UK - Siege on Tottenham Court Road ends: Police arrest man who stormed office building 'with gas canisters strapped to his body

UK - Siege on Tottenham Court Road ends: Police arrest man who stormed office building 'with gas canisters strapped to his body.(DM).The man who bought the heart of London to a standstill today when he stormed a building allegedly strapped with gas canisters and taking four men hostage has been arrested. The man has been arrested and was seen being taken shirtless into a police van at around 3pm, as officers begin methodically checking the building in Tottenham Court Road for explosives. Thousands of people were evacuated at around midday after after the man, said to be carrying gas canisters and a blow torch, stormed the offices of an HGV firm and threatened to spark a deadly blast. The man, who identified himself as Michael Green, is understood to have taken four hostages after entering the offices of the training firm amid claims he had twice failed HGV driving tests and wanted his money back. He apparently stormed into the logistics office yelling: ‘I have nothing more to live for.’ 
Officers, including marksmen, explosives experts and police negotiators, rushed to the scene shortly after noon and ordered the evacuation of at least 1,000 office workers and many more shoppers and tourists in the area. As they cordoned off the scene, the man started hurling objects - including computers and filing cabinets - came flying from a fifth-floor window as terrified workers left the building with their hands up. The man was in the building for two-and-a-half hours, and negotiators are believed to be talking to him by telephone.
A police spokesman said: 'Officers are in attendance at an incident in Tottenham Court Road where a man, believed to be aged 49, is causing a disturbance. 'Police were called at 11.59 on Friday 27 April to an office building. Items, including electrical equipment, have been thrown out of a fifth-floor window. 'A 300m cordon has been put in place and a negotiator is on scene.' Abby Baafi, 27, the head of training and operations at Advantage, a company which offers HGV courses, said the man had targeted her offices and was currently holding four men hostage. The hostages are believed to include including the company director and three salesmen. She told the Huffington Post: 'We were in the office and someone came in. I recognised him because he was one of our previous customers. 'He came in with big gasoline cylinders strapped to his body and threatened to blow up the office. 'He said he doesn’t care about his life, he doesn’t care about anything, he just wants to blow up the office. ‘He was specifically looking for me but I didn’t say my name was Abby and he let me go because I am three months pregnant.' She later said the man had taken mobile phones from the hostages.
A KFC worker, Arti Pal, 23, said: 'It all kicked off at about 12.30. Police came in and told customers they could no longer order food and that they had to get out. Ms O'Meara said the atmosphere had been 'tragi-comic' until the police arrived and it turned serious. 'He was throwing stuff out of the windows, it looked like someone with a grievance,' she added. 'But then the police arrived and started telling everyone: "This is serious, this is for your own safety. He has got gas".' A police cordon was in place from Store Street to the south of the incident. Dozens of onlookers watched and took photographs with their mobile phones. Five marked police cars and vans could be seen lining Tottenham Court Road, as well as four ambulances. Unmarked police vehicles also drove up to the scene and three London buses were stopped in the road with their amber lights flashing. A police negotiator was seen speaking to the officers guarding the cordon, and he was given directions to the scene. 'Abby Baafi told us she told suspect she was three months pregnant to escape. 'Abby told us she'd met suspect before.'Read and see (Video's) the full story here.