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Outside London's Stockwell subway station where police shot and killed Jean Charles de Menezes, a 27-year-old electrician from Brazil on July 22, 2005. (AP Photo / Andrew Stuart)
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INDEPTH: LONDON BOMBING
London on edge
CBC News Online | Updated July 7, 2006
 Metropolitan Police Comissioner Ian Blair speaks to reporters near a double-deck bus that was destroyed by a suicide bomber on July 7, 2005 (EVA-LOTTA JANSSON/AFP/Getty Images)
The sentence was written on the podium as London's senior police officials updated reporters on their investigation into the second wave of attacks on the city's public transit system. Police said the four bombs - on three subway cars and a bus - were meant to kill when they went off on July 21, 2005.
The attacks failed. The bombs' detonators fired, but didn't trigger the explosives. There were no serious casualties.
Police released closed circuit television images of four men they were looking for.
The men were carrying knapsack bombs, which were likely homemade, Sir Ian Blair, head of Scotland Yard, said.
These were no suicide bombers - they fled in the panic that followed. Chemical tests on the explosives could determine whether they were connected to the July 7 suicide bombs that killed 56 people, including the four bombers, and injured more than 700 others.
Hours before the police news conference, a man wearing a heavy coat who ignored police warnings to stop, was chased down and shot to death in a tube station. Some witnesses said something that looked like wires could be seen under his coat. He was said to have appeared to have been south Asian.
"I need to make clear that any death is deeply regrettable," Blair said. "As I understand the situation, the man was challenged and refused to obey police instructions."
Hours after the shooting, Blair said the incident was directly related to the investigation into the attacks of the previous day.
Bob Ayres of Chatham House, the London-based international affairs think tank, told CBC News the shooting is a "very elegant testimony to the seriousness of the police."
"Obviously, they believed he was about to do something."
Two days later, the man was identified as a Brazilian citizen. Scotland Yard issued a statement on Saturday, July 23 saying: "We are now satisfied that he was not connected with the incidents [attempted bombings] of Thursday 21st July 2005."
Brazil called the shooting "a lamentable mistake."
Since the July 7, 2005, attacks, security on London's transit system has been beefed up. Three million people ride the subway every day. Another 6.7 million ride above ground on buses. In the wake of the July 21 incidents, the people who ride the system every day are wondering what more can be done.
Arial Freeman, a Canadian living in London, told CBC News she takes public transit every day - but her confidence in the safety of the system has been shaken.
"You see someone move a bit strangely and you get worried. You realize you are underground and there's not much you can do."
The London Chamber of Commerce and Asian Business Association called for body scanners that can detect passengers carrying explosives. They also wanted security officers to have more power to stop and search passengers.
There are 1.64 million Muslims living in Britain. That's just over two per cent of the population. Many of them worry that they're under growing scrutiny.
In his July 22 news conference, Blair emphasized that the police investigation is targeting "criminals, not communities." He added that while rumours are sweeping London, residents need to remain calm.
Sher Khan, a spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain, told CBC News that Muslims are feeling anxious.
"Our main concern is that people don't overreact. This would just serve to play into the hands of the terrorists."
Khan added that as a resident of the city - and a frequent user of the transit system - he's facing anxiety on a couple of fronts.
"I'm a Londoner, so I'm under threat from these bombers," Khan said. "There's a double scare because I'm a Muslim. I carry a knapsack and I'm wondering whether I should leave that at home."
On July 22, 2005, a large mosque in east London was briefly evacuated after a bomb threat was telephoned in prior to afternoon prayers. No one was injured and police later gave the all clear.
In Aylesworth, police said arsonists were probably behind an attack on the family home of Jermaine Lindsay, one of the suspected July 7 suicide bombers. The blast Lindsay is believed responsible for was the deadliest, killing 26 people.
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