7 July 2005 London bombings
The Times reported on 17 July 2005 that police sniper units were following many people thought to be part of al-Qaeda in Britain. The teams with guns were told to shoot to kill if there was proof that suggested that a person thought to be a terrorist had a bomb on them and didn't want to surrender when asked by police. A person part of the Metropolitan Police's Specialist Firearms Command said that they had been used more often to look at people who might be terrorists.