on the internet.
The 48-year-old then made a call to emergency services at 12.51pm and told the operator about the stand-off, saying he wished to be contacted by police.
Mr Gunn said that if he does not receive a response from the police by 4pm today then he will be contacting Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe to deal with the matter.
He has already tweeted Mayor of London Sadiq Khan to vent his frustration, saying: “@MayorofLondon if your top priority is keeping London safe, why will police not investigate further today’s axe wielder in Stratford?”
The married man, who has lived on West Road for six years, said: “I would prefer a quiet road and I hope the police investigate this. As of yet the police haven’t come to get a statement which is quite annoying.
“I am an ex-military policeman and I do know that we would have investigated this normally. It has been brushed under.”
During the brief yet shocking stand-off yesterday, which involved four people arguing from two cars, Mr Gunn said he was alerted to the scene by a woman’s “aggressive shouting”.
He said: “I looked out the window and I saw a man walking over to another car. He looked like he was carrying an axe. I just pointed my camera and fired off a few shots.
“It was like handbags at dawn but with sharp and very scary handbags. It was posturing.”
Mr Gunn said he and his wife had been discussing whether to move properties the night before the stand-off.
“If this is going to happen then I will definitely be moving out,” he said.
The Recorder has contacted the Metropolitan Police who said the matter is being looked into.
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