What was claimed
Photos and videos show the arrest of an “attempted mass shooter” near Stamford Bridge stadium in west London.
Our verdict
These pictures and videos actually show a 16-year-old boy being arrested on suspicion of possession of an imitation firearm.
Photos and videos of police officers standing next to a suspect lying face down on the pavement are circulating with claims they show the arrest of an “attempted mass shooter” near Stamford Bridge stadium after Fulham played Chelsea on Saturday, 30 August.
But this isn’t what the footage shows. The Metropolitan Police said in an online statement that a 16-year-old boy was arrested “on suspicion of possessing a realistic-looking imitation firearm in Fulham Broadway” and that no one was injured.
The statement continued: “We strongly advise people against sharing misinformation and images of anyone who has been arrested”.
The police confirmed to Full Fact that the statement refers to the same video being shared online.
Social media posts claiming the footage shows the arrest of an “attempted mass shooter” who was “wearing a helmet, had a vest on, armed with a gun and carrying extra ammunition” have been shared thousands of times in recent weeks.
The Metropolitan Police stated that the 16-year-old admitted possession of imitation firearms in interview and has since been referred to the Youth Offending Team for consideration of an appropriate out of court disposal. This refers to the different ways of resolving a situation without going to court.
Join 72,953 people who trust us to check the facts
Sign up to get weekly updates on politics, immigration, health and more.
Subscribe to weekly email newsletters from Full Fact for updates on politics, immigration, health and more. Our fact checks are free to read but not to produce, so you will also get occasional emails about fundraising and other ways you can help. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy.
The Metropolitan Police added on the day the footage was filmed that “one line of enquiry is that the boy was on his way to a comic convention”.
Before sharing content like this that you see online, first consider whether it comes from a reliable and trustworthy source. Our toolkit and guides can help you do this.
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as partly false because the Met Police confirmed these pictures and videos are of the same incident it said showed a boy being arrested on suspicion of possessing an imitation firearm, not for an attempted mass shooting.
Full Fact fights for good, reliable information in the media, online, and in politics.
Bad information ruins lives. It promotes hate, damages people’s health, and hurts democracy. You deserve better.
Subscribe to weekly email newsletters from Full Fact for updates on politics, immigration, health and more. Our fact checks are free to read but not to produce, so you will also get occasional emails about fundraising and other ways you can help. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy.