The Mail Online has been slammed for “spreading panic” after circulating a 10-day-old tweet while an incident unfolded near Oxford Circus.
Oxford Circus Tube station was evacuated amidst chaotic scenes Friday evening after police were alerted to “a number of reports of shots fired”.
But after further investigation police issued a statement saying that “to date police have not located any trace of any suspects, evidence of shots fired or causalities”.
The incident was then declared over just after 6pm after a little more than an hour.
However, the Mail had earlier tweeted a story which claimed to contain a report of “lorry ploughs into pedestrians”.
In the story it featured a quote from a Dan Smallbone.
It read:
However, that it was a tweet from ten days previously.
Social media users blamed Mail Online, one of the world’s biggest news websites, for only adding to the mass panic and confusion.
Even after this, the Mail seemed to see no irony in criticising pop star Olly Murs for his panicked tweets:
The incident Met Police including armed officers responded to the incident “as if [it was] terrorist related”.
People in the area were advised to take shelter in buildings.
The only reported casualty was a woman who suffered a minor injury when leaving Oxford Circus tube station, although other eyewitnesses reported seeing people pushed over the rush to get away from the scene.
The incident has now been stood down.
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