Rookie armed cop on first job shot London Bridge terrorist through his legs after falling over as knife-wielding attackers closed in on him
A ROOKIE gun cop shot a London Bridge terrorist through his legs as the knife-wielding fanatic closed in to behead him.
The officer - known only as BX44 - had not even been on a proper firearms job when Khuram Butt, 27, Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22, began massacring civilians in Borough Market.
He told how he thought wild-eyed Youssef Zaghba was going to run him through with a knife after he was knocked to the floor in the carnage.
He said: "I thought he was about to kill me."
Giving evidence anonymously at the Old Bailey, he told how shot Butt first to save a colleague's life.
He said: "The red dot was on him [Butt] but there was very little reaction and I was surprised he was still coming.
TERRORISTS ATTACKED AFTER BEING SHOT
"I continued to track him and fire shots until I had to break away to deal with Rachid Redouane who at this point was closing us down and was about to kill another colleague, BX45.
"The red dot was on him. I fired shots and there was no immediate reaction. I carried on firing until I had to deal with the third threat of Youssef Zaghba who was on top of me.
"I fired shots and there was no immediate reaction. As I fell backwards I fired and from the floor I fired through my legs up to his chest."
The revelation comes a day after PC Tim Andrews told how he stumbled upon Khuram Butt and his two fellow fanatics as they were stabbing a man.
The PC said: “I was pointing at Butt shouting, ‘Shoot him! Shoot him!’ The officer shot him a number of times.”
PC BEGGED GUN COP TO EXECUTE FANATIC
He said Butt was running at the officer when he opened fire.
PC Andrews and Pc Bartosz Tchorzewski had been on duty in plain clothes when they received a report that a van had mounted the pavement and hit pedestrians.
At first PC Andrews said he thought it was a drink-driver as they rushed to Bedale Street, where other colleagues had gone to the aid of an injured man lying at the entrance to Borough Market.
As PC Andrews and three colleagues walked down Middle Road to investigate, they came across the three attackers.
He said: "Butt had a football shirt on and he was standing with two knives in either hand. The other two gentlemen... were in dark clothes also with knives.
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"Then it dawned on me it was probably a terrorist attack. I pressed my emergency button and asked for emergency assistance, firearms support."
All three attackers were shot dead in Stoney Street, bringing to an end a rampage which left eight people dead and 48 seriously injured.
The Old Bailey inquest into the terrorists’ death continues.
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