Police officer shot dead in south London

The officer was killed while a suspect was detained at Croydon police station

A police officer was shot dead in the early hours of Friday morning at Corydon police station in south London. The 23-year-old gunman, who was being detained at the custody suite on Windmill Lane, turned the gun on himself and is now in hospital in a critical condition. The officer was treated by paramedics at the scene 2.15am but later died in hospital from his gunshot wounds. No police firearms were discharged, the Met Police said. Commissioner Cressida Dick said: "This is a truly shocking incident in which one of our colleagues has lost his life in the most tragic circumstances. My heart goes out to his family, direct colleagues and friends. "We are currently supporting his family and also have a dedicated team providing support to the officers and those in the custody centre who witnessed the shooting. "When a colleague dies in the line of duty the shockwaves and sadness reverberates throughout the Met and our communities. Policing is a family, within London and nationally, and we will all deeply mourn our colleague. "We are in the early stages of the investigation and are still working to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident and we will provide further updates when we have them." A Met statement added: "We are in the process of informing all of the officer’s family and are supporting them with specialist officers. "No police firearms were discharged during the incident." The incident has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct who will lead an independent investigation. The Met retain primacy of the murder investigation.