Man shot on Tube 'had no reason to flee' - cousin
The Brazilian electrician shot dead by anti-terror police at Stockwell Tube station in south London had no reason to flee from authorities, according to a relative today.
Jean Charles de Menezes, 27, was shot at point blank range on Friday after officers wrongly suspected he was linked to Thursday’s attempted bomb attacks on the London Underground.
Today his cousin Alex Pereira, 28, said his cousin was “a 100% good guy who never did anything wrong and had no reason to run.
“I don’t think he ran from police. I don’t think he would do that. They can’t show anything that shows that he had.”
Mr Pereira said police had watched his cousin get on a bus. They followed him for about 500 metres.
“If he had a bomb he could have blown it off on the bus.
“Now what they (police) have shown is that they are incapable and stupid. There’s no explanation to what they have done.”
Mr Pereira learned of Mr Menezes’s death after a relative telephoned him to say that he had disappeared.
He said Mr Menezes had been working legally in Britain for three years as an electrician.
He moved from Brazil to London to work in that field because he thought he would get a lot of work.
“He was diligent and learned English quickly. He did OK and made friends.
“It was easy for him to work here. He was hard working. He had residency for five years, Mr Pereira said.
He said he thought that at the time his cousin was being pursued by police he was on his way to work at Wilsden Green, one of the many places his job took him.
“Someone told me at the time he was on his way to repair an alarm.”
His family, who included his brother and his two retired parents, was in Brazil.
Mr Pereira had spoken to the dead man’s brother who said he felt “complete disappointment” by what had occurred.
| Related Stories: |
|
